R. Doug Wicker — Author

The Hawaiian Islands Campaign — December 7, 1941

Seventy-three years ago today the Greatest Generation confronted their own version of 9/11.  That was the day the Japanese attacked in two waves Pearl Harbor, Hickam Field, Ford Naval Air Station, Bellows Field, and Wheeler Field.  Alas that generation rose to the occasion far better than did we.  While there were missteps along the way during the aftermath of that attack — such as the abhorrent treatment of Americans of Japanese descent — almost the entire populace contributed to the war effort with honor and sacrifice, and 10 million men between the ages of 18 and 45 were conscripted into military service.  Today we ask far too much from far too few, and then renege on what little promises we do make to them when the battles end and the wars wind down.  But that’s a topic for another blog.

Today is for the remembrance of those who lost their lives December 7, 1941, and those who would lose their lives in the wake of that attack.

The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial