On the sunny Sunday morning of December 7, 1941, Messman Doris Miller had served breakfast aboard the USS West Virginia, stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and was collecting laundry when the first of nine Japanese torpedoes hit the ship. In the deadly confusion, Miller reported to an officer, who told him to help move the ship’s mortally wounded captain off the bridge. Unable to move him far, Miller pulled the captain to shelter. Then another officer ordered Miller to pass ammunition to him as he started up one of the two abandoned anti-aircraft guns in front of the conning tower.
I appreciate your pointing out (with facts as usual) the different ethnic groups that served in the War. THIS is the face of Democracy in action! We stand TOGETHER!
Thank you Heather -for the history and another deeply insightful Letter.
Democracy requires constant effort. It requires a society that prioritizes education. A meaningful democracy of any form requires a well-informed, well-educated, and engaged society. Much of the long-term GOP strategy has been to concentrate wealth (and thus power) to the top, while causing working Americans to struggle with longer working hours while living paycheck to paycheck. This is an assault on engagement -working together to protect democracy and shape policies that yield equity and justice for all. Reagan's work to destroy the affordability of higher education, continues to be an assault on another pillar of democracy. And the consolidation of media has eroded the Fourth Estate -journalism and an informed society. Now we are guided by The Kardashians, Snooki, Fox & Friends, and the Sinclair Broadcasting group.
Democracy has slowly been gutted in the United States and Trump/MAGA and Heritage's project2025.org would have been soundly rejected by a society that embraced science, facts, and evidence over propaganda and disinformation. A society that would readily understand that Trickle-Down 'economics' -is not economics -it's a massive fraud perpetrated by the wealthy upon everyone else through GOP shills.
Grateful for you Heather -leading the charge on information and education. Engagement? -it's up to all of us.
The Trump Show has long gone stale, like the TV series that runs eight years past its cancel date. Trump is the same paper-thin whiny wretched soul he was in 2015, and each of his daily episodes feels like a poorly written instant replay. My latest political rants have, so far, created very little traction. I've tried "Critical Fascist Theory" and I've tried "MAGANAZI Party." Now I'm pushing the idea that the U.S. military, the 17 clandestine services and the FBI will not obey Trump's orders. "We don't do fascist."
My husband was Navy and was born Dec 7 1943 so I remember the day of infamy. My grandfather was a Navy engineer who designed and supervised the building of the dry docks in the harbor that were bombed on that fateful day. Lots of links across time and space and reasons to stand together for our republic’s democracy. We the people shall prevail. Thank you for this important review of history and call for support.
Having visited Pearl Harbour and the Missouri memorial site (listening there to Japanese youth cat calling to each other and laughing) I was appalled to learn that when President Trump visited that site in the company of a top military official, he seemed to be not fully cognisant of what happened at that site. This is the man who wants to return to the presidency and become a a dictator. Why does the GOP bow to this repugnant human being?
To preserve our US democracy is THE challenge of this decade, perhaps century….and we must really get ‘at it’ in the next 11 months….decency/sanity/and stability requires it and the world desperately needs it! This is clearly NOT just a national issue. We are a largely interdependent world!
Heather, you bring one of the most important days of American history to full light. And, you have tied it to today’s current situation so perfectly.
“Will we permit the destruction of American democracy on our watch?”
Every American in this nation needs to read this write-up, and ponder that question you ask. I have been fighting this for the past 7 years.
Donald J. Trump has been a spy since the early 70s for Russia. He is a narcissist, sociopath, and the only thing he has his sights on right now is becoming a Dictator. That’s his ultimate goal.
Anyone who doesn’t think he will do exactly what he says he’ll do when he walks back into the White House is a total fool! He will completely destroy America. He will dismantle our economy, our Democracy, our Constitution will be gone, forever.
This MAGA group he has built are of the utmost dangerous. He has them now infiltrated into all levels of our government from local through federal. Every level in all states. All he needs to do is get himself back in the White House.
IT IS TIME TO WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!
“Will we permit the destruction of American democracy on our watch?”
I did not see any mention in the media about December 7th being the anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day.
I remember this 1941 day vividly. We had invited a skating instructor to Sunday lunch. Nancy Alvord’s husband was a pilot on an aircraft carrier based in Pearl.
After lunch we were going to listen to a radio concert from NYC. Instead, we heard the first news of a Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The news was stunning to Mrs. Alvord and to us. Though we had been following intently the war in Europe [my mother was British and, for us, WW II in Europe began in September, 1939], the prospect of a Japanese sneak attack was unimaginable.
We had scant details of the magnitude of the damage for some days. Mrs. Alvord’s husband was safety on an air craft carrier that was not in Pearl. [He was lost at the battle of Midway, when his entire torpedo squadron was shot down by Japanese fighters.]
On December 8th President Roosevelt, in a stirring speech before Congress, declared war against Japan. No mention was made of Hitler’s Germany. [There was subsequent speculation whether the United States would declare war against Germany, since the national focus was on Japan.]
On December 11th Hitler declared war on the United States. We already were in a ‘semi-war’ with Germany. Our navy was directly involved with the British navy in protecting supply convoys carrying Lend Lease supplies to England.
The first months of the war were dreadful for the United States. The Japanese captured the Philippines, where we had our largest contingent of soldiers in Asia. Meanwhile, German U boats were sinking American ships off the shore of New Jersey and elsewhere.
All this was overwhelming for this eight-year old.
My uncle was on the USS Wasp in 1942 when it was torpedoed and sunk. Like many veterans of that era, the war years were not usually a topic of conversation. One story that was passed down was as he and others prepared to jump into the water, one of the other airmen said he couldn't swim and my uncle said, "well you're going to learn now" and pulled him over! They survived and my uncle served on other carriers in the Pacific until the end of the war. Afterwards, he went went on to have a brilliant academic career but never flew again - he claimed it was because commercial airlines would not let him wear a parachute and he would not fly without one! And, it doesn't always register just how young these men were - my uncle had just turned 23 in September 1942 and was only 21 when, in anticipation of war, he left college and enlisted, initially as a naval aviation cadet.
Lord Tytler, a Scottish historian, presented the 8 stages of democracy, with the final stage democracy’s failure due to political economic influences. John Quincy Adams predicted the same outcome for America’s democracy. Basically, democracies do not last longer than 200 years, succumbing to greed and corruption. We have let our education system fail our youth, allowed the infiltration of money into our politics, and have become apathetic about our government--the “Bermuda Triangle” for democracy.
Thank you for writing about Pearl Harbor. This year, I note there was just a tiny blip in the news about Pearl Harbor. It felt like this event was being erased from our collective memory. Those of us who grew up in the 50's and 60's remember the media's attention on December 7th and the solem commemorations for that day. Our parents fought in that war and we were keenly aware of their sacrifices. Now, we have a Republican leader who calls military men and women "losers", and he slanders military heroes like John McCain. This is what our parents fought for? To be slandered, to be mocked? The men and women who put their lives on the line so lunatics like trump can mock them?
This movie gives lie to all that underlaid the discrimination and segregation of the USA Caste System. Ironically, it was the military that dealt Jim Crow a deadly blow.
“But the beauty of our system is that it gives us people like Doris Miller.
Even better, it makes us people like Doris Miller.”
I appreciate your pointing out (with facts as usual) the different ethnic groups that served in the War. THIS is the face of Democracy in action! We stand TOGETHER!
Thank you Heather -for the history and another deeply insightful Letter.
Democracy requires constant effort. It requires a society that prioritizes education. A meaningful democracy of any form requires a well-informed, well-educated, and engaged society. Much of the long-term GOP strategy has been to concentrate wealth (and thus power) to the top, while causing working Americans to struggle with longer working hours while living paycheck to paycheck. This is an assault on engagement -working together to protect democracy and shape policies that yield equity and justice for all. Reagan's work to destroy the affordability of higher education, continues to be an assault on another pillar of democracy. And the consolidation of media has eroded the Fourth Estate -journalism and an informed society. Now we are guided by The Kardashians, Snooki, Fox & Friends, and the Sinclair Broadcasting group.
Democracy has slowly been gutted in the United States and Trump/MAGA and Heritage's project2025.org would have been soundly rejected by a society that embraced science, facts, and evidence over propaganda and disinformation. A society that would readily understand that Trickle-Down 'economics' -is not economics -it's a massive fraud perpetrated by the wealthy upon everyone else through GOP shills.
Grateful for you Heather -leading the charge on information and education. Engagement? -it's up to all of us.
The Trump Show has long gone stale, like the TV series that runs eight years past its cancel date. Trump is the same paper-thin whiny wretched soul he was in 2015, and each of his daily episodes feels like a poorly written instant replay. My latest political rants have, so far, created very little traction. I've tried "Critical Fascist Theory" and I've tried "MAGANAZI Party." Now I'm pushing the idea that the U.S. military, the 17 clandestine services and the FBI will not obey Trump's orders. "We don't do fascist."
My husband was Navy and was born Dec 7 1943 so I remember the day of infamy. My grandfather was a Navy engineer who designed and supervised the building of the dry docks in the harbor that were bombed on that fateful day. Lots of links across time and space and reasons to stand together for our republic’s democracy. We the people shall prevail. Thank you for this important review of history and call for support.
Having visited Pearl Harbour and the Missouri memorial site (listening there to Japanese youth cat calling to each other and laughing) I was appalled to learn that when President Trump visited that site in the company of a top military official, he seemed to be not fully cognisant of what happened at that site. This is the man who wants to return to the presidency and become a a dictator. Why does the GOP bow to this repugnant human being?
To preserve our US democracy is THE challenge of this decade, perhaps century….and we must really get ‘at it’ in the next 11 months….decency/sanity/and stability requires it and the world desperately needs it! This is clearly NOT just a national issue. We are a largely interdependent world!
Such heroism only to go down with his ship a couple of years later. What a loss of the rest of his life! Thank you, Heather, for covering this story.
Heather, you bring one of the most important days of American history to full light. And, you have tied it to today’s current situation so perfectly.
“Will we permit the destruction of American democracy on our watch?”
Every American in this nation needs to read this write-up, and ponder that question you ask. I have been fighting this for the past 7 years.
Donald J. Trump has been a spy since the early 70s for Russia. He is a narcissist, sociopath, and the only thing he has his sights on right now is becoming a Dictator. That’s his ultimate goal.
Anyone who doesn’t think he will do exactly what he says he’ll do when he walks back into the White House is a total fool! He will completely destroy America. He will dismantle our economy, our Democracy, our Constitution will be gone, forever.
This MAGA group he has built are of the utmost dangerous. He has them now infiltrated into all levels of our government from local through federal. Every level in all states. All he needs to do is get himself back in the White House.
IT IS TIME TO WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!
“Will we permit the destruction of American democracy on our watch?”
I did not see any mention in the media about December 7th being the anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day.
I remember this 1941 day vividly. We had invited a skating instructor to Sunday lunch. Nancy Alvord’s husband was a pilot on an aircraft carrier based in Pearl.
After lunch we were going to listen to a radio concert from NYC. Instead, we heard the first news of a Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The news was stunning to Mrs. Alvord and to us. Though we had been following intently the war in Europe [my mother was British and, for us, WW II in Europe began in September, 1939], the prospect of a Japanese sneak attack was unimaginable.
We had scant details of the magnitude of the damage for some days. Mrs. Alvord’s husband was safety on an air craft carrier that was not in Pearl. [He was lost at the battle of Midway, when his entire torpedo squadron was shot down by Japanese fighters.]
On December 8th President Roosevelt, in a stirring speech before Congress, declared war against Japan. No mention was made of Hitler’s Germany. [There was subsequent speculation whether the United States would declare war against Germany, since the national focus was on Japan.]
On December 11th Hitler declared war on the United States. We already were in a ‘semi-war’ with Germany. Our navy was directly involved with the British navy in protecting supply convoys carrying Lend Lease supplies to England.
The first months of the war were dreadful for the United States. The Japanese captured the Philippines, where we had our largest contingent of soldiers in Asia. Meanwhile, German U boats were sinking American ships off the shore of New Jersey and elsewhere.
All this was overwhelming for this eight-year old.
My uncle was on the USS Wasp in 1942 when it was torpedoed and sunk. Like many veterans of that era, the war years were not usually a topic of conversation. One story that was passed down was as he and others prepared to jump into the water, one of the other airmen said he couldn't swim and my uncle said, "well you're going to learn now" and pulled him over! They survived and my uncle served on other carriers in the Pacific until the end of the war. Afterwards, he went went on to have a brilliant academic career but never flew again - he claimed it was because commercial airlines would not let him wear a parachute and he would not fly without one! And, it doesn't always register just how young these men were - my uncle had just turned 23 in September 1942 and was only 21 when, in anticipation of war, he left college and enlisted, initially as a naval aviation cadet.
True. And yet, black men and women who came back from the war were threatened with death if they voted.
Apartheid, and democracy is complicated.
Lord Tytler, a Scottish historian, presented the 8 stages of democracy, with the final stage democracy’s failure due to political economic influences. John Quincy Adams predicted the same outcome for America’s democracy. Basically, democracies do not last longer than 200 years, succumbing to greed and corruption. We have let our education system fail our youth, allowed the infiltration of money into our politics, and have become apathetic about our government--the “Bermuda Triangle” for democracy.
Thank you for writing about Pearl Harbor. This year, I note there was just a tiny blip in the news about Pearl Harbor. It felt like this event was being erased from our collective memory. Those of us who grew up in the 50's and 60's remember the media's attention on December 7th and the solem commemorations for that day. Our parents fought in that war and we were keenly aware of their sacrifices. Now, we have a Republican leader who calls military men and women "losers", and he slanders military heroes like John McCain. This is what our parents fought for? To be slandered, to be mocked? The men and women who put their lives on the line so lunatics like trump can mock them?
This movie gives lie to all that underlaid the discrimination and segregation of the USA Caste System. Ironically, it was the military that dealt Jim Crow a deadly blow.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji1aG5s9qI4
True. Yet, black men and women who came back from fighting for democracy were threatened with death if they tried to vote.
Apartheid is complicated.