Pearl Harbor Day

I dedicate my post today to those who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii on this day 70 years ago.  How tragic that something like this could happen on what was a beautiful, sunny day in paradise!  What is so sad is that there were strong indications that this was going to happen, but they went unheeded. This tragedy underscored the importance of how intelligence should be used to protect the United States of America from all enemies foreign and domestic.

Although I have been in Oahu many times, the USS Arizona Memorial never fails to have an effect on me.  It lies in shallow waters beneath the beautiful stark white memorial built in its memory and honor. You can actually see the ship in the water under the memorial:

The USS Arizona Lies Still Beneath its Memorial in Pearl Harbor

  
Visitors are taken to the memorial via a barge and once there, asked to enter the memorial in silence and respect.  It is a very somber place, as the bodies of 1,177 servicemen who died aboard the ship remain entombed there today.  When you look out of the windows of the memorial, you can see one of the gun turrets right outside:

Gun Turret Right Outside the Windows of the Arizona Memorial

Here is a picture of a large plaque of the list of names of those servicemen who died there:

Plaque of Names of Those Who Died on the USS Arizona

I will pray for the souls of these brave servicemen who died at Pearl Harbor 70 years ago.  I pray that both they and their families are at peace.

Until tomorrow . . .