The Attack On Pearl Harbor
The Attack on Pearl Harbor was on December 7, 1941 when Japanese troops flew over the island of Honolulu Hawaii & did a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The attack only lasted 2 hours but was devastating. Japan managed to destroy almost 20 American Naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and almost 200 airplanes. More than 2,000 Americans soldiers and sailors died in the attack, and another 1,000 were wounded. In just 110 minutes Japan killed over 3,000 Americans. The next day American President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on Japan. This was a very resilient choice for America since wars had been going on around them for almost 2 years & they just now decided to join.
Story from Survivor Jim Carter & Son
"I was there," Stated Jim "I was working in the dispensary on Ford Island and was doing cooking duty when those planes came down and attacked the battleships."
"Our mess hall had men laying on tables, I was helping take the worst ones from the mess hall over to the dispensary. There were guys with sores all over their legs from the bombs. It was a mess." "Its just such a bad memory for me."
"He always said he never wanted to go back to Hawaii, and he never did," Heineken Jim's son said. "His attitude softened up a bit later."
"He was proud of being a Pearl Harbor survivor and he always got a kick out of it when little kids would come up to him and ask him questions about Pearl Harbor," Heineken said. "Before he passed away, he wanted to sign me up with the Sons and Daughters of the Pearl Harbor Survivors and I have been involved ever since. I have been the 4th District Director since 2004 and have always been proud to help serve with the Survivors in any way that I could. To me it's important to keep the memory of what happened at Pearl Harbor alive."
"Our motto is 'Lest we forget.' Our goal is to keep America alert and keep Pearl Harbor alive," He said.