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Today is the 60th anniversary of an attack on our Nation similar in nature to what took place on September 11, 2001.
This is one way that I personally wish to express my condolences and gratitude to those who lost family as a result of Japan’s cowardly attack on our forces at Pearl Harbor. It is also meant to express my thanks, appreciation, and pride in those Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen, and Marines who survived the attack and carried the Pacific Campaign to it’s victorious conclusion.
I also would like this remembrance to put into perspective our current conflict without detracting from those who lost loved ones on Pearl. The similarities between the attack 60 years ago and the attack less than 90 days ago end with the fact that they were both cowardly acts committed without notice.
After 60 years the Arizona still bleeds; the blood is the oil that fueled her mighty engines and her mission will never be completed for she will forever remain the tomb for some 1,200 sailors who never left their stations. These and other men swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America and did so with their lives. As a result of that attack, a war was unleashed with a vengeance never before witnessed in all of humankind and it forever altered the course of our destiny as a nation as well as the destiny of the planet. These men knew they were at risk.
In perspective, the attack on our nation on the 11th of September was carried out not by a nation’s military force upon a military target. It was carried out by a fanatical religious sect upon completely defenseless people. The human toll of which may never be confirmed, yet vastly greater than what took place on this day 60 years ago.
During the Battle Over Britain, the Coventry Cathedral sustained several direct hits. In 1977 I had occasion to visit this cathedral, it serves as a memorial to this day. Where the alter was located, two massive beams from the original were erected as a cross. On it is the inscription “Father, Forgive Us”.
I would like to close this with a paraphrase of that inscription to serve as a testament to those who never left Pearl and out of respect and our commitment to avenge the lives lost on 911:
Father, Let Us Not Forget
Dano
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Today is the 60th anniversary of an attack on our Nation similar in nature to what took place on September 11, 2001.
This is one way that I personally wish to express my condolences and gratitude to those who lost family as a result of Japan's cowardly attack on our forces at Pearl Harbor. It is also meant to express my thanks, appreciation, and pride in those Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen, and Marines who survived the attack and carried the Pacific Campaign to it's victorious conclusion.
I also would like this remembrance to put into perspective our current conflict without detracting from those who lost loved ones on Pearl. The similarities between the attack 60 years ago and the attack less than 90 days ago end with the fact that they were both cowardly acts committed without notice.
After 60 years the Arizona still bleeds; the blood is the oil that fueled her mighty engines and her mission will never be completed for she will forever remain the tomb for some 1,200 sailors who never left their stations. These and other men swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America and did so with their lives. As a result of that attack, a war was unleashed with a vengeance never before witnessed in all of humankind and it forever altered the course of our destiny as a nation as well as the destiny of the planet. These men knew they were at risk.
In perspective, the attack on our nation on the 11th of September was carried out not by a nation's military force upon a military target. It was carried out by a fanatical religious sect upon completely defenseless people. The human toll of which may never be confirmed, yet vastly greater than what took place on this day 60 years ago.
During the Battle Over Britain, the Coventry Cathedral sustained several direct hits. In 1977 I had occasion to visit this cathedral, it serves as a memorial to this day. Where the alter was located, two massive beams from the original were erected as a cross. On it is the inscription "Father, Forgive Us".
I would like to close this with a paraphrase of that inscription to serve as a testament to those who never left Pearl and out of respect and our commitment to avenge the lives lost on 911:
Father, Let Us Not Forget
Dano