Pearl Harbor Day

Though there are only a hand full of survivors left to observe the "day that will live in infamy" they still gathered in Honolulu for the observance.  It is still one of the most amazing events in history for me.  In this day of radar and GPS and satellites it seems inconceivable that the Japanese fleet could sneak up on Pearl Harbor and almost succeed in wiping out the US Navy in the Pacific.

I have been to that historic location and the USS Arizona memorial is sobering.  Though it has been 69 years, an oil slick still seeps from the wreckage of that battleship.  The memorial is a wonderful historic site and a gathering place for generations who come to try to understand what happened.  Surprisingly, a good number of Japanese tourists visit as well.  The souvenir books are printed in English and Japanese, a somewhat surrealistic touch.

The reality of the present would seem surrealistic to people who fought and died that day.  Both Americans and Japanese would marvel at the thriving trade and enduring friendship that have been established between our two countries. 

I hope someday people will visit the 9/11 memorial and wonder how such a tragedy happened and how countries who are now such good allies could have ever been so cruel.  That remains a dream, but perhaps it can come true if we have really learned the lessons of the past.