USS Missouri, USS Arizona Memorial, the Battleship Row moorings,
and two tugs rendering honors. Ford Island in the background.
"Sacrifice," "courage," and "service" were words repeated many times today at the ceremony to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend, to bear witness in person. While this post isn't related to the topics I usually blog about (except in a most tangential way -- we filed a brief on behalf of several retired admirals in a Supreme Court environmental case a couple of years ago that referenced the December 7 attack*), this was a milestone event, so I thought a short report might be of interest to readers; we will return to regularly scheduled programming tomorrow.
Those who live or who grew up in Hawaii are perhaps reminded of the attack more than others. Many of us had family or friends who were there that morning (my mother was 19 years old living on the Halawa Plantation just across the highway from Pearl Harbor -- the present-day parking lot for Aloha Stadium -- and watched as planes made their torpedo runs at Battleship Row). Pearl Harbor remains a huge naval base visible from many parts of urban Honolulu. The landing approach to the international airport brings most flights right over the entrance with a clear view of Ford Island, the Arizona Memorial, Hospital Point, and the shipyard. And the attack set in motion the post-war political revolution in Hawaii that is still being felt today.
I won't recount the entirety of today's program -- everyone from the Commander, Pacific Fleet to the Secretary of the Navy spoke, and you can read the detailed reports here and elsewhere -- but will point out two highlights, the first of which was the keynote address by the current (and final) President of the Pearl Harbor Survivor's Association. He announced the association would cease formal operations at the end of the year, presumably because its membership rolls have declined and those who remain are at the point where travel is difficult or impossible. It's a stark reminder of the passage of time and the decades that separate the event from the present, and that one day in the not too distant future, every man lucky enough to not only survive the attack but the entire war will be gone. The historians have already taken over: today's ceremony was dominated by the National Park Service, and not the military.
The second best moment was the spontaneous and sustained ovation for all survivors present, which increased to a crescendo and lasted several minutes. We have not forgotten.
Finally, the buglers sounded taps. As James Jones wrote in From Here to Eternity, his novel of pre-war Hawaii: "This song is Reality. Remember? Surely you remember?" This is true whether taps is played for a brother-in-arms, a family member, or for sailors, marines, and soldiers killed years before you existed. I cannot hear those bleak notes without choking up, and today was no exception.
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* In the brief filed in Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., the admirals urged the Supreme Court to allow the Navy to train using active sonar in the waters between California and Hawaii, arguing that in balancing between training and potential harm to marine mammals, the balance tips in favor of training: "The December 7, 1941 attack was launched from these very waters. For the amici Admirals who served in the Pacific Fleet and at Pearl Harbor, the USS Arizona and USS Utah, both of which remain at rest there, were daily reminders of the need for eternal vigilance and training." Br. at 17 n.5.
