1993_12 The Daily Collegian December 1993

              /Ed
Wfyz 3Saili> Collegian
Tuesday, Nov. 7,1993
'oliimn
Remembering
Pearl Harbor
bombing
By Tim Springer
Staff Columnist
Today December 7,1993 is the
52nd anniversary of the bombing
of Pearl Harbor. The Arizona lies
quietly beneath the waters of the
Harbor while a lone white senti¬
nel, the Pearl Harbor Memorial,
stands guard over her and the 1,102
menentombed within. The memo-
rialdrawsthou-' 	
sands of people,
both American
and Japanese,
to pay their re¬
spects to the'
honored dead.
There- is no
more animosity
or anger, but
what happened
at Pearl Harbor
still evokes
some emotion
though, espe¬
cially from
those who were
alive and old
enough to un¬
derstand.
Franklin D. i
Roosevelt
refered to that
day, December 7,1941, as "a date
which will live in infamy" in his
address to Congress on toe follow¬
ing day, when he asked for a dec
laration of war between the United
States, and The Empire of Japan.
"Remember Pearl Harbor" became
the battle cry as an enraged nation
geared up for war. Admiral Isoroko J
Yarnamoto, the chief planner of
the attack, when he heard that the
attack oh Pearl Harbor was started
before the Japanese declaration of
war was delivered to the United
States Government, became wor¬
ried that all the Japanese had done
was "to have awakened a sleeping
giant and filled him with a terrible
resolve." How true bis statement
tumea out to be. America recov¬
ered from Pearl Harbor and went
on to push her way back across the
Pacific to the Islands of Japan.
America, before Pearl Harbor,
     was in many
ways asleep in
its awareness
of world af¬
fairs and too
its own ability
to be a world
power.
In the years
that have fol¬
lowed the at¬
tack on Pearl
Harbor there
have been
many drffer-
ing opinions
concerning
the events that
lead up to the
attack. Many
people blame
^^^^^^_ Franklin D.
Roosevelt for
various reasons. Others blame'
General Walter Short and Admiral
Husband E. Kimmil, who were the
commanders of the Army and Na¬
val forces at Hawaii in 1941, for
not being prepared for the attack.
The attack on Pearl Harbor was
a turning point that set the United
Stales on a course from which it
cannot return and changed forever
our role in world affairs. America,
in many ways, would never be the
The attack on
Pearl Harbor
was a turning
point thai set the
United States on
a course from
which it cannot
return and
changed forever
our role in world
affairs.
same after World War H.
Many people may wonder: Why
is it important to remember an
event that happened so long ago
and in a place so far away? The
answer is simple. First, we need to
remember and honor those who
gave their lives at Pearl Harbor
and World War II. so that we today
might live free, Second, we need
to remember the lessons of Pearl
Harbor so that never again will we
as a nation be caught asleep, while
there are dangers lurking in the
world about us.
In the final analysis it can be
said that Pearl Harbor and its after¬
math have left an indelible mark
on the fabric of American society,
in mat we will never again be able
to isolate ourselves from die world
around us. That is our burden.
•■,-'
RPR WS TIKP OF PLAYING THE
This la the last week to
•end in your letters of
opinion
TOje IBatlp Collegian
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