Day of Infamy
With the 70th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, it feels like the passing of an age is upon us. Fewer and fewer of those alive during those times–particularly those who fought–are still alive today. It seems the emotional resonance that past remembrances of the “day that will live in infamy” began to dampen over the last few years, particularly as we live in the shadow of our own more contemporary tragedy of 9/11. Nonetheless, brave men fought and died for our nation on December 7, 1941 and their sacrifices should not be forgotten.
I am trying to remember how long it has been, seems like 15 years. The national evening news always gave coverage of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. With original footage of the Jap planes bombing and contemporary film of the oil still bubbling up from the Arizona.
They usually included the famous audio clip of “this is no drill, this is no drill”. Trivia fans wil like to know that the sailor/radioman who announced that on the loudspeakers was Jason Robards.
As many might suspect, the Japanese commander had gone to Harvard.