Pearl Harbor Remembered by Craig Covello
Monday was December 7.
Not too long ago that date was fairly significant in the media. But this year, I was troubled by the lack of remembrance from our leaders in Washington. President Obama was conspicuously silent regarding any acknowledgment, let alone thanks, for the sacrifices my parent's generation made to keep our nation free. I did some searches on Google News, thinking that perhaps our president may have actually traveled to Honolulu or at least made a speech on the White House lawn which might not have been significant enough for the Los Angeles Times, CNN or CNBC to cover. It appears that he did not. The truth is that our federal leaders are consumed with much more important issues such as cap and trade, socialized healthcare and the impending destruction of our planet by CO2 emissions. Funny how manufactured emergencies take precedent over remembrance of those who fought real threats to our freedom, if not our very existence, back on December 7, 1941. On that day, the Japanese successfully launched a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. It resulted in the destruction of 188 US airplanes, four battleships, three cruisers, three destroyers and caused the death of more than 2200 sailors and Marines. The noise of the bombs, explosions, artillery fire and screams that day must have been deafening, but perhaps not quite as deafening as the silence yesterday.
So I picked up the phone and called my dad just to thank him for his service to our country in World War II.
He was surprised, but I explained that since our president wasn't going to thank him, then that job should probably fall to me.
It was a great conversation. He shared with me some details regarding his army years that I had not known, including the fact that he was only 18 years old when he joined the service. That is the same age as my youngest son is now who is studying jazz at the University of North Texas. My dad, however, at age 18 had completed basic training at Fort Ord and now was on a ship headed for the invasion of Japan. Somewhere in the middle of the Pacific these brave kids, who were headed for harms way, looked up and saw several of our planes flying overhead with an important radio message. There had been victory for the United States in Japan, which is now commemorated as VJ Day. So the invasion didn't happen, which is lucky for me since I might not have "happened" if my father hadn't survived. Instead, he was reassigned to the island of Iwo Jima with orders to build a radar installation atop Mt. Suribachi. Coincidently, Mt. Suribachi was also the location where a famous picture was taken on February 23, 1945 by Joe Rosenthal. It depicted five United States Marines and a U.S. Navy corpsmen raising the flag of the United States during the battle of Iwo Jima. Pretty hallowed ground. Ground my dad walked upon.
As he spoke of his experiences in service to our country, my father must have said at least twice "that was a long, long time ago", inferring somehow that the significance of his service days had diminished in light of more recent events. I disagree. It may have been a long, long time ago, but that doesn't lessen the contribution our World War II veterans have made to this country. A contribution that should be remembered every single year, regardless of whoever is in the White House.
Copyright 2009 by Craig Covello. Used with Permission. All Rights Reserved.
Labels: Barack Obama, Craig Covello, Military, World War II
posted by Frank T. DeMartini @ 9:47 AM
7 Comments:
Well that was both depressing and sobering at the same time for me. Although I was not unaware of this before I read it the fact still remains or should I say facts?
My Uncle Frank was on the Arizona that morning and was blown out of the ship and into the sea still in his underwear. He was pulled from the water covered in hot oil and sea water onto another ship but managed to crawl on board and unlock a machine gun to return fire. He did so and continued to fight until the ship he was on sank also to the point that the angle of the deck made the gun unusable.
This would be a great scene for a film now days and is very similar to Cuba Gooding Jr. in “Pearl Harbor”. The sad thing is…nobody seems to care that it really happened. More people seem concerned about movie actors than the real men and women that gave their lives that day.
My father fought in WWII and I have not one but two purple hearts he received there in our family album. He was on the front lines through Italy and saw more death than any man should. He came home, married my Mother and went on with life like it never happened. He hardly ever talked about it unless he was remembering the good times with his fellow soldiers.
Both my Dad and Uncle Frank are gone now but I try to keep their stories alive when I can. I find it strange now days that a soldier that is captured in war returns a hero when people like my Father and Uncle Frank…well...just return. But I guess that’s another blog.
Thanks for read…
Bruce Carson
I agree, even with the current war and all the problems facing our country, we should always remember the hard work and great sacrafice of our world war II vererans.
Gary Alamin
They are what made and still make this country great. True heroes all. Great article Craig
My family was also deeply effected by WWII. My dad was stationed in Japan during the occupation. He was one of the lucky ones.
My uncle Peter was shot down over Amsterdam in 1944 and was never seen or heard from again. The only thing that was recovered and buried were his dog tags and that was in 1948.
My uncle Ralph was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome after seeing action in Europe. I think it was the Battle of the Bulge. He was hospitilized in Utah after the war and underwent years of shock therapy. He was never the same Eventually he married, but died of liver problems caused by alcoholism in the mid-70s. The alcholism was probably related to the Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. We will never know.
My prayers and heartfelt thanks to everyone the served in that war and all before or since.
Here is an example of how easy we forget what counts and look towards the media hype. I checked this out and found it to be SAD but TRUE. Don't take my word for it...check it out yourselves.
There recently was a death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena. During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the WarsawGhetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an 'ulterior motive' ... She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German.) Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids..) She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family. Most had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted.
Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize ... She was not selected.
Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming.
Bruce Carson...
Bruce it's true. I did a fair amount of research on her. She was a true human being and the world deserves to know just what she did and how she suffered for it. And yes she deserved the Nobel Prize over all that were nominated. It is a sad testiment to the times and the worlds short sightedness.
12/14/09 Blog
This is an example of talent almost wasted on vacuous commentary. The message is easy, simple and eternal. Apple pie and motherhood will always be the same, the culture changes, while humanity does not change. The love, respect and honor due those who preceded us, have sacrificed for us, is as precious as patriotism. Evil exists and the battle is eternal. This is nostalgia. If one wants to fight the opposition today with WWII memories, antidotes and strategies, we will lose.
Sure yesterday had unique issues, a lower standard of living, common sense individuals, and tomorrow will possess its own proprietary exclusivity of successes and tribulations. The authors here generally do a wonderful job of writing blogs about the reality of current affairs. You must take stock and ask yourselves “are you engaging the opposition” for the purpose of “Hope and Change?” Forgive the trite hyperbole for effect. Yes, I know, it is boilerplate for emotion without thought, analysis without solutions or, God Forbid, a new hypothesis without substance. Therein lays the comparison.
Look deep into the nuance and you are faced with the mirror of your soul which asks simply “Do you have a solid moral compass or not?” The rest is window dressing, a salve of conscience and justification for a willingness to compromise a conscience for the liberal “feel good” mantra, or an unwillingness to embrace conservative principals due to the price that must be paid. And you ask why there was no mention of Peal Harbor in the news on December 7, 2009?
There is a tendency to construct a picture frame, an empty suit, an ocean of political correct words in the expectation that the reader will fill the appropriate vacuum. It doesn’t work that way with serious, thinking, and intellectually curious citizens.
This approach failed those in the Jewish ghettos as they became distracted, apathetic to conflict, subservient to evil to the point where when resistance became indispensable it was too late for most, and the others had to be rescued. Is anyone familiar with the Cloward and Piven strategy?
If you are going to stand for something, let it be more than just a historical reference. Progress always carries a price. Get over it and get on with the work of fighting for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness….and not remembering when.
It is hard to critic people you like but we are in this mess because conservatives “allowed” it to happen. Don’t forget it! Don’t let it continue! Don’t let it happen again!
Engage the opposition. Stop trying to convince yourself you are noble, right or even relevant. The heroes are those who fight and even die without honor without acknowledgement. This is the empty arena of successful conservatism. Engage the opposition
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