Remembering Pearl Harbor

Sailor who survived keeps the memory of the day alive

 

By Bob Driehaus

Post contributor

 

 

Joe Whitt, 84, of Bethel, is the president of the Ohio Chapter of Pearl Harbor Survivors Association.  Joe Whitt kept his memories of the horrors and heroics of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor to himself for 35 years.

 

 

I forgot it was December 7th...which reminds me...

 

The first time I really knew anything about Pearl Harbor was December 7th, 1991.  It must have been a Saturday or I was home from school b/c everything on network channels during the middle of the day was about the 50th anniversary.  I think Bush was dedicating a ship?  Decommissioning a battleship or aircraft carrier I think.

 

But in reading this article, while I was a little disapointed I didn't recognize the significance of today's date until I saw this thread, I at least feel good about myself that I have since educated myself on the events of that day, as well as what many great Americans did for the US in WWII and other meaningful military events in our countrie's history.

 

I had actually "forgotten" about September 11th this year when the date rolled around until I was reminderd on the radio that morning...odd to think that will one day become like December 7th...just another day for most people.

Only a few years ago did I learn that my mother was at Pearl Harbor -- before the attack. She was an Army brat and her father was stationed there from 1937-39. My mother was born in 1930. Some of her family's friends remained at Pearl at least until the attack, and some were killed. I sat next to her when we saw the movie Pearl Harbor with Ben Affleck, and she was crying uncontrollably during the attack scenes. I didn't know why until after the movie was over and she told me she was there several years before the attack. I never knew.

 

I did know that her father was sent to Germany in late 1945 as part of the Marshall Plan reconstruction, and the whole family went. She told me of the horrific scene of her first experiences in Germany -- riding a train to Munich through bombed-out cities and watching hungry children run up to the train at station stops, crying out for food. She said it was like something out of a horrible dream. Although she eventually got "accustomed" to seeing the devastation, she said she never got over her visit to one of the concentration camps. The prisoners and the bodies had been removed months earlier, but the smell was still there. She says that visit forever changed her -- she treats people the way she wants to be treated and hates ethnic jokes.

'I could see the pilot'

Two Mainers – one from Lebanon, one from Windsor – describe the

Dec. 7, 1941, attack from first-hand experience.

 

By SETH HARKNESS, Staff Writer

December 7, 2007

 

LEBANON — At 92 years old, Bernard Hall's hands are a little

shaky and he wouldn't get far without his hearing aid and

glasses. But 66 years ago, Hall was a young logger from North

Berwick who had recently enlisted in the Army and shipped out

to Hawaii for training.

 

More below:

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story_pf.php?id=153404&ac=PHnws

 

PEARL HARBOR REMEMBERANCE: Wreath toss at Black River Landing this morning

12/07/2007

 

LORAIN - Members of the Lorain Veterans Council will toss a commemorative wreath into the waters off the Black River Landing to honor the brave soldiers who died in the surprise attack at Peark Harbor Dec. 7, 1941.

 

The ceremony begins at 11 a.m.

 

After the wreath is tossed, the sound of a lone bugle will perform taps. Junior ROTC members will also be in attendance.

 

 

There just wasn't much said today about it being Pearl Harbor Day.  I guess that's how it gets as more and more of vets pass away.  At work, I'm known for posting quotes and historical facts.  Today I posted a verse from the song "Remember Pearl Harbor" on the forum.

 

History - in every century,

records an act that lives forevermore.

We'll recall - as in to line we fall,

the thing that happened on Hawaii's shore.

 

--Don Reid

 

It was pulled by the moderator as possibly being insulting to our global employees.  I mentioned that I thought it was a gentle reminder of the day, and that our global employees should be more embarrassed than insulted.

It was pulled by the moderator as possibly being insulting to our global employees.  I mentioned that I thought it was a gentle reminder of the day, and that our global employees should be more embarrassed than insulted.

 

What an asshole. I would contact a veterans group about that guy and constantly remind him how much he hates veterans (even if he doesn't, but actions speak louder).

Good Lord.

 

In 50 years, will it be considered "possibly" offensive to mention 9/11?