TOM JONES

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Pearl Harbor Attack: 80 Years of Infamy. Dec. 7, 2021.

December 7, 2021 By TOM JONES 2 Comments

Today marks the 80th anniversary of the Japanese surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (Territory, back then). The sudden aerial assault out of the blue of a sunny morning on Oahu marked America’s entry into World War II, a conflict that for us lasted over three years and nine months. I’ve visited Pearl Harbor many times since the 1980s, and each time I do, I am still moved by the visible evidence of the events that took place there.

More than 2400 Americans died in the strike from six aircraft carriers of the Japanese Imperial Navy. The attack lasted over two hours, resulting in the sinking of four battleships and severe damage to several other battleships, cruisers, and destroyers. Hundreds of American aircraft were destroyed–mostly on the ground.

Ford Island and Battleship Row at center left. The harbor entrance is at lower center under cloud. USS Missouri and USS Arizona Memorial are visible at upper center. (I was sitting on the left side of the plane as we approached Honolulu, and got lucky).
attack mural from the Pacific Aviation Museum (Nov. 2011)

Every American should visit the Pearl Harbor National Memorial & Visitor Center, now run by the National Park Service. The USS Arizona Memorial is maintained by the U.S. Navy, which runs a shuttle boat from the visitor center out to the Memorial on Battleship Row.

USS Arizona Memorial over the sunken battleship. (US Navy photo)
USS Arizona Memorial next to Ford Island (from my last visit here in Jan. 2017)

The Iowa-class battleship USS Missouri is moored just to the west, and standing on her deck one can view the site where the Japanese surrendered in Tokyo Bay on Sept. 2, 1945.

USS Missouri, docked where USS Maryland was once berthed during the attack. (Jan. 2017)

At the Arizona Memorial, one enters the shrine over the sunken battleship where those entombed aboard are remembered:

The memorial wall within the Arizona Memorial (Jan. 2017)

Bunker oil still leaks from the wreck.

oil sheen above wreck of the Arizona (Jan. 2017)

On Ford Island, bullet scars in the concrete apron and bullet holes in the hangars that house the Pacific Aviation Museum are still visible:

Hangar 37 bullet-shattered glass at the Pacific Aviation Museum on Ford Island (Sept. 2011)

Out at Schofield Barracks north of Pearl Harbor, a P-40 Warhawk replica stands at the edge of Wheeler Field. Dozens of American planes were destroyed on the ground here in the opening moments of the attack.

P-40 Warhawk replica, used in the filming of the 1970s film, “Tora! Tora! Tora!”)

Aboard USS Missouri, a visitor can close the circle of the Pacific War, standing on the spot where WWII ended that September of 1945.

USS Missouri (2017)

To those lost at Pearl Harbor, rest in peace. To those who restored peace by serving in the Pacific War, accept our continued thanks. And to my fellow Americans: Remain vigilant, and never forget.

www.AstronautTomJones.com

Filed Under: History

Comments

  1. Herman Fulford says

    December 8, 2021 at 10:25 pm

    Thank you. Dad and 2 Uncles enlisted in Feb 1942. All ended up in the Pacific from the Phillipines to the Aleutians. All made it home but carried the “hidden wounds”. Dad,, from Kwajalein, Enowitok, Guam, Iwo Jima. Butch, the Phillipines, Corregidor/Mindanao/Luzon/Manila. Fred, the Okinawa campaign.

    Reply
    • TOM JONES says

      December 8, 2021 at 10:30 pm

      They were all heroes, Bo!

      Reply

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