Most of us are far too young to remember Pearl Harbor first hand.

I thought this thread would be a nice place to record memories borowed from others, stories of family members (and by all means first person accounts), and reflections from those who have been to Pearl Harbor.

December 7, 1941 is a day that lives in infamy.

I’ve taken a tour of Pearl Harbor and still remember when we passed by the Arizona monument, complete with small patches of oil floating on the surface. It was a very sobering moment. I remember thinking how odd that in this slice of paradise something so horrific took place.

My mother’s brother was there that morning and never really had a chance to tell the family his experiences, all my grandmother knew was that he was serving on a destroyer. He lost his life in action a short time after the attack.

My Grandfather, rest his soul, was a mechanic for the Navy working on an aircraft carrier when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. He passed away in July and most of his memories are gone, including this one, but I did manage to recall enough about talks with my grandfather to know that the bombing of Pearl Harbor was one of the worst days of his life. My grandmother said he burned the journal entries he had written and had locked most of the memorabilia from Pearl Harbor that he had in a trunk in their attic. I remember him telling me how the sky was blackened and the cleanup after the bombing was terrible and saddening work. It all still comes to me from a text book point of view but I am saddened for the loss of so many Americans and fine soldiers and their relatives currently baring the weight of their loss. Even today, so many years later, wives, children, grandchildren and siblings are feeling the renewed suffering of their loved ones tragic death that brought Americans into a world war, and celebrating the lives of those who survived.

I grew up listening to stories from my uncle about Pearl Harbor, and while fascinating, they were still just stories. When I joined the Air Force, I got a chance to spend two weeks at Hickam AFB. During my stay I got a chance to visit the memorial there, and it really hit home to me the impact and sacrifice made. The guys that lost their lives there were just like me, in their late teens and early twenties, most just on a tour of duty with their whole lives ahead of them. I stood there and looked at the wreckage and just could not prevent the tears from coming.

The Utah is still on the other side of Ford Island... belly up...
God rest their souls