I'm old, but not so old that I was around on Pearl Harbor Day. But it WAS "recent history" to me as I grew up. And as I get older, events like that start to become "past history". But I do not forget.
The war in the Pacific was brutal. I had an uncle who fought there (Air Force). Family lore says he dropped a bomb into a Japanese Destroyer's smokestack ship and blew it up. The land forces had it harder.
And I know history. I know the Japanese actually tried to "declare war" officially preceding the attack but failed because of translation issues. And actually, the US fired the first shot on a mini-sub. Weird stuff happens.
It was an utterly evil and brutish war, similar to the Nazis and Soviets at Moscow. As US General Sherman once said "War is all Hell".
I don't forget Pearl Harbor. But sometimes out of chaos comes peace. The Japanese changed their views to the world. They, former Nazi Germany, and former Facist Italy are now democracies and allies. History is weird sometimes.
The world continues... But memories linger. War IS "all Hell".
In Issac Asimov's 'Foundation' books, one character says something like "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent". In real history, someone (Bismark?) said war is "the failure of politics".
So I am remembering today as a "failure of politics" that came from a series of historical developments that lead led to utter horror and butchery.
Still, I cry today the the loss of life...
