A Pearl Harbor Remembrance
In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in a speech to a joint session of Congress, stated that December 7th would be a “Date that would live in Infamy”. I would argue that today, over 8 decades later, it must also be a Date of Remembrance.
While the passage of time has perhaps not dimmed some of the major lessons of that day: knowing an opponent, the need for synthesized intelligence, tactical success versus strategic failure, and the tenacity and ability of Americans to sacrifice when united towards a common purpose, it is important to remember lesser-known facts and figures from that day.
In a little over an hour, the devastation caused by the Japanese surprise attack included 3478 US military casualties, of which 2335 were killed and 1143 wounded; 19 navy ships destroyed or damaged, including 8 battleships, and 338 Navy and Army Air Corps aircraft destroyed or damaged.
The largest loss of life occurred on the USS Arizona, the last of the Pennsylvania class battleships. Of its 1512 sailors and Marines aboard that morning, 1177 were killed, including 17 Pennsylvanians, who went down with the ship and remain entombed there. Only 355 members of Arizona’s crew survived the attack. The last Pearl Harbor survivor, Lou Conter of Grass Valley, CA, passed away on April 1st, 2024, He was 102 years old.
For those who did not wear the uniform of our nation’s sea services, eight bells signify the end of a four-hour watch. In maritime tradition eight bells also symbolize that a sailor’s or Marine’s “watch” or time on Earth has ended. Let us pause for a moment of silence* to remember those lost that day, and imagine the tolling of eight bells.
Editor’s Note: Composed and spoken by Michael Brooker, Member-at-Large, at the beginning of the 5 December 2025 Pennsylvania State Veterans’ Commission meeting. It is important never to forget this disastrous moment in our history, for multiple reasons. The lessons of the past have relevance today.
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RJH
7 December 2015
* The state government – despite the preamble in our commonwealth’s constitution – does not allow invocations at such meetings; and in ignorance of the traditions of military veterans organizations and federal government practices – the creator of veterans. Hence, the meek moment of silence.
