Pearl Harbor
- Thread starter Coupe
- Start date
If you ever get to Hawaii and it might be your only opportunity, don't miss Pearl Harbor. Every American who has the chance should visit the Arizona Memorial.
Damn Germans. (Edit to add this: 
. Would wager that someone here might miss my poor attempt at humor.)
^^^ This is correct. That wreck is still leaking oil to this day. It was a very sobering experience.
. Would wager that someone here might miss my poor attempt at humor.)^^^ This is correct. That wreck is still leaking oil to this day. It was a very sobering experience.
Damn Germans. (Edit to add this:
Not any Faber College alums, they didn’t give up after that!
My dad was a 40mm gunner on the USS Hornet after the original was destroyed at Pearl Harbor. He had many nightmarish stories of all the men trapped in the ships that were not able to be saved. It seems every generation becomes less concerned about wat a truely horrible day that was for untold numbers of americans.Espcially for all the mothers that lost theyre babies that day.
And still some of the old veterans who were there when the Japanese attacked can be seen at the tour facility there. There can't be many of them left.Damn Germans. (Edit to add this:
^^^ This is correct. That wreck is still leaking oil to this day. It was a very sobering experience.
That's great duty. Hawaii is a wonderful place to visit. Appreciate your sons' service.
God Bless our Navy!!
My brother who is in the Navy was stationed in Hawaii for several years. While visiting we had the unique experience of being able to visit Ford Island. You can only drive there if you are military or ex military.
The main building and the original air tower still have the original bullet holes from the attack.
Very sobering
The main building and the original air tower still have the original bullet holes from the attack.
Very sobering
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Bump. Time is passing and our country is forgetting Pearl Harbor. Don’t let that happen.
According to a news segment from CNN I watch with my students sometimes, there are 5 total surviving members of the Arizona alive today.
I sailed into Pearl in July of 1979 while serving. The feeling was sobering standing on deck and saluting the Arizona as we went by.
Sometimes we forget that freedom is not truly free! God bless those brave men/families that were affected on a day that would later change the course of history.
Kudos to your dad's service, however, the first USS Hornet was not at Pearl Harbor, and served over a year before being abandoned at sea from too much damage. It was shortly thereafter sunk by Japanese subs. The Hornet had the distinct honor of launching Doolittle's Raiders on the attack upon Tokyo, as well as a pivotal role at Midway. A legendary ship in navy lore.
I had a great uncle on Big Ben, the USS Franklin, "The ship that wouldn't die". It lost over 800 men in it's final battle, but didn't sink. My great uncle survived being trapped below the waterline for over two hours, with a 19 degree list.
I had the privilege of meeting Phil Rasmussen shortly before he died in 2005. He was the pilot who ran to his plane in his pajamas, got airborne, and shot down a Zero. He managed to land after his plane was severely damaged. They counted over 500 bullet holes in his P-36.
Yeah. U.S Aircraft Carriers were the main target for the Japanese air attack on Pearl Harbor, but no U.S Aircraft Carriers was docked in the harbor that day.
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God bless the greatest generation ever.
I fear that our country doesn't have what it takes to pull something like that off again.
I fear that our country doesn't have what it takes to pull something like that off again.
I think you may be mixing up the Hornet with the Yorktown. Both were crippled by multiple air attacks but Yorktown (at Midway) was the one finished off by a Jap sub. The Hornet (at Santa Cruz) was sunk by torpedos from a Jap destroyer.
You are right about the Franklin. That kamikaze attack was devestating yet she wouldn't go down despite a huge hole blown through the flight deck all the way to the hull. Roosevelt was so upset about the loss of life on the Franklin he mentions it in one of his cables to Churchill. Something along lines of one suicide pilot being able to kill 800 men and his concerns of the Japanese resorting to the new tactic of suicide attacks. Your uncle was lucky and a Hero. Thank God for the WW2 generation.
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I assumed the torpedoes were from submarines. You are correct destroyers fired those torpedoes.
I don't think you will ever get anywhere near the same level of patriotism that America experienced after the attack on Pearl Harbor. People were proud to be American! I would imagine if the same happened today Twitter would probably crash with idiots saying that we shouldn't retaliate and America deserved it because (fill-in blank)! Whatever their agenda is!
That is so true. We live in the United States of the Offended
A lot fewer native born Americans now. Most have zero allegiance to the Usa. Becoming an American used to be a huge thing for anyone from elsewhere. Now all you have to do is cross the border. It is a recipe for the breakdown of the American identity.....what it means to be an American. Tear that identity down and then people don’t think it’s worth fighting for. Much different time.
My grandfather was on the USS Tennessee on that day. I have a letter he wrote my grandmother a couple days after describing the scene. There were several things in the letter that you don't hear on the TV shows. 1 thing he said was that the Japanese tried to land troops onto the island but the boats were destroyed by US soldiers, killing anywhere from 2-300 Japanese soldiers in each transport boat. Thought that was kinda interesting when I read the letter.
Yes, both experiences of Pearl Harbor and Ford Island are on the “must do list” if ever on Oahu. I’ve been fortunate enough to do it twice. While it affected me, I think it may had a stronger impact on my wife.
Many immigrants fought and died for the United States during World War II. Many continue to fight and die for the United States today.
They came here legally and waited years. They became Americans. They identified themselves as such. They became us. We didn’t become them.
Thanks for the post Coupe . Some of the national news media didn't even bring it up Thursday
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