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It’s Pearl Harbor Day.
A day to remember those who lost their lives during the Japanese bombings of Hawaii 79 years ago.
A day to reflect upon a generation of Americans who rose to the call of sacrifice to beat enemies in Europe and Asia.
A day to reflect upon the meaning of unimaginable valor, a valor that cost hundreds of thousands of American servicemen their lives in the South Pacific, the sands of North Africa, and the heart of Europe.
Days like D-Day – in which Allied forces overcame long odds to begin the long and arduous process of liberating Europe from Hitler’s Germany – and Pearl Harbor – a day which then President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously told his fellow Americans, and the world, would live in infamy as Japanese bombers attacked US forces stationed in the territory of Hawaii – must always be etched on our consciousness, whether we lived through them as longtime Machias resident and Robert Coles, or learned of them only through our history books and from our grandparents.
Pearl Harbor Day. December 7, 1941.
Absorb that date in your mind’s eye. Those who lived it and the war following don’t have to be told, really. The rest of us need a reminder every time our state, our country, and our world, goes through turmoil and hardship that tugs at the very fabric of who we are.
Yet those who did not live through that tumultuous time in American history must strive to learn of it and seek to embody some of the very virtues that allowed our nation to overcome such a tragedy that rocked us to our very foundation. Courage, honor, sacrifice, perseverance, duty, tenacity, innovation, patriotism, and faith in the Almighty God are all things that saw us through World War II.
As we face a pandemic engulfing America today, we must not lose sight of those virtues, or the lengths to which our grandfathers, fathers, uncles, cousins, brothers, and community leaders who served at home and abroad in an effort to defeat a much more visible enemy. We may face a microscopic enemy today, but the same qualities will see us through to the other side, as hard as that is for everyone from the most ardent progressive to the most staunch conservative to come to grips with.
This Pearl Harbor Day, reflect on the sacrifices of a nation struggling with doom and gloom, a nation that had just barely gotten through a decade of economic despair and hardship without many of the safety nets we have today. Understand that there were hardships placed on our nation back then – the government regulated food, gas, and many other routine facets of American life – just as it is today.
I am not saying everything going on in this pandemic is right. Nor am I saying that I even agree with all the things our government does. Nor am I saying we shouldn’t have a conversation about our rights and liberties. What I am saying is that we must not lose sight of where we came from, what our nation overcame, and how much resolve we showed collectively when our backs were pressed against the wall – a resolve we have shown time and again throughout our country’s history since Pearl Harbor.
I truly fear for our country, that if we let that day, or 9/11 go, we will lose something bigger, something more precious, something that will forever do what the Germans, Japanese, Al Qaeda or our myriad of other enemies could not – irreparably destroy our country.
As a history major, I believe it is important for us to keep touch with our past and use it as a guide for our future. History can be found in a book, but also from listening to older Americans who went through Pearl Harbor, World War II, the Great Depression. Learn their stories, get the context, and understand that in order for our country to overcome the fears I’ve shared above, we must stay connected, we must remember our roots, and we must be willing to live out the virtues and qualities that we have throughout our history.
May God Bless America this Pearl Harbor Day….
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