A Date Which Will Live In Infamy — Remembering Pearl Harbor
A Reflection by Tomas Schetzel and Zoe Reese
The roar of engines, the rattle of anti-aircraft guns, deafening explosions and the screams of the dying. These are the sounds that would have filled the ears of the young sailors at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
“A date which will live in infamy,” as declared by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
This was a defining moment for our nation. This was a day when we asked ourselves, “who are we as a people?” A day to stand together as one nation, to not only shake off the dust of the past decade of depression, but to stand against an aggressor who had brought the fight to our door.
This was the day that would be a rallying cry to help Americans bear the next four years of the most destructive, and savage warfare the world has ever seen.
“Remember Pearl Harbor.” Those words would be spoken, sung, and screamed as our servicemen carried the American flag from the waters of midway, to the sands of Iwo Jima, from the shores of Omaha Beach to the steps of the Reichstag in Berlin.
The attack on Pearl Harbor changed the course of the future of the United States by ushering the country out of an age of isolationism and into an era of global interaction. Francis MacDonnell, author, historian, and a Southern Virginia University Professor, believes that “one thing worth remembering about Pearl Harbor is that the Americans who fought the war left the experience convinced that we needed to be wholly engaged abroad and collaborate with allies.”
The tragedy that defined us as a nation seventy-six years ago, can unify us today through the remembrance of those who lost their lives that fateful morning. A moment of reverence or a simple thanks to those who serve are ways to acknowledge the sacrifice made by the few, to protect the many.
Benjamin Petty, a student at Southern Virginia University and a Combat Medic for the United States Army, said, “It’s about remembering those that died while in the service of the country. Pearl Harbor is one of those cases, where guys volunteered to serve and didn’t expect to lose their lives in that way.”
As we remember those who perished seventy-six years ago, it’s a time for we as Americans to reflect. A time to reflect on the sacrifice not only of those 2,403 fallen heros who died in the attack, but for the millions of soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who have given their lives in the service of this great nation. Remembering that we are all first and foremost, Americans.
Names of Virginians who gave their lives at Pearl Harbor:
Ambrose, Joseph
Anderson, Irwin Corinthias
Anderson, William Thomas
Barksdale, James Merritt
Bays, Donald Edgar
Benford, Samuel Austin
Brewer, Randall Walter
Brown, Benjamin Lee
Carpenter, Robert Nelson
Fisher, James Anderson
Guthrie, James Edward
Haskins, Cecil William
Henderson, Gilbert Allen
Hildebrand, Jr., John Arthur
Hill, Bartley Taylor
Holzhauer, James William
Hubbard, Jr., Haywood
Johnson, Jr., David Andrew
Mabine, Octavius
McIntosh, Harry George
Morris, Emmett Edlee
Morse, Francis Jerome
Morse, Norman Roi
Murphy, Jr., Thomas J.
Norvelle, Alwyn Berry
Nowell, Jr., John Thomas
Outland, Jarvis Godwin
Powell, Raymond E.
Robertson, Jr., Edgar
Romano, Simon
Romero, Vladimir M.
Royals, William Nicholas
Schmitz, Andrew James
Scott, Bernard Oliver
Skiles, Jr., Charley Jackson
Smith, Albert Joseph
Venable, Jr., Hoge Cralle
Walker, David
Wells, Cleo
Williams, George Washington
Williams, Wilbur Slade
Woodward, Ardenne Allen
Young, Vivan Louis
