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Entry bubble Pearl Harbor Remembrance

By: Ginger | December 05, 2008 | Category: General

I’ve always liked history. One high school teacher, Mr. Partridge, made history come alive for me. He would teach us about historical events in a dramatic storytelling manner. Sometimes he would get so excited by a topic that the spit would start flying. I was ok with that, because I sat in the 3rd row, outside the “spit-zone.” Many students thought he was a little nutty, but he didn’t seem to care and I admired that.

Pearl Harbor RaidHe told us that history is full of regular people finding themselves dealing with extraordinary circumstances. Sunday is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. Pearl Harbor is an example of how people, going about their daily lives, were thrust into a horrible set of circumstances. How they handled themselves and what happened is part of our country's history.

On December 7, 1941, our country was attacked at Pearl Harbor. Our naval fleet was slammed very hard and almost broken. More than 2,400 American lives were lost. On Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, we remember and honor the people who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country.

USA.gov offers a Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day page with links to many resources. The Library of Congress offers This Day in History. The Naval Historical Center offers a Pearl Harbor Image Library. The USS Arizona Memorial offers a gallery of images that depict the tragedy and horror of that day. If you have a chance to go to Oahu, here are some museums and memorials to visit.

The survivors’ stories, ship reports and oral histories are fascinating. Do any of you have personal stories or stories handed down about the Pearl Harbor raid that you would like to share?

| View Comments [3] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: ginger   pearl_harbor  

Comments (3):

blue comment bubble Posted by TetVet68 on December 05, 2008 at 01:13 PM EST

America's oldest living Medal of Honor recipient, living his 100th year is former enlisted Chief Petty Officer, Aviation Chief Ordnanceman (ACOM), later wartime commissioned Lieutenant John W. Finn, USN (Ret.). He is also the last surviving Medal of Honor, "The Day of Infamy", Japanese Attack on the Hawaiian Islands, Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, 7 December 1941.

Visit my photo album tribute:

http://news.webshots.com/album/141695570BONFYl

San Diego, California

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blue comment bubble Posted by Thomas on December 08, 2008 at 10:06 AM EST

The first time history became alive for me was in Mr. Ryans American history class. He did not stress name and dates instead he stressed the story of why and how things happened.

A few years ago I asked my grandparents what it was like during the Great Depression and WWII. Their stories helped me to understand who they were and why they made the decisions they made.

Thomas

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blue comment bubble Posted by Ginger on December 08, 2008 at 10:14 AM EST

Thanks for the comment Thomas. My teacher also emphasized the why of history and the human side of history. I think that is far more interesting than remembering dates. We want to repeat the good things in our history and prevent ourselves from repeating the bad. To do that it helps to understand the why.

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