Paying price for US historical ‘blind spots’
In his editorial to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Opinion Editor Marty Trillhaase of the Lewiston Tribune comments:
Seventy-five years ago today, this nation collided with a historic milestone - the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. While the American military had reason to anticipate hostilities with Japan for more than a decade, most people were shocked that Sunday to hear of the massive loss of life and the destruction of much of the nation’s Pacific fleet.
The attack ended all debate. Isolationism was over. The country was galvanized into waging and winning World War II. From then on, America would be a force in the world.
Features that changed the direction of American life to this day are etched into our collective history: President Franklin Roosevelt’s declaration of war (“Yesterday, Dec. 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy … “). The black-and-white newsreels of the USS Arizona burning to death. A disputed quote attributed to the attack’s architect, Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (“I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve …”). And all of it was bound up in the popular culture, from “From Here to Eternity” to “Tora! Tora! Tora!”
Unfortunately, this is a country with few markers — Valley Forge, Gettysburg and Pearl Harbor — with a lot historical blindspots in between. More here.
* This story was originally published as a post from the blog "Huckleberries Online." Read all stories from this blog