December 7 a day to remember Pearl Harbor

On the morning of the 7th of December 1941 aircraft were launched from six aircraft carriers of the Japanese Empire just north of Oahu, Hawaii. 353 fighters, bomber and torpedo planes were on a mission to destroy the U.S. Naval fleet at Pearl Harbor. At 7:48 a.m. they struck. It was a hammer blow that nearly destroyed the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Ninety minutes later Pearl Harbor was a smoking ruin from blasted battleships burning and sunk in the shallow water. Hickam airfield and its aircraft bombed to bits burned with fury. The aircraft carriers which were the high target item by the Japanese were at sea on a training mission, missing out on the attack. 2,403 Americans died, and 1,178 were wounded. It was just the beginning of the horrors of a world at war.

America was plunged into the Second World War by this surprise attack, though the war had been raging across the globe since September 1939. President Franklin D. Roosevelt said Dec. 7, 1941, would be “a date which will live in infamy” in his speech asking Congress to declare war the next day. It was a war that cost the lives of millions worldwide and changed our nation — and indeed the rest of the world — forever.

The Korean War began June 25, 1950, and is one of the bloodiest conflicts of the Cold War era. It is sometimes known as “The Forgotten War,” but I can guarantee no one who fought in it has forgotten. Nor has the Korean War been forgotten by any who have served in the U.S. Armed forces since, including this old soldier.

What do these two different conflicts they have in common? The aging veterans of both are passing away in record numbers. All too soon they will become history as death takes them one by one. Time is not on their side as others try to honor their sacrifices. This was the idea behind the honor flights of veterans to Washington, D.C. Some of their stories I have written about in this paper.

In the past I have known a few Pearl Harbor survivors when I was living down in Seattle in the 1990s. One of them was a sailor of the battleship Arizona. He was in the ship’s band. Two others were U.S. Army soldiers from Hickam Field. I believe they have passed on over the years.

And I have had the honor to know more than a few Korean War veterans over the years. Both the veterans of World War II and Korea have told me some great stories and became good friends over time.

Now you might wondering why I talking about these proud veterans. There is a great way to meet some of them. Some were on the Last Frontier Honor flights earlier this year.

American Legion Post 35 of Wasilla, 5050 Tweed Court, will host an appreciation dinner for veterans of World War II and the Korean War and their families on Pearl Harbor Day, Dec. 7.

The public is invited, too. The Wasilla ROTC will post the colors and some children from the Catholic school will put on a musical skit honoring the veterans. It sounds like fun, to be honest. And it all kicks off Sunday at 2 p.m., or 1400 for us old GI types. A donation of $10 is suggested.

The legion has been doing this for years, but it’s something I’m just learning about. Well, you know what? I need to get out more, don’t I? And it is only a short drive up the Parks Highway from my home off Seldon Road. So I will drive over this Sunday at 1400 and spend some time honoring some great examples of selfless service to this nation, one veteran to another.

Wasilla resident Daniel D. Grota retired from the U.S. Army after more than 21 years of service.