December 7th, a date that will live in infamy...

[Ryanxia]

75 years ago today the Empire of Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and dragged the United States into World War II. I had two great uncles stationed there, one gave his life that day the other walked out without a scratch.

About three weeks ago I finally scored my first M1 Garand. Made in 1943 by Springfield Armory. Some guys on here I'm sure have several of them, kind of like how I am with AR-15's but this Garand being my only one is definitely a gem in my collection. I'm thankful that I'm fortunate enough to be able to own a piece of history like this, but recognize that there wouldn't be so many of them if on this day the United States hadn't been dragged full on into WW2.

Finally, if you get a chance, there is a tv series (based on a book) on Amazon Prime called "The Man in the High Castle" and it is a look at what America in the 60's would look like if the Japanese and Germans had won WW2. The WW2 firearms the resistance uses are pretty neat to see in a guerilla style setting (by Americans on American streets that is).

 

[red rick]

I also had a great uncle there . He went there after the farming season to work and get away from the farm for a little while . He went back there for the 50th anniversary . My grandma use to tell us not to ask him about the war , he didn't talk about it and if you asked him something about it he would walk away and get depressed .

 

[alsaqr]

The Japanese military had it their way for about six months. Then after losing four aircraft carriers at Midway the Japanese navy was never able to mount effective operations.

My Dad and his three brothers fought in WWII. A first cousin was captured by the Japanese army at Bataan: He survived the brutal Japanese slave labor internment. Another first cousin was a member of the 101st Airborne Division. He died on D-Day, 1944 at St. Mere Eglise.

They were the greatest generation.

 

[DustyGmt]

The Japanese military had it their way for about six months. Then after losing four aircraft carriers at Midway the Japanese navy was never able to mount effective operations.

My Dad and his three brothers fought in WWII. A first cousin was captured by the Japanese army at Bataan: He survived the brutal Japanese slave labor internment. Another first cousin was a member of the 101st Airborne Division. He died on D-Day, 1944 at St. Mere Eglise.

They were the greatest generation.

Yes, I would agree. I just watched a movie called "unbreakable" where an olympic runner went to war and was captured by the japanese and it gave some insight as to what being in a japanese prison camp was. So brutal, so very brutal. Good movie though.

 

[TomJ]

My parents came here from Poland immediately after WW2. They also didn't talk much about what they experienced, but what I picked up over the years sounds like a Hollywood script, only it really happened. They include my dad being rescued by American troops during a tank battle, during which an American soldier helped him onto a tank where he stayed during the battle. He was shot, but the bullet hit the diary he had in his jacket, and fortunately did not penetrate the diary. My family in Poland still have that diary. At some point he was involved in a high speed car chase with Russian soldiers shooting at him, was captured and lied his way out of that situation, and finally my Grandfather, his dad, was taken to a concentration camp and killed by the Nazi's because he was hiding a Jewish friend and would not tell them where his friend was.

He never owned guns, but didn't mind us buying bb guns as kids and later real guns. When I was in college I bought my first rifle, a Ruger 10-22. He surprised me by picking it up and handling it like a pro, something he obviously did in the past but never talked about.

 

[Squire Western]

Thank you for this post. Three of my uncles fought in WWII, and one gave his all at Guadalcanal in 1942.

We must not ever forget the great sacrifices that generation gave to protect our freedom from its most dangerous assault since 1860.

 

[MedWheeler]

I have no living family known to have been in WW-II, and my parents were too young. However, I have the privilege to meet a WW-II veteran at least once or twice a week in the back of my ambulance. Talking to them is an honor. I've even talked to one German WW-II veteran who was taken as a POW by the Allies and held in Mississippi. He could not say enough about how civil and honorable his treatment there was.

Indeed a great generation, countless individuals who ran to their recruitment depots, even lying about their ages, doing what they had to, to go do what they could..

 

[gsbuickman]

my little brother is a 15+ year swabbie, who's stationed out at Pearl again, and he says It's Trippy for him to be there for the 75th today. so, I'm assuming it's a little surreal for him right now.

 

[RX-79G]

My great uncle was on one of the Pacific Islands that was taken over on Dec. 6. He survived WWII as a slave in a salt mine on the Japanese mainland.

 

[sirgilligan]

A personal friend of mine that attended the same little church in Kentucky was a USS Arizona survivor. He was on deck setting up chairs that morning. Once the figured out what was going on he was below deck at one of the guns. The turret jammed up after receiving damage and the office in their with him told them all to get off if they could. He went over the side and made it to shore.

My Grandfather was a US Army infantry sergeant during the liberation of the Philippines. We still have the rifle, bayonet, and sword he brought back. The rifle has the chrysanthemum and the bayonet serial matches the rifle. He had a flag but we don't know which cousin has it now.

My Dad's first cousin was a US Army Ranger in the Battle of the Bulge and the liberation of France. There were five cousins all in the European theater at the same time, one was a POW for over a year.

I am thankful that they faced death and marched forward towards it. I will not forget. I will tell my children of the evil that Japan and Germany brought upon the world.

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

Thanks to all who remember the sacrifice in the wars against evil. I had an uncle who was on the USS Perch which was depth charged, bombed and shelled in March of 1942. He and his crew mates were taken prisoner and spent the duration of the war in various prison camps, including a stint digging coal for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries; he is still alive in Arkansas. Another uncle was a B-24 pilot who flew the entirety of the European war becuse he flew missions for the OSS in support of the underground and the Jedburghs in France and later in support of the underground in Italy, Yugoslavia, and that region. He passed away about 5 years ago and I never had access to a lot of this information until at his funeral. A third uncle was a truck driver in the Army and was severely wounded during the Battle of the Bulge while engaging an ME109 with the .50 mounted on his truck. He got the plane but it crashed very close to his truck. He spent 9 months in various hospitals until he was recovered enough to be discharged in late 1945. My aunt gave me all of the clippings and memorabilia he had kept from his time in the service including the original weekend pass he received just before he was shipped overseas. My two uncles who served in Europe never said much about their time in the service and my uncle in the Perch only spoke in the terms of bitterness he felt towards the Japanese and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and of course the bend in his nose and various other visible scars from his time as a guest of the Japanese. They all served with quiet dignity and never whined about what they were owed.....

 

[climbnjump]

For an interesting account of the first - and more importantly, the second - shot fired on December 7th, go here: http://www.startribune.com/pearl-harbor-and-the-first-shot-minnesotans-of-the-uss-ward/405096606/

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a disaster in itself, of course, but there was another naval disaster brewing at that time that played out in the next year or so that was devastating to the submariners serving then. The war might have been shorter if not for two flaws in the torpedoes then being used. It's a fascinating story, but I'm getting tired of tapping this out on a iPad...

 

[Ryanxia]

Thanks for sharing all the stories. Some real good ones here.

 

[Kaeto]

I had a great uncle who was a Master Machinist when he volunteered for the Army Air Corps. They made him a Radio Operator/Gunner on a B-17 in the pacific.

And another great uncle who was on the U.S.S Missouri when they signed the Japanese surrender. He was a Military Policeman assigned to keep the peace in Tokyo after the war ended. Still have the Ka-Bar that he won off a Marine in a poker game on the way to the surrender.

 

[Bart B.]

Admiral Kimmel's grandson has proved through the Freedom of Information Act getting message copies from early December, 1941 and before, that he and General Short were not copied on information about Japan's attack plans. All the rest of Roosevelt's administration big wigs, including J. Edgar Hoover heading the FBI, knew about it; they're copied by name/position in the messages.

Reinstating both of those flag officers to former ranks has yet to be approved by our president.

http://pearlharbor911attacks.com