It's Pearl Harbor Day.

[RangerM]

.....in case you forgot.

[goinbroke2]

I mentioned that yesterday in the office. "Guess what today is"? Nobody had a clue. "It's Dec 7th".....nope.....blank faces.

PEARL HARBOUR??

 

"Oh, that was the 7th?"

"I remember it, but not the day"

or the typical,

"oh, that's american"

 

I just shook my head. I said, I guess that's why they call 911 the date and not "the day the planes flew into the towers" so people like you guys will remember the dates huh?

Ages were 39,45,52,58

 

Those that forget history............

[RangerM]

My guess is that John Lennon's death (Dec 8) will get more (public) acknowledgement.

[Edstock]

 

or the typical,

"oh, that's american"

 

 

 

Those that forget history............

Sad isn't it? Canadians who can't remember the poor schmucks who defended Hong Kong and Singapore and elsewhere, who got attacked the same day.

[DUCKRACER]

I mentioned that yesterday in the office. "Guess what today is"? Nobody had a clue. "It's Dec 7th".....nope.....blank faces.

PEARL HARBOUR??

 

"Oh, that was the 7th?"

"I remember it, but not the day"

or the typical,

"oh, that's american"

 

I just shook my head. I said, I guess that's why they call 911 the date and not "the day the planes flew into the towers" so people like you guys will remember the dates huh?

Ages were 39,45,52,58

 

Those that forget history............

 

I had the same experience where I work, too. I did call my 85y/o father. He remembered. He served in the Marines in WWII

[goinbroke2]

Sad isn't it? Canadians who can't remember the poor schmucks who defended Hong Kong and Singapore and elsewhere, who got attacked the same day.

 

Right there to throw stuff back in people faces eh Ed? I'm assuming the slam was at me.

I'm not going to compare the invasion with the suprise attack. Suffice it to say after 4 years of world war it was yet another major battle to add to the list of battles we were in. That compared to a suprise attack on a country that had not declared war. There are many smaller battles fought that nobody remembers. Lillefontaine Day is celebrated by the RCD.(Royal Canadian Dragoons)

What happened was during the Boer war the Canadian artillery was being overrun by boer's and some dragoons grabbed the cannons to save them. A Sargeant actually rode 6 miles with a 6 pounder on the horse to save it. Now, every year on that day, the RCD have a parade etc and all duties by the RCD for that day are assumed by the arty regiments.

 

It's not that I "forgot" about it more than any other battle, just that Dec 7 was a cheap shot in front of the whole world. People shouldn't forget.

 

Do you know how many Canadians have to be reminded of what the Somme was or who gained the most ground on D-day? :shades:

[suv_guy_19]

I mentioned that yesterday in the office. "Guess what today is"? Nobody had a clue. "It's Dec 7th".....nope.....blank faces.

PEARL HARBOUR??

 

Which province is that in? Why would you expect Canadians to know when US events happened? Canada was busy fighting a war far before Pearl Harbour happened.

[Edstock]

Right there to throw stuff back in people faces eh Ed? I'm assuming the slam was at me.

I'm not going to compare the invasion with the suprise attack. :shades:

First, I wasn't slamming you, I don't know why you would think that. The comment was aimed at the oblivious, which isn't you.

 

Second, the invasion was a "surprise attack", just not from carrier aircraft, and Canadians put up a heroic, but futile defence. At the same time, the Japanese attacked the Philippines, destroying the USAAF.

 

 

 

[RangerM]

First, I wasn't slamming you, I don't know why you would think that. The comment was aimed at the oblivious, which isn't you.

 

Second, the invasion was a "surprise attack", just not from carrier aircraft, and Canadians put up a heroic, but futile defence. At the same time, the Japanese attacked the Philippines, destroying the USAAF.

Noone should minimize the sacrifice of anyone in a conflict such as WWII.

 

That said, did anyone in Canada acknowledge what happened to your fellow countrymen yesterday? Yes? No? If not, why not? Perhaps it carries no particular significance to Canadians (in general) anymore? I don't know.

 

I DO know that December 7 should carry some weight with my fellow Americans. Not because it's time to renew old hatreds for the "Japs" (as my grandmother used to say), but because it was the day that fascism came knocking at America's door.

 

As I said before, there are probably more people who show deference for John Lennon today, than the sacrifice of thousands of Americans (almost 7 decades ago) yesterday.

[suv_guy_19]

That said, did anyone in Canada acknowledge what happened to your fellow countrymen yesterday? Yes? No? If not, why not? Perhaps it carries no particular significance to Canadians (in general) anymore? I don't know.

 

It generally doesn't. Though things happened to Canadians that day, it's more an American thing. Canadians hold Remembrance Day as sacred, and Vimy Ridge Day is seen as somewhat important as well. It's just a difference in observances.

[RangerM]

....70 years ago today.

[goinbroke2]

Got a difference response this year. Not sure why but most comments were "oh, that's right"

 

Hope nobody ever forgets.

[Edstock]

70 years ago . . . a tipping-point.

 

Some considerations for your perusal, here.

 

 

[napfirst]

Thanks Ranger for posting a rememberance of Pearl Habor Day. Because the area where I live has such a concentration of naval personnel today gets a lot of press...a series in the local paper of first hand accounts...news stories and interviews...this "Greatest Generation" is obviously getting fewer in number and should be honored year-round for the sacrifaces they made to make this world a safer place for all of us...God Bless Them

[RangerM]

One year later....

[Langston Hughes]

While I think it's important to remember what happened and why, the when for me isn't as important. I can't tell you what day the USS Maine exploded, the Lusitania was sunk, when Fort Sumpter was attacked nor when the battle of Lexington/Concord happened but that's not to say people shouldn't try to remember. Only that the date isn't the important part.

 

As for Canadians knowing when the Japanese attacked America, isn't it a little much to expect other Canadians to be as unhinged and obsessive about America as you are?

[jpd80]

While I think it's important to remember what happened and why, the when for me isn't as important. I can't tell you what day the USS Maine exploded, the Lusitania was sunk, when Fort Sumpter was attacked nor when the battle of Lexington/Concord happened but that's not to say people shouldn't try to remember. Only that the date isn't the important part.

 

As for Canadians knowing when the Japanese attacked America, isn't it a little much to expect other Canadians to be as unhinged and obsessive about America as you are?

 

Some of us remember different things about the war:

My father entered the war near the end and was mostly involved with mop up and repatriation of POWs in Dutch East Indies,

one of the places they came across, Sandakan, they could do nothing for the hundreds and hundreds of dead people there.

Our thoughts are still with Allied troops captured at Singapore and other locations who were subjected to inhuman cruelty at

the hands of the Japanese

 

 

Edited December 9, 2012 by jpd80

[Bored of Pisteon]

I watched a lot of History Channel's programming on Dec. 7th. Let me tell you, some of it did bring me a tear or two only because when you had your grandfather fly B-24's in the Pacific Theater during the war. It does show pause in the sacrifices made by these folks back then. This is when we had a real country. Not a fake, entertainment based stage you have now.

 

A lot of people under 40 years old or even 50 years old are just plain ignorant, and what does that tell us as a whole where we are headed "forward".

[Langston Hughes]

What's ignorant is for you to believe that young people should see things through the experiences and history you were taught when that's not their lives. My father wasn't born till after WWII so his 20 year old granddaughter won't hear stories about him flying in it. I can certainly remember that WWI was not talked about all that much when i was growing up because that was 60+ years ago and the country had gone through other wars which were much less distant.

 

You probably ranted about my generation then too for not knowing all about the first world war.

[RangerM]

Seeing things through others' experiences is how we remember history. Ignoring the lessons of those experiences is how we wind up reliving them. Selective remembrance (especially accentuating the positive) accelerates the process.

Edited December 12, 2012 by RangerM

[xr7g428]

What's ignorant is for you to believe that young people should see things through the experiences and history you were taught when that's not their lives. My father wasn't born till after WWII so his 20 year old granddaughter won't hear stories about him flying in it. I can certainly remember that WWI was not talked about all that much when i was growing up because that was 60+ years ago and the country had gone through other wars which were much less distant.

 

You probably ranted about my generation then too for not knowing all about the first world war.

 

Nominate for Liberal Post of the Month. You stand strong in your defense of ignorance.

[Bored of Pisteon]

What's ignorant is for you to believe that young people should see things through the experiences and history you were taught when that's not their lives. My father wasn't born till after WWII so his 20 year old granddaughter won't hear stories about him flying in it. I can certainly remember that WWI was not talked about all that much when i was growing up because that was 60+ years ago and the country had gone through other wars which were much less distant.

 

You probably ranted about my generation then too for not knowing all about the first world war.

 

The only rant I have about YOUR GENERATION {presuming that you just gave your age (60+ years ago)} is that some of the "BABY BOOMERS" are still a bunch of self-serving, self-indulgent inmature, filthy hippies that still believe the ends justify the means.

 

That's all I have to say about it.

[Langston Hughes]

The only rant I have about YOUR GENERATION {presuming that you just gave your age (60+ years ago)} is that some of the "BABY BOOMERS" are still a bunch of self-serving, self-indulgent inmature, filthy hippies that still believe the ends justify the means.

 

That's all I have to say about it.

 

My statement was a bit unclear. I meant that as a kid i did not hear much about WWI and it's important dates because it was 60 years ago. The same for today's kids, as the current conflicts and Viet Nam are the major discussions.

[Langston Hughes]

Nominate for Liberal Post of the Month. You stand strong in your defense of ignorance.

 

I think it's a solid post. As we move through time certain events and time periods become more obscure, simply because people pass, the memories fade and more recent events take their place. You can't claim their ignorant as distant events become less prominent to recent ones. Life never stops and it is the order of the world that many of what passed will be forgotten. We do not all have a infinite ability to recall everything that we were taught or that others find important. I guess that I'm glad society has many people with different desires and different ideas on what is important to remember so that we retain as much as possible.

 

There is a certain level of ego that goes into thinking that everyone or even a majority of people should remember what you find important, even if you have a number of people who support you. I don't expect that you should know the history that I'm interested in nor the dates, but between us we remember more through our differences than our commonalities.

[RangerM]

Often it's worse to mis-remember than to forget.