December 7th 1941

[bozo699]

December 7th 1941, A very important date in our history,a day that changed the world forever, is there any WWII Veterans here on accurate shooter? if so thank you very much for your services to our great nation, anyone have a family member or friend that is a WWII vet? give them a big thanks there not many of them left and were loosing more and more of them every day. To all service men and women that followed thank you for keeping this great nation safe and in keeping the fight on foreign soil, I wish you all a safe and Merry Christmas and pray each and every one of you make it home safe to your family's.
Very respectfully Wayne.A.Bezona

 

[WyleWD]

Good Post bozo699.

Was fortuneate enough to attend a Veteran's Day celebration at a local High School a month ago. There were only 2 WWII vets there. Both Marines, both fought at Cape Glouster, New Britton, Pelilieu, and one went on to survive Okinawa as well. They told the kids just how it was and had pictures of Pelileu when they were there. WOW. That had to be He!! on earth.

They talked at length about the fact that Pearl Harbor was just like getting sucker punched and making everyone in the US furious enough to fight. They both went through Pearl on their way to the south Pacific and said that one could never imagine the damage and destruction there unless you seen it.

It was especially noteworthy that all the school kids just flocked around them during Q&A compared to the vets of the other campaigns. So I think there is some awareness amongst the younger kids about how the WWII vets are a diminishing generation / treasure. WD

 

[Minesweeper3433]

:-[ Thank you for bringing this up It had slipped my mind this year.

 

[Larryh128]

My uncle that is now deceased was at Pearl during the attack. He said that normally he would still have been sleeping in, or sleeping it off, but decided to get up & have breakfast. When it was over, there was a bullet hole thru his pillow from a Jap fighter. I think that he always ate breakfast after that.

 

[CaptainMal]

Wonderful thought. Still bothers me personally the Japs never apologized and made retributions for their lies, attack and atrocities. They seem like WE should be doing it and in some cases, we did.

Seeing TV programs on this issue brought to you by Toyota and other "enemy" products sure seems like a horrible and continued slap in our faces. How any patriotic American could buy a Jap car is also beyond me.

God Bless America.

 

[Nomad47]

I totally agree. Well said, Wayne.

My father was in Germany & Italy during WWII. I was born 5 years and not quite 3 months after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

About 8 or 9 years ago, I televised via satellite a college bowl game on Christmas day from Honolulu. My wife went with me and we ended up spending a week in HI. Of course, we visited the USS Arizona Memorial and the museum covering that time period. Quite sobering.

 

[jonbearman]

I to feel very proud being a son of a wwII vet and it is hard to forget that day as I almost died the same day in the 1980's and my dad always remembered the fact that that day was a day of reality as he was only 13 years old and went in the army when he was seventeen.He told me that dec 7 ,people were in the streets deliberating which branch of service they would enter.WWII showed the world,when you tick off America,the people respond to defend the red white and blue.Thank God for the greatest generation that ever lived! God Bless the remaining people who so galantly fought to bring us out of that horrible time.

 

[Catfish]

I have breakfest 5 or 6 days a week with a Pearl Harbor vet. He is 90 now and used to build guns so we never run out of things to talk about. The ship he was on got credit for 3 of the 29 planes shot down during the attack. He`s a great old guy. One thing I cannot under stand is why 70 years latter we still call it the Japanees attack on pearl Horber, but we call the Muslim attack on our country 911. :

 

[MrMajestic]

Thanks to all our soldiers past, present and future! My 89 year old Uncle is still alive and was in Germany. Dad was in Curacao, protecting the oil supply line I believe. He died in '95. WWII vets are getting sparse and we must remember their heroic actions for eternity.
Capt. Mal, I worked for a major Japanese machine tool manufacturer almost 10 years ago and once the subject came up with a middle aged Asian coworker and he stated that it was wrong what they did at that time. I know it's only one but at least all don't support the attack.

 

[bozo699]

Thanks for the reply's fellas those are some good stories, My Grandpa was border line to old at the outbreak of WWII he had just turned 34 years old and was the only provider on the family ranch, the same ranch I still own and opperate, my dad was 8 years old, all my great uncles went, Kennith was the oldest under my granddad he went to the African theater, Norman was a paratrooper and was all over the place, Owen was the youngest 19 years old I think, he ended up on Bataan, he never made it through the death march , the other two came back home and led productive long lives but never talked much about the war, at the big party the day before hunting season every year if you could get enough whiskey into them you might get a little info but not much, they were proud men that kept that part of there lives to themselves, they were a different bread of men and they don't make them like that anymore, I have the greatest respect and admiration for that generation of men. I find it odd our schools and some business close for holidays such a Halloween but it's business a usual for Pearl harbor day ???
Wayne.

 

[Bulseyetom]

One of my childhood hunting mentors, a WWII vet who fought in Africa and Italy, passed over the great divide a few weeks ago at the age of 93. His brother, who also taught me more about deer hunting than I could ever remember, called me Saturday to offer me a possession of his brother's that he thought I would like to have. I thanked him and told him that I had just killed a small buck and next weekend when I process the meat I would drive the 3 hours to visit him and bring him the meat. He is 92 and still could probably outwalk lots of younger men. They were indeed the "Great Generation". Tom

 

[JFMorgan]

My father in law was on Okinawa shortly after Pearl. He was in the 6th. Marine Div. which was formed and disbanded ( 19 months) outside the continental US. One point in time he was in a foxhole for 30 days. 85 Now he walks about 2 1/2 miles every day. He is still a Marine. My Dad was in the Navy, one of Mom's brothers was in the Army Infantry European theater another in the 8th. Army Air Corp bombing the Germans. Another uncle was in Korea in the 50's. Me, I was USAF 1964-1968 got out two months before Tet. Was TDY at Hickam Field in 1967, the buildings still had the pock marks from the Japanese strafing. Visited the Arizona Memorial a reminder of the horror that took place 12-07-1941. Peace and freedom come at a terrible price. None of the family was KIA, MIA or POW. thankfully.

Jim,