Pearl Harbor, 1941

As many readers of this blog know I was stationed at Pearl Harbor for almost four years. I spent that time stationed on the nuclear powered attack submarine USS Pintado, SSN 672.

While stationed at Pearl harbor I met my wife.

December 7th is truly a "day of infamy" to me.

The Japanese navy attacked Pearl Harbor in a vicious sneak attack and killed 2403 service men and 68 civilians. The United States (Especially the United States Navy) was handed a huge loss in both life and in material.

Hawaii is the most "peaceful" place I have ever lived. There are many mornings that I woke up from a duty day (24 hours spent on the submarine) and went up on the deck of the submarine and looked out over Pearl Harbor and tried to imagine what it must have been like for American sailors on the morning of December 7th, 1941.

I never could imagine it...

I would like to think that we learned something from the events that transpired that day; however, I do not think that we have.

I think we should have learned two major lessons from that day:

1. We are always susceptible to attack. We must always remain vigilant. The United States military should always be the strongest fighting force in the world and it should always be ready to engage any foes that may arise. The military must never be caught "asleep" again.

2. Many people still fail to understand why Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because of our trade policy and because of Japan's desire to expand their Empire. We must always watch other counties and we must monitor their goals and their pursuit of those goals.

I do not think most Americans have learned anything from the events that occurred on December 7th, 1941.

I think most Americans are more interested in Brittany Spears and whether she wears underwear or not...

Mike Sylvester