Good Morning Everyone !
Today is December 7, the 341st day of 2013 and there are 24 days left.
A memorable day in history today as we remember the heroes and veterans of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. A thoughtful day for me as my own father was at the U.S. Army airbase located on the top of the Island which actually got hit first as many of the attack aircraft came out of the north crossing the Island to get to the harbor itself and also remember a very dear friend of mine who recently passed on to live with our Load in Heaven; she was a nurse at the U.S. Naval Hospital at Pearl Harbor during the attack.
I’ve got two special extra’s in here for you today folks. First, at the end of the feature item is a link to an apparently long lost video announcing the end of our war with Japan and following celebrations in Honolulu Hawaii. Also, near the bottom, I have a link to a music video of ‘Oh Lord My God -How Great Thou Art’; it’s really beautiful!!!
We wake in Albuquerque to yet another very chilly day. Pastor says in an earlier post it’s 14 above outside. I tried not to take long enough getting the wife’s paper this morning to find that out for myself, but it didn’t work !!! It is still a wonderful, blessed and beautiful day in our work for the Lord here at:
For God’s Glory Alone Ministries !!!
So, What Happened Today in 1941:
Japanese Naval Air Forces Attack Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii
The 1st Wall
USS Arizona Memorial
At 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time, a Japanese dive bomber bearing the red symbol of the Rising Sun of Japan on its wings appears out of the clouds above the island of Oahu. A swarm of 360 Japanese warplanes followed, descending on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in a ferocious assault. The surprise attack struck a critical blow against the U.S. Pacific fleet and drew the United States irrevocably into World War II.
With diplomatic negotiations with Japan breaking down, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his advisers knew that an imminent Japanese attack was probable, but nothing had been done to increase security at the important naval base at Pearl Harbor. It was Sunday morning, and many military personnel had been given passes to attend religious services off base. At 7:02 a.m., two radar operators spotted large groups of aircraft in flight toward the island from the north, but, with a flight of B-17s expected from the United States at the time, they were told to sound no alarm. Thus, the Japanese air assault came as a devastating surprise to the naval base.
Until that day, anti-war protests had prevented Roosevelt’s resolve to ally the US with Britain and the Soviet Union against Germany. Not even the slaughter of 200,000 Chinese civilians by Japanese Troops at Nanking, in December 1937, had been sufficient to turn the protestors against the Japanese.
Much of the Pacific fleet was rendered useless: Five of eight battleships, three destroyers, and seven other ships were sunk or severely damaged, and more than 200 aircraft were destroyed. A total of 2,400 Americans were killed and 1,200 were wounded, many while valiantly attempting to repulse the attack. Japan’s losses were some 30 planes, five midget submarines, and fewer than 100 men. Fortunately for the United States, all three Pacific fleet carriers were out at sea on training maneuvers. These giant aircraft carriers would have their revenge against Japan six months later at the Battle of Midway, reversing the tide against the previously invincible Japanese navy in a spectacular victory.
The day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, President Roosevelt appeared before a joint session of Congress and declared, “Yesterday, December 7, 1941–a date which will live in infamy–the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” After a brief and forceful speech, he asked Congress to approve a resolution recognizing the state of war between the United States and Japan. The Senate voted for war against Japan by 82 to 0, and the House of Representatives approved the resolution by a vote of 388 to 1. The sole dissenter was Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana, a devout pacifist who had also cast a dissenting vote against the U.S. entrance into World War I. Three days later, Germany and Italy declared war against the United States, and the U.S. government responded in kind.
By the end of the war, Germany would count approximately 7 Million killed (in addition to the 6 Million Jews murdered) and the Japanese nearly 3 Million. The United States suffered 418,500 killed and the British 450,900, as well as the Canadians 45,400. The Soviets sacrificed 23.4 Million due to their use of people, soldiers and civilians alike, in human waves. China lost between 10 and 20 Million, mostly civilians at the hands of the Japanese.
As an addition to today’s feature above, I wanted to include a short video which was apparently lost and just recently found. It’s a news video made in Hawaii when the end of the war with Japan was announced; I hope you enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=CZ85j6U2Fvs
Other Memorable Or Interesting Events Which Occurred On December 7 In History:
43 (BC) – Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman orator & politician is assassinated;
185 – Emperor Lo-Yang of China sees supernova (MSH15-52);
1696 – Connecticut Route 108, one of the oldest highways in the U.S. is completed to Trumbull;
1732 – The Royal Opera House opens at Covent Garden in London;
1787 – Delaware ratifies the constitution by a unanimous vote becoming the 1st state;
1796 – John Adams is elected 2nd U.S. President;
1805 – Lewis & Clark begin building a small fort on the south shore of Columbia River (near modern-day Portland, Ore) which would be their winter home after having spied the Pacific Ocean for the 1st time a few weeks earlier;
1808 – James Madison is elected 4th U.S. President;
1836 – Martin Van Buren elected 8th U.S. President;
1842 – New York Philharmonic performs its 1st concert;
1862 – NW Arkansas & SW Missouri are secured by union forces when they hold off Confederate forces at the Battle of Prairie Grove Arkansas;
1877 – Thomas Edison demonstrates the Gramophone;
1911 – China abolished requirement for all men to wear their hair in a queue, or ponytail;
1926 – The gas refrigerator is patented;
1934 – Wiley Post discovers the Jet Stream;
1937 – Dutch Minister Romme proclaims married women are forbidden to work;
1941 – German siege of Tobruk ends after 8 months;
1945 – 1st microwave oven patented;
1946 – Winecoff Hotel catches fire in Atlanta Ga killing 119;
1964 – Situation worsens in South Vietnam as Viet Cong attack & capture district headquarters at An Lao & the surrounding valley. South Vietnamese troops regained control after U.S. helicopters airlifted South Vietnamese troops into the area;
1965 – Pope Paul VI & Orthodox Patriarch Athenagoras I both lift mutual excommunications which had led to the two churches splitting in 1054;
1972 – Apollo 17 launches on final manned lunar landing mission;
1982 – 1st execution by lethal injection takes place in Huntsville Texas;
1983 – Two jets collide at Madrid Spain airport killing 93;
1987 – Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in U.S. for summit with Ronald Reagan which resulted in one of the most significant arms control agreements of the cold war;
1987 – Pacific Southwest Airliner crashes after man shoots pilots killing 43;
1988 – Two earthquakes wreak havoc on Armenia killing an estimated 60,000;
1993 – Colin Ferguson opens fire on a Long Island commuter train from NYC killing 6 & injuring 19;
2011 – Former Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, sentenced to 14 years for corruption.
Today’s Faithful Quote:
“A spirit of thankfulness is one of the most distinctive marks of a Christian whose heart is attuned to the Lord. Thank God in the midst of trials and every persecution.” – Billy Graham
Today’s Funny:
Why didn’t Noah swat those two mosquitoes ?
Today’s Faithful Thought:
“In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.” – John Bunyan
Today’s Do You Remember:
You had to answer it to find our who was calling !!!
Today’s Why Did You Ask That:
Why do airport employees ask you “has anyone put anything in your baggage without you knowledge?” – – – How can you be expected to know ?
Today’s Amazing Useless Fact:
A dime has 118 ridges around its edge.
Today’s Funny Picture:
Today’s Inspiration Musical Video:
Oh Lord My God – How Great Thou Art – ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL: https://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=pLLMzr3PFgk&feature=player_embedded
Today’s Funny Bulldog:
Until Tomorrow – God Bless To All !!!
