By: Bob Adner

“A day that will live in infamy” is the way President Roosevelt described the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. According to PearlHarbor.org, the United States opted to remain isolated from the conflicts in Europe after Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939. The United States lent support to the British and French, but did not send any more troops. This choice was rendered moot on this day in 1941, when Japan’s intelligence had determined that the bulk of the US navy’s battleships were tied up for repairs at a small bay off the island of Oahu. There was only one entrance or exit to the bay, if that. It was plugged into the entire group of battleships, blocking the move out to the sea to counter the attack. They were not successful in blocking it, but only one battleship, the USS California, was able to clear the channel. The other ships were damaged too badly to attempt moving them. There were only two ships that were permanently lost, the USS Arizona and the USS Oklahoma. All other ships were back in action within six months.

The USS Arizona was struck by a bomb that smashed through its deck and exploded where the gunpowder was stored. The ship exploded, killing over 1,100 men. The ship was never raised, and today, a monument is built over it. This commemorated the servicemen whose remains are still entombed there. Luckily, the three aircraft carriers were at sea and not targeted in the attack. They proved to be the backbone of the Pacific fleet until the other ships were repaired.

If Japan had targeted the fuel supplies for the Pacific Command, they would have crippled the war effort. All the fuel was in above-ground tanks and could have been easily destroyed. Many of the sailors who survived the sinking of the USS Arizona request that, upon their death, their ashes be interred in the remains of the ship with the buddies they served with. Let’s remember all the members of the armed forces who never got a chance to face the enemy, but who were still our first line of defense.