Remembering Pearl Harbor......

[MR DERBY CITY]

It has been 74 years since the attack on Pearl Harbor. When I opened my shop 25 years ago veterans would stop in and talk about that day. They swore that there would never be a Japanese automobile sitting in their driveway. I guess the stories they told me were never relayed to their children.

[Jon Sarrett]

Fox NFL was at the Harbor yesterday. Great telecast. They had 17 or 18 survivors honored there. Other than that, I haven't seen much mentioned about it. Sad....

[MR DERBY CITY]

The youngest survivor would be in his early 90's ?

[Billy Nees]

When I was a kid growing up in my Dads(a WWII Vet.) gas station, it was the meeting place for all of his Veteran Buddies. As a punk kid, I didn't show them the respect that they deserved. Now that they're all gone(including Dad), I very often think about those characters and what a privilege it was for me to grow up around those Heroes.

[SSGT Mustang]

Thank you for recognizing this day.

My father fought in Europe during the war. He was 18 and one month old when he was drafted. He would never speak about the it other than to say "War isn't hell. It's worse than hell."

There's a lot of graphic footage that has come out in recent years that has helped me understand a lot more about what he was trying to say. One of things that I now understand most is that I'll never understand what the soldiers and civilians went through.

Total war at home and abroad. It's no wonder that they were known as the greatest generation.

[FireSale]

Originally Posted by SSGT Mustang

Thank you for recognizing this day.

My father fought in Europe during the war. He was 18 and one month old when he was drafted. He would never speak about the it other than to say "War isn't hell. It's worse than hell."

There's a lot of graphic footage that has come out in recent years that has helped me understand a lot more about what he was trying to say. One of things that I now understand most is that I'll never understand what the soldiers and civilians went through.

Total war at home and abroad. It's no wonder that they were known as the greatest generation.

I saw an old guy in a WWII Vet cap in a Lowes parking lot a while ago and decided to pay my respects. I got the same type of response as this. He had served in the Pacific and didn't really have any fond memories of it. He appreciated the recognition, though and I'm glad I took the time to talk with him.

My father was service age but had a family so he didn't get drafted. I remember building a model of the Enola Gay in the 60s and showing it to my Mother. She was pretty disturbed by it. Very upsetting times.

Dale

[HR9121]

My 100 year old Grandfather served in WWII in the Pacific, he was on his way to Pearl Harbor the day It was bombed. I often reflect on what "might of been" if he was a day earlier. He has been the picture of health for 100 years until the last 3 months. Unfortunately I had to call hospice in for assistance last week but last night he asked me what day it was, when I told him I could see a little smile as he always considered himself fortunate.

[Mike Taylor 3601]

One of my friends Dad was at Pearl Harbor,he is still living,I remember when Toyota was going to build factory in Georgetown,Ky. he told me how that should never happen and he would never drive a Toyota and my Grandpa was W W2 veteran he always said, we had to drop A-bomb to stop the Japanese,then US went over rebuilt them, taught them how to manufacture,etc. and they will take this country over without ever firing a shot.
Like Billy said when you are younger you don't realize how much you should respect and honor those older vets.
I now understand their opinions and have the utmost respect for their sacrifice and service they gave to our country.
Mike Taylor 3601

[Bobby DiDomenico]

Originally Posted by Mike Taylor 3601

One of my friends Dad was at Pearl Harbor,he is still living,I remember when Toyota was going to build factory in Georgetown,Ky. he told me how that should never happen and he would never drive a Toyota and my Grandpa was W W2 veteran he always said, we had to drop A-bomb to stop the Japanese,then US went over rebuilt them, taught them how to manufacture,etc. and they will take this country over without ever firing a shot.
Like Billy said when you are younger you don't realize how much you should respect and honor those older vets.
I now understand their opinions and have the utmost respect for their sacrifice and service they gave to our country.
Mike Taylor 3601

Our neighbor when I grew up had been a Marine in the Pacific during WWII. He didn't say much about it though it was pretty clear I'd best not be buying a Japanese car. Later I had a job with a defense contractor involving M109 and 110 howitzers. Two Marines I worked with there, one served in the Pacific in WWII and the other in Vietnam, would always do half a day November 10 for the birthday celebration. I never really understood what it was like in those islands until we hired a guy of Japanese decent to run our optical engineering unit. I don't think the older one ever said hello to the new guy or even walked past his desk. All he said was you had to see what they did to people. Neither of them ever gave dropping the bombs a second thought.

[SSDiv6]

Copy of the letter...