In Our View: Never Forget War’s Lessons

It remains, 73 years later, a day that lives in infamy. Yet while the Pearl Harbor attack of Dec. 7, 1941, reigns as a defining moment in our nation’s history, it is increasingly fading from living memory — as history inevitably does.

Three years ago, with their numbers dwindling, the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association held their final formal gathering to commemorate the anniversary of the attack. Today, fewer and fewer Americans have direct memories of that history-altering Sunday and the war that followed. And now, younger generations recall the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as their own nation-defining event.

Time, inexorably, marches on. And that fact, perhaps, makes it particularly important to remember Pearl Harbor and the impact it had on the world. As those who lived through it, those who became defined as The Greatest Generation, pass beyond lives well-lived, there still are lessons that must be learned in order to properly serve their memories.

It all started with a sneak attack by the Empire of Japan on a Sunday morning at a naval base where the U.S. Pacific Fleet had gathered. The attack sank four American battleships, damaged three others, and killed 2,471. More than seven decades later, the USS Arizona still resides on the bottom of the harbor, 38 feet below the surface, an enduring tomb for most of the 1,177 on board.

The following day, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt referred to “a day that will live in infamy” in calling upon Congress to declare war on Japan. “No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory,” Roosevelt added. Days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States, drawing the nation into a worldwide conflagration that lasted four years, saw 16 million Americans enter the armed forces, and resulted in more than 400,000 American deaths.

Those, however, are merely the cold facts of the attack on Pearl Harbor. What is more difficult to capture is the impact it had on the American psyche and the American ethos and the American sense of self. And therein lie the lessons.

World War II, with Americans fighting the Japanese in the Pacific Ocean and fighting the Germans on the soil of Europe, resulted in an unprecedented national contribution and an unprecedented national sacrifice. As men went to war, women, many of whom had never before worked outside the home, entered the workforce. As supplies were needed for the war effort, the people back home were compelled to ration items such as milk, gasoline, and eggs. Why? Because those things needed to be done. The war effort was of such national importance that all Americans were called upon to contribute what they could.

In that regard, it is easy to see the contrasts between World War II and more recent American military actions. When the United States invaded Afghanistan and, later, Iraq more than a decade ago, the strategy was to present the American people with a sanitized war that remained “over there.” Rather than calling upon citizens to ration needed supplies, President George W. Bush clung to tax cuts for the citizenry. Shared sacrifice was eschewed in exchange for comfort at home.

All of which is a far cry from the tragedy that took place 73 years ago today at Pearl Harbor. But as we recall that earth-shaking day, it is essential to ensure that the lessons truly are never forgotten.