69 years ago today, Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was attacked by the Japanese. Over 3,000 Americans were killed and over 1,000 were wounded. Dozens of battleships and other smaller ships were completely destroyed. The Japanese incentive? To make sure the United States would keep their fleet away from Japan and not get involved in their affairs. This event caused the United States to enter in World War II.
The slideshow of pictures really hit me hard. Huge explosions and planes getting taken down are followed by young children and their parents watching their houses being destroyed right before their eyes. They portray the horrors of Pearl Harbor perfectly and show how much damage the Japanese caused the United States.
The Japanese certainly made their statement, but was it really worth starting a major war? What if this happened to San Francisco? Can you even imagine the tragedy?
8 comments:
Whenever I think of Pearl Harbor, it reminds me why the USA is so grateful to have men and women that serve the county. Pearl Harbor was definitely a legitimate reason for the US to enter World War 2. Japan attacked a country that was neither on the Allies or Axis at the time and even inflicted civilian casualties. For me, that's no excuse but to go to war. If San Francisco was hit by a surprise attack, i can't imagine the devastating effects and tragedy. Can you imagine SF being a warzone for a day with its terrified citizens and tourists? The US was successful in terms of prevailing Japan's attack by winning the World War 2 and it sent out a clear message that if you attack us, prepare for hell.
Pearl Harbor is one of the worst things that's happened in modern history, but I think we should also remember America's retaliations. It took only two bombs to wipe out Hiroshima and Nagasaki. An eye for an eye and the whole world goes blind. I think these attacks really brought out the cruel, vulnerable, and sympathetic sides of human nature.
I feel that this situation is possibly going to reoccur between North and South Korea. I don't want to see that happen, but history loves to repeat itself. People never learn.
I love LuShuang's response and I agree with it. Having roots in both American and Japanese culture, I find that both sides do not acknowledge the actions each side took enough(Japan;Pearl Harbor, USA; Hiroshima Nagasaki). I find it weird to me that we always "remember" what happened to "us" but not what we did to the other opponent. I also think that humanity is also prone to repeate history. Even though I hope nothing like this happens in North and South Korea or anywhere around the world, I can see it happening in the near future.
If i remember APUSH correctly we were looking for a good reason to go to war. There were even conspiracies that we had gotten enough information to prevent or even prepare for the event. If my memory seres me correct then it was that different branches of inteligence agencies had the information, but did not trust each other enough to divulge their knowledge. It is hard to think that if a few messages were sent out and if a meeting or two occured, then one of modern America's worst tragedies would never have occured.
I do feel as though it were a large enough event to put us into a full scale war against Japan. This is because thousands of Americans died even though we were technically "neutral" during that time period even though we were helping the Allies through finances and weaponry. Plus if we did not enter this war it is quite possible that Britain would have fallen to the Nazis.
I definitely think that the event of Pearl Harbor justified the U.S.' entrance into World War II. If something this drastic and "unprovoked" were to happen to the U.S. at any point in the 20th century, I think that it would have spurred a war. This was a tragic event and we all should be thankful that the U.S. chose to enter the war. It may have been bloody, but it was clearly necessary to save Europe and Asia from disaster.
These are the horrors of war... No matter how much we try preventing all this killing, it always eventually happens. I can't possibly imagine this happening to San Francisco, we live so close that we will be effected by all the fighting. If this ever happened to us, I would just hide inside my underground garage and like steal a gun haha. But I do agree that there are those circumstances when we would have to go to war, if we ever get attacked, I only believe its fair that we should attack back.
I think that it was a very good and bad move by the Japanese. It was a bad move because it killed thousands of Americans and eventually led to their ultimatum. It was a good move in their case because the fact that they could destroy and cripple the U.S would set the playing board to their advantage. Also the fact that the U.S cut off their oil supply led them to this attack so they could take U.S poscessions in the pacific which some Islands contained oil which the U.S had. in the end i feel that what japan did was wrong and that it would suck if SF got hit but i would never know what that is like because i myself have not personally been in that situation. I am greatful that our troops are out there fighting for americans.
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