Pearl Harbor: We Must Never Forget

David Wilson
David Wilson

Today is the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

That event--described by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as "a date which will live in infamy"--hurled the United States into World War II and changed the world forever.

On this anniversary, it is appropriate to take a look back and a look ahead.

When I was growing up in the 1970s in Arkansas, there were many people around in every neighborhood and community who remembered World War II vividly.

They knew how everyone pulled together during "the war" to defeat America's enemies in Europe and in the Pacific. It was recent history, still fresh in their minds.

During the 1973-1974 school year, I was in the sixth grade and I remember our teacher asking us how long ago World War II occurred.

"About 30 years," I replied.

I knew much about World War II because I read all about it in library books and in the World Book Encyclopedia, which we had at home.

I also read World War II stories in comic books at that time, and there were many. And they were both historically accurate and educational.

But I also knew that World War II wasn't very long ago because in Arkansas and throughout the country there were still World War II veterans everywhere, involved in their communities, working their farms or businesses, and taking care of their families.

Some were not quite 50 years old at the time.

No, in my mind as a child, World War II was not simply a history lesson in school, but something that most Americans could recall for themselves. In fact, when I was born World War II had only been over for a little more than 16 years.

For some of today's youth, however, the notion that the Pearl Harbor attack was 75 years ago is something akin to ancient history and something that doesn't have anything of significance for our lives today.

That perspective, however, is very tragic because World War II still has much of value for us today.

The American generation that was hitting middle age when I was a child was a generation that had learned many lessons about hard work and sacrifice and uniting for the good of the country.

And they learned--from Pearl Harbor--that America can never afford to let its guard down.

That seems just as relevant in 2016 as it was in 1945.

Author and military historian A.A. Hoehling wrote there were many warning signs that, if heeded, might have enabled the United States to avoid such a catastrophe at Pearl Harbor. In his book December 7, 1941: The Day the Admirals Slept Late, he wrote about how there were events that shouldn't have been ignored, and even in the hours before the attack there was time to sound an alert and perhaps avoid the devastation.

Or at least minimize it.

But if the lessons of Pearl Harbor remain, America must ask itself, "Are we ready to prevent attacks from any enemy or potential enemy today?"

If we can go about our business in peace that doesn't necessarily mean that all is well, and it certainly doesn't mean that America's military can afford to be at ease, for tomorrow may bring tragedy from an enemy that we never knew was prepared to strike.

Seventy-five years ago Pearl Harbor transformed our country from one that wanted no part of war to one that was suddenly willing and determined to march against tyranny no matter where it existed.

Historian Dr. Keith Huxen wrote of America's resolve in the recent edition of V-Mail (a publication put out by the World War II Museum in New Orleans).

"Pearl Harbor," he wrote, "brought clarity of purpose to Americans, infusing people with a spirit of determination, and unifying the public around the goal of victory."

And once the war was won, Americans knew that to be secure and to maintain peace, they would always have to be strong, and ready to take on anyone who would bring hostilities to those desiring only liberty and productive tranquility.

Seventy-five years is not a very long time in the course of history. But to a young generation, 75 years is long enough to forget.

But we should never forget Pearl Harbor; nor should we forget the lessons that previous generations learned through war and sacrifice. For the sake of the country, and for our own safety and security, we must remember.

DAVID WILSON, EdD, OF SPRINGDALE, IS A WRITER, CONSULTANT AND PRESENTER, WHO GREW UP IN ARKANSAS BUT WORKED 27 YEARS IN EDUCATION IN MISSOURI. YOU MAY E-MAIL HIM AT [email protected]. THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR.

Editorial on 12/07/2016