PEARL HARBOR DAY - 71ST ANNIVERSARY

Eleven years, two months and two weeks before I was born, these United States entered into a state of war with the Empire of Japan after Japanese Naval air forces attacked our military bases in Hawaii.

 

 

Three years and a day or two shy of eight months later, two applications of the mightiest and most terrible weapons then to date to be wrought by the hands of men finally brought the Japanese to their knees.

 

 

Much wailing has been made by the Left regarding this first use of nuclear arms. But there were much more sinister elements than just one sneak attack characterizing our new enemies Japan and her ally, National Socialist Germany.

 

Japan had been running amok in Asia - particularly China - for months before this attack. The infamous "Rape of Nanking" featured Japanese soldiers playing games in which they would compete to see who could best catch a Chinese baby, thrown in the air, on a bayonet. Surviving infants were swung by the heels and brained against a building corner. Woe betide the American soldier or airman who fell into the hands of the Japanese. American soldiers and airmen suffered not only on the infamous Bataan Death March but in medical experiments which might have made Nazi SS "Doctor" Josef Mengele puke.

 

 

Yes, we also declared war on Germany, after Germany - being obligated by her treaty with Japan - declared war on us. And Germany had her own set of horrors. But Germany (mostly) treated captured Allied troops halfway decently - albeit a few were sent into the Gestapo prison and concentration camp system - and the European war was fought - mostly, compared to the Pacific war - according to agreed-to, "civilized" limits. Still, the European war was no picnic. But let it be known that had I been a youngster in the military at that time, I should have preferred to have been sent to Europe rather than the Pacific.

 

The Japanese were a fanatical pack of religious nutbars who thought Emporer Hirohito was God incarnate. The most dread weapons of the Japanese were the suicide attacks not only by "kamikaze" airmen but by massive "Banzai" charges on land.

 

In the end, it was correctly concluded that there was only one way to stop suicidal nutbars. And they had to be told twice, first at Hiroshima and then at Nagasaki. 

 

Today we are in the 12th year of a conflict with similar suiccidal religious nutbars. And not only have we not even contemplated using the only proven remedy, we are allowing the nutbars to get ever closer to possessing a nuclear device themselves.  And what do we do??

 

During WWII, we did not have an annual gathering at the final resting place of the USS Battleship Arizona.  Only after the war, only after 400,000 Americans lost their lives fighting these tyrants, did we start with the memorials and the weeping.

 

When Japan attacked, we got real serious real fast and stayed that way all the way to victory. We haven't been serious about the present conflict since about three months after "9-11".  It's about time we dusted off the "kamikaze medicine" and used it.