An excellent very moving remembrance of the notable but now scarcely marked Pearl Harbor attack was published by the online City Journal on December 2. The essay, by City Journal's managing editor, Paul Beston, can be accessed at:
http://www.city-journal.org/html/sunday-morning-14883.html
To me, the notable thing about the essay is the clear and dismaying contrast it portrays of the America that experienced and responded to the Pearl Harbor attack and the one we currently inhabit. I view the following excerpt from the piece as particularly significant, chilling, and sad:
After 9/11, plans got underway nearly immediately for a memorial, and commemoration ceremonies have been held on every anniversary. By contrast, in the years immediately after Pearl Harbor, while the date was noted and some ceremonies conducted, winning the war took precedence. In 1943, FDR made this clear when he vetoed a bill declaring December 7 Armed Services Honor Day. In a message to Congress, he explained why: "Dec. 7, two years ago, is a day that is remembered in this country as one of infamy on the part of a treacherous enemy. The day itself requires no reminder, and its anniversary should rather serve to cause all the people of the nation to increase their efforts contributing to the successful prosecution of the war."
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