Winning Words 12/7/10
“Let’s remember Pearl Harbor, as we did the Alamo.” (Don Reid) Some of you will know these words and be able to sing them. 12/7/41 was important in my youth. FDR referred to it as “a date which will live in infamy.” Infamy is a descriptive word reserved for the worst of circumstances. You might want to look it up, if you don’t already know its meaning. 9/11 lives in infamy, too. ;-) Jack

Let's REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR
As we go to meet the foe.
Let's REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR
As we did the Alamo.
We will always remember how they died for Liberty.
Let's REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR
And go on to victory."

FROM SG IN TAMPA: I just came in after hanging up the flag. FROM JACK: I salute you! One of my friends has a son serving with the Marines in Afghanisrtan. A buddy from his troop was killed yesterday in small arms fire. "How many times must the cannonballs fly..."

FROM MOLINER CF: We tend to think of a day of infamy as something that happened to us here in America. The opening of Auschwittz certainly ranks at the top of of any list.If we broaden our focus, how many more are there? FROM JACK: Gettysburg, for one.

FROM MO IN ILLINOIS: What is astounding to me when I read the "inside" account of Pearl Harbor, and it is also referred to, when you take the tour in Hawaii of Pearl Harbor, was how warnings were ignored, which allowed such a disaster to happen. We now know this could have been diverted or prevented, or at least defended! History has too many "days of Infamy" !! FROM JACK: Read again, the fable of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." We are getting warnings of one sort or another all of the time. We pick and choose, because it's physically and psychologically impossible to be on the alert all of the time.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: We remember the day of "Infamy" as well as we remember Nov 22, 1964, the Shuttle disaster, 9-11 etc. Thankfully, they are a small number. I try to remember the ccompassion and the strength of our nation. FROM JACK: I think that television has made some events more memorable than others. As more and more of a generation die off, the first-hand memories fade away, too.

FROM AM IN MICHIGAN: Yes, today we remember Pearl Harbor. Forty years ago today at 9:30 a.m. our family flew to Detroit from Milwaukee. GM had closed down their guidance missile program . It was Detroit or Kokomo if we wanted to continue with GM. We left our first son there to attend U. of Wisconsin. We brought my widowed father-in-law and our four children. Every year , our second son calls to remind us of the day that lives in infamy for our family. We spent fifteen years in Wisconsin, had three children there and learned to appreciate the midwest. We made good friends whom we still hold dear and keep in touch . Many have died. It turned out well. At the time, it was miserable. Leaving friends at the holidays was painful. We went to our new church, met new friends. Neighbors called us and made us welcome. My husband's new hobby was driving me to Milwaukee. Time does heal all wounds. Today Japan is a democratic ally. Our family celebrates our long, happy life in Michigan. FROM JACK: The move to Michigan happened 41 years ago on Labor Day weekend. I told my "Wisconsin" girl that we'd stay three years, and then decide whether or not to leave. We go back to the Dairy State at least once a year.

FROM MOLINER CF: And Nagasaki for another. FROM JACK: It's said that General Sherman gave his "War is hell" speech about five miles from where we live.