72 years ago today on a peaceful Sunday morning (by Bill Bennett, PhD)

72 years ago, on a peaceful Sunday morning December 7th 1941, just as the waves of in port docking were lapping against the sides of the ships tied awaiting the bugle call for services. Breakfast had just finished and the Chaplin was preparing to bless the day, out of the morning sun came the roar and then the dreadful deadly sight of hundreds of dive bombers in the form of Japanese Zero's.

The sound was deafening as wave after wave of dive bombers blackened the sparkling morning sunshine. There were so many it must have looked like a plague of locust filling the air. The morning solitude had been broken by the roar, and as yet not one warning siren had sounded. There was nothing out of the ordinary except you could feel the decks of the ships that began to vibrate in time with the roaring drone of the engines of amassed hundreds now thousands planes bore down on the peaceful Pacific fleet tied at the birthing areas in Pearl Harbor.

Then with no prior warning bombs began to crash through the decks of the tied fleet, then they began to erupt in one explosion after another rocked the fleet. Men began leaping from their now burning ships into the water of the bay that by now had thousands of gallons of oil floating and then the water began to burn. More explosions and not strafing of machine guns began shredding the wooden decks of the battleships, and cruisers. Then a second wave of bombers began hitting the destroyers. 

Panic abounded, men screaming in pain as bullets hit the sailors and marines running to man their guns and attempt to fight back. Bomb after bomb exploding causing death, destruction and even more panic. Then above the screaming and firing of weapons and bombs exploding you could hear the massive engines begin to come to life. Ships were trying to flee the confinement of the bay of Pearl Harbor. Then came the call "HICKAM FIELD IS UNDER ATTACK" as wave after wave of Japanese dive bombers began blowing the airfield, the hangers, the barracks and finally the hospital into non existence. 

THE UNITED STATES HAD JUST BEEN ATTACKED AND THE SLEEPING GIANT OF THE US MILITARY FORCES WOULD COME BACK TO LIFE A FEW MONTHS LATER AND THE FORCES OF JAPAN WOULD EVENTUALLY PAY A HEAVY PRICE. 

To the young men and woman of who on that day in hell became heroes, to those who gave their lives, and to those to this very day lay entombed in the U.S. Arizona. Thank you for all you did for us who live to day because you LOVE US THEN SO WE CAN LOVE AND HONOR YOU NOW. 

Thank you, may you forever rest in the arms of Our Lord, and may we never forget what you did. GOD BLESS YOU AND SLEEP WELL, REST IN THE PEACE OF ETERNAL SLEEP. YOU EARNED IT THAT SUNDAY MORNING SO LONG AGO. THANK YOU!.

In memory of my father William Paul Bennett (USN). Although he did not surrender his life at Pearl, he became a decorated hero in WWII.

December 7th, 2013

by Bill Bennett, PhD
Ph: 541-754-5860
Disabled Veteran.
2812 NW Monterey Pl
Corvallis, Oregon 97330