82nd anniversary of attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

[Commander Wallace]

It's the 82nd anniversary of the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. The attack catapulted the United States into World War Two. Sadly, not many American/Canadian/U.K/New Zealand/Australian and other allied vets are still alive.

Quote: Ira “Ike” Schab at 103 years young plans to attend ceremonies in Hawaii to honor those lost at Pearl Harbor.
“We were pretty startled. Startled and scared to death,” Schab, now 103, said at his home in Beaverton, Oregon, where he lives with his daughter. “We didn’t know what to expect and we knew that if anything happened to us, that would be it.”

Eighty-two years later, Schab plans to return to Pearl Harbor Thursday on the anniversary of the attack to remember the more than 2,300 servicemen killed. He's expected to be one of just six survivors at a ceremony commemorating the assault that propelled the United States into World War II. The actual number may fluctuate depending on how many of the increasingly frail men are able to attend.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/...shed-105447058

There is also the story of Doris Miller.

Doris Miller (October 12, 1919 – November 24, 1943) was an American Naval cook who was the first Black recipient of the Navy Cross and a nominee for the Medal of Honor. As a mess attendant second class in the United States Navy, Miller helped carry wounded sailors to safety during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He then manned an anti-aircraft gun and, despite no prior training in gunnery, shot down between four and six enemy planes. When Doris ran out of ammunition, he took care of his Captain and Commanding Officer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doris_Miller
To all of those Veterans who served. We will never forget.

[Jimbuna]

~SALUTE~

[Ostfriese]

Originally Posted by Commander Wallace

The attack catapulted the United States into World War Three.

You might have a slight miscalculation there.

[Commander Wallace]

Originally Posted by Ostfriese

You might have a slight miscalculation there.

My apologies. You were / are very right. I was typing fast and should have proof read better. This happens when starting work too early. Thank you for letting me know.

[em2nought]

RIP to all ww2 veterans on the allies side. None left in my family. None that parachuted into France, or hit the beach on Iwo Jima, or even those just in pilot training in Mississippi
.
For the most part, we surely seem to have devolved a long way since then. Salute to what once was.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Commander Wallace

I was typing fast and should have proof read better.

Man, can you imagine how often I say that to myself...?

[Otto Harkaman]

Shout out to Admiral Richardson, didn't know about his published memoirs



It was Richardson's belief – and indeed generally supported by the Navy – that the Fleet should never be berthed inside Pearl Harbor where it would be a mark for attack. This was particularly true in such troubled times when the airways of the East were hot with rumors of approaching conflict. What is more, Richardson held the belief that Pearl Harbor was the logical first point of attack for the Japanese High Command, wedded as it was to the theory of undeclared and surprise warfare. For ten years the U.S. Navy held "attacks" on the Army defenses at Pearl Harbor, and were always successful. Defending the base was rather hopeless, in his mind.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_O._Richardson

Endless debates have raged over the reasons the Japanese were able to execute their surprise attack on the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor so successfully. Military neglect, political and diplomatic ineptitude, and even what could only be described as accusations of malfeasance against the President of the United States all have been argued and reargued for more than 60 years.

One key source of information for this ongoing and sometime passionate discussion is "On the Treadmill to Pearl Harbor: the Memoirs of Admiral James O. Richardson." As commander of the U.S. Fleet in 1940 and 1941, Admiral Richardson was in a unique position to observe and reach conclusions about the readiness or lack of readiness of the fleet, as well as the political atmosphere in which crucial strategic and tactical decisions were reached. Because many crucial naval records perished at Pearl Harbor, Admiral Richardson's recollections, as told to Rear Admiral George C. Dyer, constitute an important primary source for war plans, including War Plan Orange for operations in case of a war with Japan. He also addresses his deep concern about the lack of preparedness of the Navy, particularly its low prewar staffing levels, and the folly of sending a poorly prepared naval force to Pearl Harbor as a deterrent to aggression by a better prepared Japanese fleet.

He forthrightly places much of the blamed for this situation on President Roosevelt and his advisers. Interestingly, in light of the many conspiracy theories surrounding December 7, 1941, he criticizes these men for consistently underestimating the Japanese threat rather than courting an attack as a way of embroiling the U.S. in the war. On the Treadmill to Pearl Harbor is an important source for naval historians and students of World War II, as well as an intriguing first-person account of the crucial months preceding "the day of infamy."