Some anniversaries are better than others. We humans never want to forget the good and bad.
Tomorrow, we observe the 75th anniversary of the horrifically effective bombing of the American naval fleet in Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941. This surprise attack resulted in 2,467 military personnel killed, 1,178 wounded, 19 ships sunk or damaged or destroyed and 376 aircraft destroyed or damaged. On Dec. 8, the United States declared war on Japan.
Born in 1945, I’ve learned about the attack on Pearl Harbor through the movies, books and newspaper articles. “Pearl Harbor” became synonymous for a deadly surprise and incredible human and capital destruction. It became a standard by which Americans determined military readiness. It was a rallying cry against complacency in the national security arena. It was a 20th century disaster.
Until September 11, 2001. What we know simply as “9/11.” More about a 21st catastrophe in a few paragraphs.
This is what I know about the effect of Pearl Harbor. It spawned a wellspring of hatred against the Japanese. It drove paranoia about Japanese-
Americans, some of whom on the West Coast were interned by the U.S. government. In my lifetime, I’ve sensed and experienced outright bias against Japan, as in a refusal on the part of many in the World War generation to purchase Japanese cars. The inhumane Bataan Death March did little to produce a favorable opinion of our wartime adversaries.
Time and rational thinking have dissolved bias against Japan. And so have the influx of superbly efficient and well-built Japanese cars, beginning more than 40 years ago. While I’ve heard derogatory comments about Japanese cars and other products from the World War II generation, I’ve generally ignored them. Quality won over many skeptics.
Now, Japan is a reliable ally. American and Japanese industries are closely entwined. The attack on Pearl Harbor is meaningless in our current thinking. It’s as if the Battle of Pearl Harbor is a distant, maybe irrelevant memory.
Of course, it was relevant. It awakened Americans to threats posed by countries in Southeast Asia. It broadened our geo-political and global thinking.
For the 21st century, nothing can match the horror of the terrorist attack on United States territory on September 11, 2001. Nearly 3,000 lives were lost from airplanes striking the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in northern Virginia and a crash in Shanksville, PA.
More than lives were lost. So was our sense of security. Our homeland was attacked with unimaginable efficiency and viciousness.
Though 15 years have passed since the shocking attacks on 9/11, the heartache and fear still exists. By necessity, our nation and its culture changed. Airports, equipped with strenuous and time-consuming security, precludes—but not altogether– the formerly typical mad dashes through airports by late-arriving passengers. Office buildings, both private and government, often seem like fortresses. Understandably so.
Many of us knew family and friends who worked in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. This brazen act of terrorism personally affected thousands and thousands of people in its aftermath. I lost a college friend and lacrosse teammate who worked for an investment firm, Sandler O’Neill, located in the second tower hit by a hijacked American aircraft. His family is still scarred. The hurt will never vanish.
Some might argue all anniversaries are beneficial and worth celebrating—if only to remind all of us of the destruction imposed by well-trained Japanese bomber pilots and the terrorism executed so dastardly by the fanatical Al Qaeda pilots on a September morning. I would agree.
As we enter a joyous holiday season, we shouldn’t forget the dark side of humanity and our chaotic world. “Pearl Harbor” and “9/11” remind us that we must live smartly and carefully—while still fully embracing the abundant goodness and grace that pervade our lives.
Columnist Howard Freedlander retired in 2011 as Deputy State Treasurer of the State of Maryland. Previously, he was the executive officer of the Maryland National Guard. He also served as community editor for Chesapeake Publishing, lastly at the Queen Anne’s Record-Observer. In retirement, Howard serves on the boards of several non-profits on the Eastern Shore, Annapolis and Philadelphia.
Jonathon Powers says
In response to Mr. Freedlander’s thoughtful writing, I offer this: “What is meant by “celebrating” an anniversary? Who celebrates and who cringes at the memory?
Jon Powers