Pearl Harbor Day

God Bless America, and may we never forget Pearl Harbor Day nor the sacrifices made afterward that allow us the freedoms and lives we hold dear today.

The New Hampshire Union Leader said it well:

“Two questions: How many Americans were killed in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001? Now, how many Americans were killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941?

Most Americans probably could come up with a ballpark “3,000″ to answer the first question. How many could get close to the correct answer for the second: 2,388?

Fifty-nine years and nine months after Japan’s unprovoked attack on the United States, this nation suffered another assault that rained death out of the clear, blue morning sky. The second attack has, along with the passage of time (68 years now), pushed the first further back in the American consciousness.

To help future generations remember, this morning New Hampshire dedicates its Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, part of the airport access road connecting Bedford and Londonderry. At least 10 New Hampshire survivors of that unspeakably horrific morning are scheduled to attend the ceremonies in the State House.

The few remaining survivors of that attack are reminders of the enormous losses this nation and world suffered in that devastating war. A full 405,399 of their comrades did not come home. They never got to live their dreams, raise their children, become doting grandparents. All because other men had fanatical dreams of empire and domination.

We owe it to all of them to remember this day and keep it, forever, “a day that will live in infamy.” In forgetting, we disrespect them and dishonor ourselves. They, and this nation, deserve the eternal gratitude of all whose subsequent lives their noble sacrifices made possible.”