Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day - December 7th

I was at Pearl Harbor in 1991 for the 50th anniversary. There is a “Remembrance Day” at Pearl Harbor every year. I have been to Pearl (as the Marines and Navy refer to it) quite a few times. The Japanese are also invited to attend the ceremonies since they lost men there also, but it’s highly “suggested” that no Japanese visit the Arizona via the Naval shuttle provided. Many men are still entombed inside the shrine.
This is requested because of respect of the relatives still alive that may be visiting.

The USS Arizona still leaks fuel oil to this day. They had refueled in Pearl before departing for the Pacific when they were struck. If you ever go, look over the right bow and you can see the oil bubbles still actively coming to the top. Inside, there is a Chapel. Because that area is considered to be a place of reverence, it is requested that you do not talk and only take pictures in honor and respect. Someone once asked me if they could whisper to their children. I nodded ok.

Anyone dressed in any service uniform, have restrictions as to what they may not wear. Battleship Row is a very solemn and also reverent area, so respect is required. Please also take note of the Oklahoma, which has its own history. Your tour director will state all of the restrictions. Please be respectful and obey the orders from the Officer on duty of the vessel. I love Pearl Harbor. Our government does a really great job of maintaining it. It’s a place to go to pay respect and show honor to those that gave all, so that we could remain free. It’s very sobering.

As a little history, the U.S. had 3 carriers at sea during the attack at Pearl. The Lexington, the Saratoga and the mighty “E”, or as most people know it, the USS Enterprise.
 
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Remember Pearl Harbor!

iu
 
I wonder how many Americans know this fact. On December the 7th of 1941, a combined garrison of British, Indian and Canadian troops were fighting the Japanese Imperial Army at Hong Kong . The fighting went on until December the 25th, when the remaining Anglo troops were forced to surrender to the much larger Japanese force. The Canadians lost about 870 men killed out of the 1900 men they had there. For the next 4 years they were worked to death, starved to death, and beaten to death, by the Japanese army. When the war ended in August of 1945, the remaining Canadians were transported home. In the next ten years they began to die, mostly from malaria, and a lack of vitamins during their captivity. Most were in their 30's when they died at home in Canada. I bet most Americans today know nothing about this WW2 fact. JimB.
 
We visited the USS Arizona a few years ago. It was very moving. No one spoke above a whisper.

“We have awakened a sleeping giant, and filled him with a terrible resolve. “. — Adm. Yamamoto.
 
jimintoronto said:
I wonder how many Americans know this fact. On December the 7th of 1941, a combined garrison of British, Indian and Canadian troops were fighting the Japanese Imperial Army at Hong Kong . The fighting went on until December the 25th, when the remaining Anglo troops were forced to surrender to the much larger Japanese force. The Canadians lost about 870 men killed out of the 1900 men they had there. For the next 4 years they were worked to death, starved to death, and beaten to death, by the Japanese army. When the war ended in August of 1945, the remaining Canadians were transported home. In the next ten years they began to die, mostly from malaria, and a lack of vitamins during their captivity. Most were in their 30's when they died at home in Canada. I bet most Americans today know nothing about this WW2 fact. JimB.
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Every American who had a living relative at the time (for me, my Mom and Dad) of Pearl Harbor who knew exactly where they were when it was reported. Kind of like everyone who was alive at the time knows where they were when Pres. Kennedy was assassinated or on 9/11.

It was a *world* war, everyone played a part, all suffered from the effects whether in a cataclysmic event like Pearl Harbor or in the day-in-and-day-out cruelty of a prisoner camp and the lasting repercussions of those months and years of suffering.

Each gave and suffered to try to ensure that we would not live under tyranny in the future. We are grateful to all of them.
 
Alligatorob said:
Certainly an important date in US history.

I think we probably would have ended up in the war anyway, but Pearl Harbor locked us in.

I did not, until I read your post.
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Thanks. There are many more WW2 facts that most Americans are not aware of concerning Canada's role in the war. A few examples. About 19.000 American men came to Canada in the period after September of 1939, and joined our military services. Many of them served under assumed names because of the US Neutrality Act, and some of them are buried in Canadian War Graves in Europe, under those assumed names. Approximately 12,000 USAAF pilots and crew men were trained in Canada under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan after the USA joined the war in December of 1941.

The First Special Service Force was a joint Canada/USA mountain infantry unit that was trained to fight in winter conditions and use skis and snowshoes. The unit numbered about 2500 men in total. It trained near Helena Montana, and at Fort Benning for jump training. They fought in Italy, and after the fighting in Italy was over the unit went to France where it was disbanded, and the Canadian members were transferred to the First Canadian Parachute Battalion for the remainder of the war in Europe. The FSSF is regarded as the origin of all later "Special Forces units " in the US military. The FSSF shoulder insignia was an arrowhead with the USA forming the head, and Canada forming the shaft of the arrow. All members wore US issue uniforms, and used US weapons, but the Canadians were paid about 40 percent more, based on their Canadian rates of pay and benefits.
 
In my youth, this was a day of speeches and memorials. All media carried stories and editorials regarding the actions of the Empire of Japan. Today? I doubt most younger people are aware of the event or even care. I guess that is what time does to history.
 
jimintoronto said:
Thanks. There are many more WW2 facts that most Americans are not aware of concerning Canada's role in the war. A few examples. About 19.000 American men came to Canada in the period after September of 1939, and joined our military services. Many of them served under assumed names because of the US Neutrality Act, and some of them are buried in Canadian War Graves in Europe, under those assumed names. Approximately 12,000 USAAF pilots and crew men were trained in Canada under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan after the USA joined the war in December of 1941.

The First Special Service Force was a joint Canada/USA mountain infantry unit that was trained to fight in winter conditions and use skis and snowshoes. The unit numbered about 2500 men in total. It trained near Helena Montana, and at Fort Benning for jump training. They fought in Italy, and after the fighting in Italy was over the unit went to France where it was disbanded, and the Canadian members were transferred to the First Canadian Parachute Battalion for the remainder of the war in Europe. The FSSF is regarded as the origin of all later "Special Forces units " in the US military. The FSSF shoulder insignia was an arrowhead with the USA forming the head, and Canada forming the shaft of the arrow. All members wore US issue uniforms, and used US weapons, but the Canadians were paid about 40 percent more, based on their Canadian rates of pay and benefits.
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I also remember reading (in text books) that 160 Canadians were taken as POW’s and were later executed by the Germans just after the Americans landed on Normandy. Canada played their biggest role in the air. Keep in mind, the numbers don’t mean a lot. Otherwise, also keep in mind of the fact that Russia was the biggest loser with the approximate losses of 16.5 million Russians being killed during the war. The U.S. was credited with playing the biggest role in the war, but couldn’t have won the war by itself without the aid of the allied forces.

On the sea, after Japan entered the war, the U.S. was initially unprepared for their intervention, although some talk was going around about such a move by the Japanese being possible. We just didn’t know when, where or how. This was learned through Intelligence. Japan had quite a Navy. They had been building on it for a few years while we were fighting Germany. Japan entered the war on December 7, 1941 thinking if they took out our Navy, the rest would be easy. Boy, were they wrong.
 
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