December 7, 2009, - 9:01 am

Pearl Harbor Day: The Day We Start Trying Navy SEALS for Fighting Our Enemy

By Debbie Schlussel

On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked. Until then, America hadn’t really entered World War II. They attacked us. Just like all the many attacks in which the replacement “they”–Islamic terrorists and the vast majority of the Islamic world that cheers them on–have attacked us, and not just on 9/11/01, but well before and after.

pearlharbor.jpg

And yet, it’s ironic, that today, America’s military courts are scheduled to arraign  Navy SEALS, accused of giving a bloody lip to the Islamic terrorist in Iraq who masterminded the 2004 murder, burning to a crisp, and hanging of American contractors working for Blackwater. These are the same military courts, by the way, in which we now refuse to try our enemies, preferring to give terrorist masterminds more favorable settings and more rights than our own servicemen. The late survivors of Pearl Harbor are turning over in their graves. 

Yesterday, we responded to the Japanese who attacked us and their allies, the Nazis.  Today, we attack our own and enable our new Nazis.

On December 7, 1941, 2,388 U.S. military personnel were killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. 1,178 American servicemen were wounded. 12 ships were sunk or beached, 9 damaged. We lost 164 aircraft to total destruction, and 159 others were damaged.

Today, 68 years later, few seem to get it. And sadly the heroes–the men who acted with courage when they were blindsided by a full frontal attack on our shores–are dying out. Most are in their ’80s and ’90s . . . if they are alive at all. Let’s not let their literal courage under fire, and the price those who died on that day paid to serve this country, be forgotten. When they’re all dead–when all of the survivors are gone, let’s not forget their story. Don’t forget the U.S.S. Arizona and what happened there.

Today, we are fighting the new version of those allied with the Japanese–-the new Nazis. They are far more committed, far more dangerous. They don’t just bomb ships and planes and military. They torture and murder innocent civilians.

Do we have the resolve? It seems that our resolve is sinking along with the Pearl Harbor Memorial which is sinking into the ground beneath it and may need to be propped up? Who will prop the back-to-sleep America from its sinking beneath the Islamic fundamentalism on our own shores?

sterlingcale.jpg

Navy Corpsman/Pearl Harbor Survivor Sterling Cale Was in Charge of the Burial Party Removing Bodies Form the USS Arizona. Read His Story.

I shared stories about the veterans and their last reunions and visits to Pearl Harbor, in 2007, and in 2006, and it bears repeating again:

Remember Pearl Harbor, because they won’t be around for too much longer to remember it for you.

***

As I wrote a few years ago (but it remains on target, today):

[Then,] we were fighting a more finite, defeatable enemy. On December 7, 1941, 2,388 U.S. military personnel were killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. 1,178 American servicemen were wounded. 12 ships were sunk or beached, 9 damaged. We lost 164 aircraft to total destruction, and 159 others were damaged.

Today, we are fighting the new version of those allied with the Japanese–the new Nazis. They are far more committed, far more dangerous. They don’t just bomb ships and planes and military. They torture and murder innocent civilians.

Do we have the resolve? It seems that our resolve is sinking along with the Pearl Harbor Memorial which is sinking into the ground beneath it and may need to be propped up? Who will prop the back-to-sleep America from its sinking beneath the Islamic fundamentalism on our own shores?

Sadly, while we have many young men serving in our military and willing to fight the enemy and do what it takes to survive, we haven’t had a President who shares this will. We didn’t have it in George W. Bush, who spent 7.5 years pandering to the enemy after it attacked us, and even the year-and-a-half before that pandering to that same enemy in order to get the worthless “American Muslim endorsement.” Now, we have a “leader” who has even less will than he had.

From my 2005 coverage of Pearl Harbor Day, don’t forget these words from the Memorial:

My brothers lie in state,
In clear waters
Of testimony, their willingness
To answer our Nation’s call.
An angel bends down, whispers in my ear,
Never forget. Never forget.
Honor them. They
Gave their lives for you.
No man hath a greater love.
Do them honor.
And never forget.

Never forget Pearl Harbor. And never forget that we are facing an enemy far more fierce, an enemy that is slowly defeating us.

pearlharbor2.jpg




Tags: , , , , ,


18 Responses

Debbie,

Thanks for remembering. Too many webhosts will let today go by without the slightest acknowledgment of this anniversaty. last night I commented on another thread here. If I may, I’ll cross post it here…………

It’s almost surreal that as Americans we are sitting here, on December 7th, the anniversary of the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor at odds as to whether or not we should be vigilant. Thousands sent to watery graves in that attack slipped from our memory enough to allow us the complacency to send thousands more to their deaths in a firey inferno on September 11th. Pray to God we never again become that indifferent to the threats we face.

Billy on December 7, 2009 at 2:32 am

Billy on December 7, 2009 at 9:55 am

On this great day, it is only fair that Obama should re-enact the great Henry Fonda movie “FAILSAFE” and have Holder nuke NY.

Of course, he should re-apologize to Japan and let them know of the event.

hoss on December 7, 2009 at 10:12 am

Neither Americans nor their elected leaders act…they only react.

Most of the world thinks we’re crazy because we are.

The Terrorist's Advocate on December 7, 2009 at 10:17 am

“Most of the world thinks we’re crazy because we are.

The Terrorist’s Advocate on December 7, 2009 at 10:17 am”

Speak for yourself, buddy. Hmm, I believe you are speaking for yourself.

Facts of Life on December 7, 2009 at 10:46 am

Miss Schlussel, Et Alii:

The anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor will always be a very special day for me, because it was on 07 December 1967, when I was inducted into the United States Army.

One of my friends here at the Old Soldiers’ Home is FRANCES STUEVE, a farm boy from Dyersville, Iowa, who was at Pearl Harbor during the attack, serving in the United States Army.

He’s now ninety-two years old, the only member of his family still living, and a couple of days ago, he began using a walker.

You would love the stories he tells.

For one thing, he verifies that the situation depicted in the Hollywood production, “FROM HERE TO ETERNITY”, was very accurate.

At that time, the United States Army in Hawaii was more interested in sports championships, and did very little military training.

When the Japanese attacked, many of the American soldiers had no weapons, and/or had no ammunition for their weapons.

When the attack ended, the American soldiers deployed on the beaches, although knowing full well that they couldn’t possibly stop the expected Japanese invasion.

Frances Stueve spent the rest of the war on various islands in the Pacific Ocean, sometimes fighting hand to hand, in total darkness, while standing knee deep in water.

He also stated that the Japanese soldier was better trained and better equipped than the American soldier, at least, during the beginning of the war.

The Japanese had the high ground, and constantly shelled the Americans with artillery fire.

He said he was lucky to get two hours of sleep, and then, because of the water, he had to wrap his arms around a tree and sleep standing up.

By day, he was swarmed by flies, and at night, the mosquitoes took over where the flies left off.

Snakes would drop down on him from the trees.

There were all sorts of wild animals prowling through the night, some of which were dangerous, and it was impossible to tell if the noises he heard in the dark were made by an animal or a Japanese soldier.

American soldiers were plagued with malaria, dysentery, and dengue fever.

On one of the islands, he almost starved to death, and was forced to forage off the land, copying the natives, because the supply sip couldn’t unload, due to the shallow water.

Conditions were so hopelessly bad, that many American soldiers committed suicide.

Of his entire unit, only ten survived the war.

After the war, Frances Stueve served in Germany, and later, at the Pentagon, where he retired.

Thank you.

John Robert Mallernee
Armed Forces Retirement Home
Washington, D.C. 20011-8400

John Robert Mallernee on December 7, 2009 at 11:16 am

Hi Debbie!

FYI, today is my birthday. I suppose it goes without saying that I don’t need to be reminded about Pearl Harbor Day.

When I look at the national response to the attack on Pearl Harbor and compare it to our response to 9/11/01 today one thing becomes rather evident: The Saudi petrochemical lobby has successfully undermined our country and moreover, our government.

This is evident in too many ways to elaborate here. The initial public response to 9/11/01 was not unlike 12/7/41. However, due to the economic stranglehold the Saudi petrochemical lobby has on our government, the media and even the courts, we now whine over sending 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. How does that compare to our response to 12/7/41?

In conclusion, I’ll repeat what I’ve always said about today’s war: The strategic path to winning the war against Islamo-Fascism (or whatever you want to call it) is the elimination of petroleum as the prime mover of our transportation system.

We have the resources to do this rather quickly. World War II was won in part with major American technological advances. 8 years after 9/11/01, it’s sad to see how little we’ve done.

Sincerely,

TINSC (aka There is NO Santa Claus)

There is NO Santa Claus on December 7, 2009 at 12:05 pm

Let us not forget those that were either killed or wounded in this sneak attack on the United States.

Let us not forget that we had a second devastating sneak attack on Sept. 11, 2001, by Islamic terrorists. I fear we will have one more before America wakes up and this will come from the enemy within. Systematic destruction of our military and freedoms by liberals in Congress following Obama’s lead toward a NWO with one world governance. Don’t let history repeat itself.

Bob A. on December 7, 2009 at 1:03 pm

It is a travesty that our SEALS are getting this treatment. Let’s hope the subject of their capture gets all HE deserves.

CJ on December 7, 2009 at 2:24 pm

December 7th, 2009, a second December 7th that will live in Infamy.
Please visit http://www.supporttheseals.com. Let the military hear from you. Call or email them as well as your Congressperson (foe what that’s worth.)

Penn Hudson on December 7, 2009 at 3:12 pm

Thanks, Penn Hudson, I signed the petition.

So is today when Obama gives the Japanese an apology speech for them getting us into World War II? Maybe we overreacted, maybe we responded with too much force, maybe we didn’t, “see it from their perspective,” maybe we should have, “come to an understanding,” and maybe we should have, “accepted their viewpoints” which of course are just as valid as ours.

Screw that! We were attacked and responded. We as a country had and still have the right to defend ourselves. The problem is, and my fear is, our so-called leaders do not have the guts to fight a war or confront the enemy like our heroes did.

I don’t care if they were imperfect or had major character flaws. What I care about is that our leaders saw a duty to protect this country and did what they did to combat the threats. Now we have a “President” that apologizes for our accomplishments, bows to sworn enemies, and tells anyone listening, what our next tactical moves are.

Now we have reached the point where we take better care of the enemy than our own soldiers. But that’s not surprising since we also take better care of illegal immigrants at the expense of people who come here and pay all the fees and fill out all the paperwork, and wait the way they’re supposed to. But they get nothing for following the law. Break our immigration laws, and get lots of benefits.
What am I missing?

This what people get for wanting “hope and change.” There is no hope, and frankly the change isn’t working out so well either.

John on December 7, 2009 at 8:20 pm

Great article Debbie. Putting things in perspective. We are so thankful for all those that saved our world from the evils of
WW II and all other battles. Also great story John Robert Mallernee. The images are so descriptive. The parallels of Islam are so true. America was united back in 1941, now the liberals have staked their claim with the enemy.

CaliforniaScreaming on December 7, 2009 at 8:30 pm

I feel today that I have noticed that many lefties/liberals talk about the World War II vets reluctlantly because of the defeat the gave to the Germans, Italians, and Japanese. However every other veteran of the other wars especially the current Iraq/Afghanistan war, I have not seen nothing that shows those veterans as being courageous that are willing to fight for this country. Most movies show our veterans as either losers, crazy, or both and this is before joining and fighting the military. Now we hear about the single moms that can not deploy because of the lack of a spouse, some claiming that these wars are not “right” therefore illegal and are suddenly becoming conscientious objectors. I think the only one movie that showed the military in somewhat in good light was the movie that wrestler John Sena made, titled THE MARINE. RULES OF ENGAGEMENT did show our men in good light but the movie also implied that “its America’s fault” for the Middle East hating us.
I just hope that the Twilight/Adam Lambert generation will not be influence to think our current crop of vets are just walking timebombs ready to go off at any moment.

Mr.Tuttle on December 8, 2009 at 12:42 am

The trial of the Navy Seals is just another in the never ending series of Obamanations. It just gets worse every day.
I wonder what ‘rules of engagement’ the top brass has for the 30,000 who are going to Afghanistan.

Not Ovenready on December 8, 2009 at 1:10 am

Never forget that the “surprise” attack on Pearl Harbor was NOT a surprise to Washington, D.C. at the time. Read

http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/history/american/574

ramjordan on December 8, 2009 at 1:53 am

Actually, these guys are playing this exactly right.

They refused non judicial punishment, which would have likely been a slap on the wrist in the form of a fine or a reprimand letter because they think their case is strong enough to win court martial. Now I’d also like to point out that their punishment came from a chain of command that is also made up of Navy SEAL’s. So, I PROMISE there’s a reason that these guys are in the trouble they are in beyond some terrorist with a fat lip.

You may want to consider the fact that we don’t have all the details, and that is exactly how the SEAL’s and the military operates.

However that’s just one active duty Navy vet with 14 years in who’s currently working for Special Operations Command Europe’s opinion.

Sean on December 8, 2009 at 3:31 am

WAKE UP AMERICA; DON’T FORGET DECEMBER 7TH AND ESPECIALLY SEPTEMBER 11TH!!!! WE FOUGHT A WAR IN THE PACIFIC THEATER THROUGH TO THE END AND NOW ARE FIGHTING ONE IN AFGANISTAN; WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE FINISH IT!!!

Patrick Mullen on December 8, 2009 at 7:20 am

Facts of Life…

I’ve lived here my entire life. Americans are crazy.

We spent billions to learn how to get to the Moon and then call it quits once we get there. We send soldiers into combat and then put them on trial for behaving like soldiers. We whine about violent crime and then pay hundreds of dollars to sit outside in freezing weather in order to watch some of America’s most violent felons play football.

There are aspects to life in America that can’t be beat, but living here is an awful lot like being part of the world’s largest dysfunctional family.

Americans are nuts.

The Terrorist's Advocate on December 8, 2009 at 9:31 am

Hey Terror advocate,
Normal is only a setting on a washing machine!

Drakken on December 8, 2009 at 7:12 pm

Leave a Reply

* denotes required field