Don't Forget

Sixty four years ago today, the now second deadliest foreign attack on US soil took place in Hawaii.  Four years later "major combat" in that war ended.  Mopping up and reconstruction continued for years after.  We destroyed an enemy, and out of his destruction, that enemy became one of our greatest friends.  Japanese fighting men are now here with us, helping a former enemy become a good friend.  It was not easy then.  It is not easy now.  Terrible prices have been paid to re-learn the lessons of history.  As a Soldier, December 7th is a date that I always notice on the calendar along with June 6th, and September 11th.  I don't want to pay that price again - not at home, caught off guard.  Every sixty years is too often.  We fight them here so we don't have to fight them at home.  Vigilance - It's not just for the immediate aftermath anymore...

PS.  Howard Dean apparently does not want to be thought a fool.  He has again opened his mouth and removed all doubt.  On what expertise does he base his opinion?  This is very winnable.  The first key to winning is not quitting.  Thanks to Redstate for the picture that says it all.

Comments

[robert lettiere]

great post Major K.

[THIRDWAVEDAVE]

We haven't forgotten. Think of you often and pray for your safe return.

[Gypsy]

Never Forget.

As for Dean, well....I can't find words polite enough to comment further.

[Cathy]

I'm with Gypsy...

[MissBirdlegs in AL]

I'm with y'all (on Howie)!

We'll never forget!

[Papa Ray]

It really hurts me to say this, but trying to get an American public to think about something that happened many years ago is just wasted effort.

They don't even remember what happened on 9/11 just a few years ago.

To top it all off they don't know anything about Islam and really don't want to know. They just want to be left alone to take care of their own business.

Don't think it will change much even if we are attacked again, losing even more thousands of American lives.

In a few years they will forget again.

Papa Ray
West Texas
USA

[Tina]

I echo Papa Ray's sentiments. Sadly history is being rewritten in the textbooks. Key details and facts are omitted. Teachers are not encouraged to teach ALL of the past any more.
Much gratitude to you, Major K. Won't forget then and now.
Tina
Glendora, CA USA

[paul]

In the same amount of time it took to defeat the Axis (the real one, not the PR version) on two fronts, across two oceans, and to arm the world for the fight, from Dec 7 to VJ Day, we have not captured Osama bin Laden, we have not pacified Iraq, we have not brought peace to Afghanistan.

Say what you like about Dean, but to reference Dec 7 brings up comparisons I don't think help your President at all.

[Retired Master Chief]

First let me take this opportunity to thank you and all the other bloggers for telling the REAL story of our, yes OUR, war for survival.

MissBirdlegs is so right in her assessment of today's America. We are raising a generation of kids that doesn't have any clue as to our history, our battles to give them the life that they live.

We live in a "college" town where in our neighborhood alone, there are several houses purchased by out of town and out of touch parents for their offspring to live while attending school. These are the same kids that protest our recruiter's presence on their campus, protest a war in Iraq that, if not won, will surely affect their future, college grad or not. These kids are self-absorbed in there college parties, video games, sex and hatred of American values (except as these values are good for them).

I'm scared to death that America has no future with this generation. And then....and then.....I read your blog and the blogs of others like you. And I wonder, where do we get these men and women? Are they from the same country I live in? And I know you are.....and I'm thankful that you are there, protecting the majority of Americans, not only from themselves, but from the evil that would destroy us.

Thank you Major K. for what you and your troops do for us. Be safe, be strong and most of all, know that there are many back here that respect you and what you are doing for us.

Retired USN MCPO

[Don Miguel]

Thanks, Major K! My Dad was one of those who fought against the Japanese and although it took years, he came to regard them as friends.

paul:

Let me point out what should be obvious to most people. In WWII, the United States didn't have the press publishing intelligence secrets and other matters that are a direct threat to our troops, the Republicans were not publicly second-guessing every move FDR and the military made, there were not American organizations actively undermining the war and actively supporting the enemy, and most important of all, the public actually accepted the fact that we were in a war for our lives.

BTW, if you knew your history, you would know that Germany was not pacified until a few years after the war and that the active Nazi resistance was not supported by neighboring countries.

[Retired Master Chief]

Dean now claims to be taken out of context on the radio show....Murtha also claims he was taken out of context, that he really didn't mean immediate withdrawal, but re-deployment...to Okinawa?

Maybe that's their problem, they don't speak the same language as the rest of us. I know I understood exactly what each of them, along with Kerry's claim of "terrorist" U.S. soldiers, meant.

I guess they just throw it against the wall to see if it sticks, and if it doesn't, they can claim "out of context". Where do we get these idiots that think we are all so stupid?

Major K: be safe and be strong. You are on the high road to victory and you shall not be denied.

[PebblePie]

I've been away on vacation, just returned home, have much catching up to do.
Love the post, gee I feel so out of the loop
:^(