Remembering Pearl Harbor, 70 years later

Seventy years ago Dec. 7, the nation was shocked by the news from Pearl Harbor, a place many Americans had never heard of before.

They had been assured by aviation hero Charles Lindbergh, a leader of the isolationist, anti-war movement, that "the Japanese had such bad eyesight that they could not fly aircraft effectively."

Yet without declaring war, Japan had launched a massive air attack on the ill-prepared U.S. naval forces in Hawaii. The damage — 2,402 Americans killed, four battleships sunk, 188 aircraft destroyed — wouldn't be known publicly for weeks.

But the idea that the USA was headed to war — an unpopular position on Dec. 6 — had become an undisputed reality.

The 70th anniversary is being marked by hundreds of Remember Pearl Harbor events, new books, and Wednesday's two-hour History Channel special, Pearl Harbor: 24 Hours After (8 p.m. ET).

Today, returning to the site of the attacks can be difficult for survivors, but also heartening.

Many of the survivors come to recall the moment of the attack with one another, not to seek acknowledgment of their efforts. “It is something that happened to us; it was a bonding experience,” said 89-year-old William Muehleib who was then a member of the Army Air Corps. “We aren’t looking for accolades or special recognition.”

To many, each anniversary takes on greater importance, as the window to honor those who survived is rapidly closing. Many survivors, who are now in their 80s and 90s, do not worry about being forgotten, Muehleib said.

With the substantial investment the federal government has made in commemorating the attacks, including a sprawling new $56-million Pearl Harbor Visitor Center, what happened on Dec. 7, 1941, will not be forgotten.

(Via USA Today and the LA Times)