Remember Pearl Harbor

My Father was in the US Navy and stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. I was a young boy of seven. Our small family; Mother, Father, and I lived in the Naval Housing, just a few blocks from the Harbor and Navy Base. Hickam Field, the Army Air Force Base was visible from my upstairs bedroom window. Even after all these years, my memory of that long ago Sunday morning is still quite vivid. The black smoke rising from the destruction of our ships and facilities is always most prevalent. The radio emitted a constant appeal, "All military personnel report to your duty stations". I can still see my father running down the road in his dungarees to answer the call. Dive-Bombers, with a curious red ball painted on the side, are still visible in many of the slides imprinted in my memory. My family was fortunate, my father suffered the loss of some friends and shipmates, but we were unharmed.

A friend, perhaps because he knew I was there, recently sent me an e-mail containing some pictures taken that day. I have used those pictures to create a slide show to commemorate "A date which will live in Infamy".