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WWII
Videos!
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 Own
the definitive Pearl Harbor set from The History
Channel on VHS
or DVD!
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December
7, 1941. The most complete film compilation
of the terrifying attack on Pearl Harbor.
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War Movies |
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| Honoring Heroes Father's Day, Every Day |
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Photo: Franklin D. Roosevelt and James
Roosevelt. Source: National Archives
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by H. Delano Roosevelt
“December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy.” Every
American has heard those immortal words of my grandfather, Franklin
Delano Roosevelt, spoken after the surprise attack on Pearl
Harbor. I want to share some Roosevelt family history with you,
which you may not have heard, and share a recent personal experience
that brings that history right up to the present day.
What you may not have heard is that FDR determined he would
be sending his own sons to war before he asked anyone else to
send theirs. So my father, James Roosevelt, enlisted in the
Marine Corps and became one of the founding members of the famous
Carlson’s 4th Raider Battalion fighting in the Pacific, including
the bloody battle for Guadalcanal.
My personal experience that brings history up to the present,
was the opportunity to visit the USS Arizona Memorial on Pearl
Harbor Day this past December – my first time, believe it or
not! I agree with General Norman Schwartzkopf in his Memorial Day television documentary on Pearl Harbor, "This is a war memorial like no other." |
Even if you have not visited personally, you have seen images
of this graceful and inspiring Memorial. As a Trustee of the
USS Arizona Memorial Fund, I want to share my experience with
you, to show what it is like now, and what it can become with
your help. Like 30 million visitors to the Memorial since 1980,
I felt deep emotions welling up even before I entered the Visitor
Center and Memorial Museum operated by the National Park Service.
It is a peaceful and beautiful place, very open, very Hawaiian
in its blending of land, water, and native trees.
I found this sense of peace remarkable for two reasons, first,
because this is where the bombs were falling, where World War
II began for America with stunning violence; and second, because
today it is bustling with hundreds of people! National Park
Service rangers explained that if it seems crowded, it is, because
the Visitor Center receives nearly one and a half million visitors
per year, twice the number anyone anticipated when it was designed.
Staff and volunteers from the Arizona Memorial Museum Association
and Pearl Harbor Survivors Association work with the Park Service,
welcoming and guiding visitors from every state and every nation.
After viewing the extraordinarily dramatic film about the surprise
attack on Pearl Harbor with unforgettable footage from December
7, 1941 -- including my grandfather’s speech, of course -- we
boarded a Navy launch, crossing the modern Pearl Harbor naval
base where the USS Arizona and three dozen other U.S.
ships were bombed and torpedoed that morning nearly 60 years
ago. No wonder it is a place with such emotional power, inspiring
reverence, reflection, and a thirst for more complete understanding
of arguably the greatest turning point of the 20th century.
Quietly walking through the chapel-like Memorial and looking
below us into the shadowy depths, we could see the shattered
hulk of the USS Arizona where more than 900 of her 1,177
fallen crewmen are entombed. A thin film of oil made iridescent
patterns in the water. They say a gallon or two a day has been
seeping from the ship for almost 60 years now. Reverently reading
the 1,177 names inscribed in the Memorial, we were also mindful
of all the ships and airfields attacked that day, and all who
fought – like my dad – from island to island across the Pacific
to win the peace.
My most unforgettable image of Pearl Harbor Day on December
7th 2000, came during the formal observances on the Visitor
Center lawn looking toward the Memorial, shining in the morning
sun. Hundreds of American and international visitors, active
duty service men and women, Pearl Harbor survivors, surviving
Japanese navy pilots and many distinguished guests gathered
to remember and honor the past, but also to reconcile and resolve
to create a more peaceful world in the future.
As if to visibly signify Heaven’s blessing on the proceedings,
a full rainbow appeared across Pearl Harbor, ending directly
atop the USS Arizona Memorial! Everyone smiled with recognition
of the shared meaning and appreciation of this moment. To me
this illustrates the enormous healing power of this very special
place – the power to bring together former enemies and to inspire
current and future generations with the same resolve for peace.
This I witnessed myself and knew, right then and there, that
this is the appropriate place – and the Memorial Registry of
the USS Arizona Memorial Fund is the appropriate way -- for
me to honor my father and all those of the “Greatest Generation”
who fought World War II in the Pacific.
I invite you to join me in honoring them and someone in your
own life, living or deceased, veteran or active duty, WWII in
the Pacific or another conflict or era. Your contribution in
their honor will help expand the Memorial Museum and Visitor
Center to tell more heroic and inspiring stories of Pearl harbor
and WWII in the Pacific than ever before!
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Honor the Hero in
your Family! |
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Make a donation to the Pearl Harbor Memorial or another
military memorial of your choice. More...
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Create a Tribute Page for the hero in your family. More...
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Read first-hand accounts of Pearl Harbor from those who
were there. More...
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