70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor coming up

The battleships were old and needed replacing. I find it odd that ALL of the carriers were out of the harbor that morning.:confused::confused:

The three aircraft carriers of the Pacific Fleet were not present. USS Saratoga (CV 3), just out of overhaul, was moored at San Diego. USS Lexington (CV 2) was at sea about 425 miles southeast of Midway toward which she was headed to deliver a Marine Scout Bombing Squadron. USS Enterprise (CV 6) was also at sea, about 200 miles west of Pearl Harbor, returning from Wake Island where she had delivered a Marine Fighter Squadron.
I'm not saying it was a conspiracy. Let's say it was convenient. Good for the US though and I'm all for that.

Oh and they are still Japs just like we're still Yanks.
 
The battleships were old and needed replacing. I find it odd that ALL of the carriers were out of the harbor that morning.:confused::confused:

The three aircraft carriers of the Pacific Fleet were not present. USS Saratoga (CV 3), just out of overhaul, was moored at San Diego. USS Lexington (CV 2) was at sea about 425 miles southeast of Midway toward which she was headed to deliver a Marine Scout Bombing Squadron. USS Enterprise (CV 6) was also at sea, about 200 miles west of Pearl Harbor, returning from Wake Island where she had delivered a Marine Fighter Squadron.
I'm not saying it was a conspiracy. Let's say it was convenient. Good for the US though and I'm all for that.

Oh and they are still Japs just like we're still Yanks.


The word is "Japanese," you idiot.
 
US marks Pearl Harbor 70 years on...
:cool:
Pearl Harbor's 70th anniversary remembered in US
7 December 2011 - Barely 120 survivors of the Pearl Harbor attacks remain
The Pearl Harbor attacks' few remaining survivors have led US commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the event that changed World War II's course. About 120 veterans joined military leaders at the Hawaii naval base as a moment of silence was observed at the time Japan sprung its offensive. President Barack Obama called for US flags to be flown at half mast on federal buildings across the country. Some 2,400 Americans died in the Japanese attacks of 7 December 1941. President Obama, who was born in Hawaii, hailed veterans of the bombing in a statement marking National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

'Greatest Generation'

"Their tenacity helped define the Greatest Generation and their valour fortified all who served during World War II," he said. "As a nation, we look to December 7 1941 to draw strength from the example set by these patriots and to honour all who have sacrificed for our freedoms." At 7:55 am (17:55 GMT), the moment Japanese bombers swooped on the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, a ceremony was held by the wreck of the USS Arizona, one of 12 vessels sunk that day seven decades ago. Nearly half of those killed in the attack died almost instantly on the Arizona, when a bomb detonated the giant battleship's munitions.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and military leaders were also among the several thousand people at Wednesday's event. A US Navy destroyer rendered honours to the Arizona to begin the moment of silence, before F-22 jets flew overhead in "missing man" formation. Over in Washington DC, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta laid a wreath at the US Navy Memorial at midday. The Pearl Harbor Survivors Association said it would disband after this year's landmark commemoration because so few veterans remained.

Thousands of survivors were on hand for the 50th anniversary of the attacks in 1991. As well as the dozen ships wrecked in the attack on Pearl Harbor, nine other vessels were damaged and the US lost 164 aeroplanes. Sixty-two Japanese died. Denouncing "a date which will live in infamy", President Franklin Roosevelt went to Congress for a declaration of war, which was approved within hours. Three days later, Germany declared war on the US. America's entry was to change the course of the conflict.

BBC News - Pearl Harbor's 70th anniversary remembered in US

See also:

Pearl Harbor survivors can return to their ships after death
7 Dec.`11 - — Lee Soucy decided five years ago that when he died, he wanted to join his shipmates killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Soucy lived to be 90, passing away just last year. On Tuesday, seven decades after dozens of fellow sailors were killed when the USS Utah sank on Dec. 7, 1941, Navy divers took a small urn containing his ashes and placed it in a porthole of the ship. The ceremony was one of five memorials being held this week for servicemen who lived through the assault and want their remains placed in Pearl Harbor out of pride and affinity for those they left behind. "They want to return and be with the shipmates that they lost during the attack," said Jim Taylor, a retired sailor who coordinates the ceremonies.

The memorials are happening the same week the country observes the 70th anniversary of the aerial bombing that killed 2,390 Americans and brought the United States into World War II. A larger ceremony to remember all those who perished will take place today just before 8 a.m. Hawaii time — the same moment the devastating attack began. Most of the 12 ships that sank or were beached that day were removed from the harbor, their metal hulls salvaged for scrap. Just the Utah and the USS Arizona still lie in the dark blue waters. Only survivors of those vessels may return in death to their ships.

The cremated remains of Vernon Olsen, who served aboard the Arizona, will be interred on his ship during a sunset ceremony today. The ashes of three other survivors are being scattered in the harbor. Soucy, the youngest of seven children, joined the Navy out of high school so he wouldn't burden his parents. In 1941, he was a pharmacist mate, trained to care for the sick and wounded. He had just finished breakfast that Sunday morning when he saw planes dropping bombs on airplane hangars. He rushed to his battle station after feeling the Utah lurch, but soon he heard the call to abandon ship as the vessel began sinking. He swam to shore, where he made a makeshift first-aid center to help the wounded and dying. He worked straight through for two days.

The Utah lost nearly 60 men on Dec. 7, and about 50 are still entombed in the battleship. Today, the rusting hull of the Utah sits on its side next to Ford Island, not far from where it sank 70 years ago. Soucy's daughter, Margaret, said her parents initially planned to have their ashes interred together at their church in Plainview, Texas. But her father changed his mind after visiting Pearl Harbor for the 65th anniversary in 2006. "He announced that he wanted to be interred on the Utah. And my mother looked a little hurt and perplexed. And I said, 'Don't worry, Daddy, I'll take that part of your ashes that was your mouth and I'll have those interred on the Utah. And you can then tell those that have preceded you, including those that were entombed, what's been going on in the world,' " Margaret Soucy recalled saying with a laugh.

" 'And the rest of your remains we will put with Mother in the church gardens at St. Mark's.' And then my sister spoke up and said, 'Yes, then Mother can finally rest in peace,' " she said. The family had long kidded Soucy for being talkative —they called him "Mighty Mouth" — so Margaret Soucy said her father laughed and agreed. "He just thought that was hilarious," she said. "So that is what we are doing. We're taking only a portion of his ashes. It's going to be a small urn," she said. Soucy's three children and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren — 11 family members altogether — planned to attend the sunset ceremony Tuesday. His wife died earlier this year.

Read more: Pearl Harbor survivors can return to their ships after death - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_19485936#ixzz1fttVM1h0
 
Last edited:
The three aircraft carriers of the Pacific Fleet were not present. USS Saratoga (CV 3), just out of overhaul, was moored at San Diego. USS Lexington (CV 2) was at sea about 425 miles southeast of Midway toward which she was headed to deliver a Marine Scout Bombing Squadron. USS Enterprise (CV 6) was also at sea, about 200 miles west of Pearl Harbor, returning from Wake Island where she had delivered a Marine Fighter Squadron.
I'm not saying it was a conspiracy. Let's say it was convenient. Good for the US though and I'm all for that.

Oh and they are still Japs just like we're still Yanks.


The word is "Japanese," you idiot.
Go fuck yourself. I've been to Japan. Have you? Most Japanese don't give a shit. Asshole.
 
I'm not saying it was a conspiracy. Let's say it was convenient. Good for the US though and I'm all for that.

Oh and they are still Japs just like we're still Yanks.


The word is "Japanese," you idiot.
Go fuck yourself. I've been to Japan. Have you? Most Japanese don't give a shit. Asshole.



I lived for years in Japan and go back every other year or so. Good enough? Anyone who knows how that particular racial epithet is used by the bigoted and ignorant does give a shit. Asshole.
 
The word is "Japanese," you idiot.
Go fuck yourself. I've been to Japan. Have you? Most Japanese don't give a shit. Asshole.



I lived for years in Japan and go back every other year or so. Good enough? Anyone who knows how that particular racial epithet is used by the bigoted and ignorant does give a shit. Asshole.

My grandmother used to call them "Japs". She had a PhD in art history.

When you're at war with a people, you might just tag them with a lightly derogatory phrase that's actually simply the first syllable of their actual name. You know, seeing as how they killed some of our people. Ever heard of the Bataan Death March? Would you begrudge those victims calling their murderers "Japs"? I guess what you'd do is give them a deep bow and apologize for being an American.
 
The word is "Japanese," you idiot.
Go fuck yourself. I've been to Japan. Have you? Most Japanese don't give a shit. Asshole.



I lived for years in Japan and go back every other year or so. Good enough? Anyone who knows how that particular racial epithet is used by the bigoted and ignorant does give a shit. Asshole.
Pearl Harbor. Bataan Death March. Kamakazie. Chinese death squads. Korean massacres. The Japanese earned a derogatory description. AND most Japanese are NOT offended. Except for PC cocksuckers such as yourself.:badgrin::badgrin:
 
Go fuck yourself. I've been to Japan. Have you? Most Japanese don't give a shit. Asshole.



I lived for years in Japan and go back every other year or so. Good enough? Anyone who knows how that particular racial epithet is used by the bigoted and ignorant does give a shit. Asshole.

My grandmother used to call them "Japs". She had a PhD in art history.


What does having a Phd in Art History have to do with it? You think educated people can't be irrational bigots?
 
The battleships were old and needed replacing. I find it odd that ALL of the carriers were out of the harbor that morning.:confused::confused:

The three aircraft carriers of the Pacific Fleet were not present. USS Saratoga (CV 3), just out of overhaul, was moored at San Diego. USS Lexington (CV 2) was at sea about 425 miles southeast of Midway toward which she was headed to deliver a Marine Scout Bombing Squadron. USS Enterprise (CV 6) was also at sea, about 200 miles west of Pearl Harbor, returning from Wake Island where she had delivered a Marine Fighter Squadron.

My Grandfather, a US Marine, was serving in Pearl Harbor on that day. He was aboard ship. He was lucky to be a survivor.
He died in March of 2001.
I am grateful he was not on this earth to witness 9/11.
RIP
 
most Japanese are NOT offended. :



You're wrong, ignorant shit.
Ever been to Brazil?:badgrin: The Japanese there call themselves: JAPS!! Fuck you.:badgrin:


Educated Brasilians also know not to use that racial epithet. Now, if you want to talk about Brasil, go start a thread on it and I'll ignore you there. Here, you need to get on topic, communicate without the childish racial epithets, and/or shut the fuck up.
 
Ever been to Brazil?:badgrin: The Japanese there call themselves: JAPS!! Fuck you.:badgrin:


Educated Brasilians also know not to use that racial epithet. Now, if you want to talk about Brasil, go start a thread on it and I'll ignore you there. Here, you need to get on topic, communicate without the childish racial epithets, and/or shut the fuck up.
Are you a Jap?


The word is "Japanese." You'll have to pose your question in non-racist-shitbag English if you want a response.
 
educated brasilians also know not to use that racial epithet. Now, if you want to talk about brasil, go start a thread on it and i'll ignore you there. Here, you need to get on topic, communicate without the childish racial epithets, and/or shut the fuck up.
are you a jap?


the word is "japanese." you'll have to pose your question in non-racist-shitbag english if you want a response.
あなたは日本人ですか
 
the word is "japanese." you'll have to pose your question in non-racist-shitbag english if you want a response.
あなたは日本人ですか




that's better. No, i am not.
私は謝罪したい。私は遠くの人をプッシュするために知られており、私は日本人のための尊敬を持っていることを知ってほしいしています。
 
あなたは日本人ですか




that's better. No, i am not.
私は謝罪したい。私は遠くの人をプッシュするために知られており、私は日本人のための尊敬を持っていることを知ってほしいしています。


Fair enough then. Accepted.
 
Got this in an email...
:cool:
Today is the 70th Anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. In light of that, I pass along the following:

3 Pearl Harbor Mistakes:

A very different and interesting conclusion of the December 7th attack on Pearl Harbor. Read on....

Tour boats ferry people out to the USS Arizona Memorial in Hawaii every thirty minutes.We just missed a ferry and had to wait thirty minutes. I went into a small gift shop to kill time. In the gift shop, I purchased a small book entitled, "Reflections on Pearl Harbor " by Admiral Chester Nimitz.Sunday, December 7th, 1941--Admiral Chester Nimitz was attending a concert in Washington D.C.

He was paged and told there was a phone call for him. When he answered the phone, it was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He told Admiral Nimitz that he (Nimitz) would now be the Commander of the Pacific Fleet. Admiral Nimitz flew to Hawaii to assume command of the Pacific Fleet. He landed at Pearl Harbor on Christmas Eve, 1941. There was such a spirit of despair, dejection and defeat - you would have thought the Japanese had already won the war.

On Christmas Day, 1941, Adm. Nimitz was given a boat tour of the destruction wrought on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. Big sunken battleships and navy vessels cluttered the waters every where you looked.As the tour boat returned to dock, the young helmsman of the boat asked, "Well Admiral, what do you think after seeing all this destruction?"

Admiral Nimitz's reply shocked everyone within the sound of his voice. Admiral Nimitz said, "The Japanese made three of the biggest mistakes an attack force could ever make, or God was taking care of America. Which do you think it was?"

Shocked and surprised, the young helmsman asked, "What do mean by saying the Japanese made the three biggest mistakes an attack force ever made?" Nimitz explained: Mistake number one: the Japanese attacked on Sunday morning. Nine out of every ten crewmen of those ships were ashore on leave. If those same ships had been lured to sea and been sunk-- we would have lost 38,000 men instead of 3,800.

Mistake number two: when the Japanese saw all those battleships lined in a row, they got so carried away sinking those battleships, they never once bombed our dry docks opposite those ships.If they had destroyed our dry docks, we would have had to tow everyone of those ships to America to be repaired. As it is now, the ships are in shallow water and can be raised. One tug can pull them over to the dry docks, and we can have them repaired and at sea by the time we could have towed them to America. And I already have crews ashore anxious to man those ships.

Mistake number three: Every drop of fuel in the Pacific theater of war is on top of the ground in storage tanks five miles away over that hill.One attack plane could have strafed those tanks and destroyed our fuel supply. That's why I say the Japanese made three of the biggest mistakes an attack force could make, or God was taking care of America .

I've never forgotten what I read in that little book. It is still an inspiration as I reflect upon it.In jest, I might suggest that because Admiral Nimitz was a Texan, born and raised in Fredricksburg , Texas -- he was a born optimist. But anyway you look at it--Admiral Nimitz was able to see a silver lining in a situation and circumstance where everyone else saw only despair and defeatism. President Roosevelt had chosen the right man for the right job.We desperately needed a leader that could see silver linings in the midst of the clouds of dejection, despair and defeat.

There is a reason that our national motto is, " IN GOD WE TRUST "
 

New Topics

Forum List

Back
Top