never let our guard down again? working below deck on the ship I served on I ocassionally thought of the fear our guys experienced...surrounded by ordinance and fuel, trying to escape fire and water, may God rest their souls.

Amen.

Here is a good word from a fellow down under!

". . . Gentlemen, also of importance, from the southern hemisphere down under, we salute the bravery of those also who sacrificed their lives in defence in Malaya (earlier) and the Philippines (later). This was some hours before Pearl Harbour but on the 8th December 1941. (On the other dateline side per 08/12/41)

It's also the 66th anniversary of the RAAF (1 and 8 Sqns RAAF Hudsons) attacking the Japanese invasion fleet off Kota Bahru, Malaya."

Many good men gave their all on Dec. 7 & 8 1941.

Salud!

My late father (Robert Sumners) was a Pearl Harbor survivor, on the USS Utah. He was asleep in his bunk at 8:01 am when the first torpedo struck. By the time he made his way in the dark to the deck, the ship was already listing severely--he jumped into the water (which, considering the angle of the ship at the time, was probably more of a "run down the side" than a "jump" into the water), swam ashore, and jumped into a Works Progress Administration ditch on Ford Island, still in his underwear, as the Utah capsized by about 8:15 am, after its mooring lines snapped. There wasn't much more he could do--he watched the Arizona explode, and all the other hell break loose, for the duration of the attack. The next day he volunteered to help pull bodies out of the Arizona. He was 18 then--he died in 1999 at 76. 58 men had died on the Utah at Pearl Harbor that day.

http://www.ussutah.org/crews.htm

I was able to be on a host ship for a Pearl harbor rememberance and some survivors of Dec.7 came on board to lay a wreath from the fo'csle- I remember vividly that although these were old men with broken bodies I could see a fire in thier eyes that was truly inspiring - God bless them all -Fair winds and following seas!
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/e/t/eternalf.htm

I was deeply saddend and troubled as the other day in one of my teaching classes (with all content areas) (I'm going to be a H.S. Agriculture Teacher) when my instructor said "turn in papers on Dec. 7th...an inportant day for us. Can anyone tell me why?" And no student teachers (except me) knew what the instructor was talking about. The silence was amazing! That was especially scary seeing as we hold the future in our hands!