Re: 7 December 1941: Remember Pearl Harbor

12/13/21 - posted by John Martini

Hey Paul! One day, when I was working at the Memorial, my boss told me to be at the dock at 6:00 AM for a special event at the Memorial. No further info.

When I arrived, half asleep but in full Class A uniform, we motored out to the Memorial in an empty launch. When my boss and I disembarked, we found the entire crew of a Japanese Self Defense naval ship at attention in the Memorial awaiting our arrival. My boss explained they wanted to come before we opened to the public so they to honor the fallen U.S. Navy sailors out of public view.

None of these Japanese sailors had been born before World War II, but they all realized what they forebears had unleashed at Pearl Harbor.