Spare a thought for Pearl Harbor Day

[bru888]

December 7, 1941. It is "a date that will live in infamy," 80 years ago today. Truly a major landmark in modern history, whether you are American or not. Also the inspiration for the initial scenario in OOB's U.S. Pacific campaign, Pearl Harbor, the ingenuity and sheer fun of which proving to be a spark for my ongoing infatuation with this game.

Smoke rises from the battleship USS Arizona.jpg (73.56 KiB) Viewed 1533 times

[bru888]

... sheer fun of which ...

It's remarkable how this works. I realize that using this phrase may belie the solemnity of the commemoration of this event. Rest assured that this is not intended.

2,335 Americans were killed in that attack, and another 1,143 wounded. If the attackers had gotten at our aircraft carriers, I may have been writing this in Japanese and exulting in the "glorious victory" achieved on that day.

What is remarkable is how we can ... shut out? disregard? ... thoughts of the grimness of war as we play this game and yes, have fun doing so. I have even had fun playing Morning Sun and Rising Sun as the Japanese, despite what historically occurred at Pearl Harbor!

But occasionally, I have cause to reflect upon the reality of what we are dealing with here. May God prevent something like it from ever happening again.

[richfed]

Besides my Dad, movies and games have probably been the greatest motivators for my intense interest in history - old Avalon Hill board games and historically INACCURATE films [The Alamo, They Died With Their Boots On, for example]. It wasn't until 9/11, though that I truly was able to feel the emotions harbored by the Greatest Generation. God Bless them all!

[bru888]

I miss those Avalon Hill board games! I have spent the last 30 years trying to recreate the enjoyment that I had with them. Their demise began with the dog, and later a toddler, pulling the board in play off the table, with game tiles flying all over the place. Banished to the closet, those great games ultimately succumbed to dust (and mould? — I'm not sure about that, but I am guessing I would remember if I had *that* problem!) and the need for closet space. Pity.

[w_michael]

Surely December 1941 was a "day of infamy". Please remember that the British Commonwealth had been fighting since 1939. My father was a ham radio operator who volunteered to join the RCAF at the start of the war. He initially shipped over to Britain to be trained in radar. En route the Bismark was detected and all of his convoy's escorts left the troop ships to pursue the Bismark. The troop ships were then vulnerable to U-Boats. Once trained he returned to help install radar stations (and train U.S. operators) along the North American east and west coasts, including the Panama Canal.

Dec. 7th is an important day to remember, but lets not forget everyone else's contribution.

[kondi754]

I read an interesting story about Pearl Harbor once. A civilian worker rescued more than 30 people from a fire caused by bombs, and later had to walk 8 km home to his family in the dark and on foot because there was a power plant failure and public transport wasn't working after the Japanese attack.
I like such stories. On the one hand, great politics and on the other hand, common people

[bru888]

Please remember that the British Commonwealth had been fighting since 1939.
. . .
Dec. 7th is an important day to remember, but lets not forget everyone else's contribution.

Certainly and certainly. 7 Dec 1941 is a big day for Americans, of course, but it's overshadowed by 1 Sep 1939. [I am glad your father made it ... else we wouldn't be talking to you now, perhaps?]

[bru888]

I read an interesting story about Pearl Harbor once. A civilian worker rescued more than 30 people from a fire caused by bombs, and later had to walk 8 km home to his family in the dark and on foot because there was a power plant failure and public transport wasn't working after the Japanese attack.
I like such stories. On the one hand, great politics and on the other hand, common people

Heh. It's the [inept] designer in me. Recall that I mentioned Pearl Harbor, the first scenario of the U.S. Pacific campaign. My first thought upon reading your reference to that story was "Say, how could I work that into the scenario?" Followed by the usual failure and frustration.

[PoorOldSpike]

The Japanese signed their own death warrant by attacking Pearl Harbor, then soon after Hitler signed his death warrant by declaring war on the USA to show his solidarity with the Japs. Bad call..
Churchill was over the moon-

[terminator]

Doris Miller (October 12, 1919 – November 24, 1943) was a United States Navy cook third class who was killed in action during World War II. He was the first black American to be awarded the Navy Cross, the highest decoration for valor in combat after the Medal of Honor.

Miller served aboard the battleship West Virginia, which was sunk by Japanese torpedo bombers during the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. During the attack, he helped several sailors who were wounded, and while manning an anti-aircraft machine gun for which he had no training, he shot down several Japanese planes. Miller's actions earned him the medal, and the resulting publicity for Miller in the black press made him an iconic emblem of the fight for civil rights for black Americans. In November 1943, Miller was killed while serving aboard the escort carrier Liscome Bay when it was sunk by a Japanese submarine during the Battle of Makin in the Gilbert Islands.

960px-Dorie_Miller.jpg (98.64 KiB) Viewed 1444 times

[bru888]

Yes, that is the U.S. Navy Cross on his chest:

Navy Cross.jpg (151.52 KiB) Viewed 1429 times

It's impossible to know, but one wonders how many servicemen and women survived Pearl Harbor only to perish later in the war.

[bru888]

Let me add this, while I am on the subject of Pearl Harbor: If you don't know her, meet Jeannette Rankin. Her story is amazing.

Jeannette_Rankin.jpg (79.3 KiB) Viewed 1421 times

She was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Montana, in itself a noteworthy accomplishment considering the conservative nature of that state — she is still the only woman ever elected to Congress from Montana. She served for exactly two terms of two years apiece, separated by nearly 25 years: March 4, 1917 – March 3, 1919 and January 3, 1941 – January 3, 1943.

Thus she was at a major crossroads of U.S. history twice in her life: the entry of the United States into both World War I and World War II.

A lifelong pacifist, she was one of 50 House members who opposed the declaration of war on Germany in 1917. Okay, fine.

But almost 25 years pass, and here she was again, in the same situation.

The day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt asked Congress to approve his declaration of war on Japan. The vote in favor was 82–0 in the Senate and 388–1 in the House. 461 men and 9 women voted for war, and only one person voted against it.

Guess who that person was? Yep. From Wikipedia:

Hisses could be heard in the gallery as she cast her vote; several colleagues, including Rep. (later Senator) Everett Dirksen, asked her to change it to make the resolution unanimous—or at very least, to abstain—but she refused. "As a woman I can't go to war," she said, "and I refuse to send anyone else." After the vote, a crowd of reporters pursued Rankin into a cloakroom. There, she was forced to take refuge in a phone booth until Capitol Police arrived to escort her to her office, where she was inundated with angry telegrams and phone calls. One cable, from her brother, read, "Montana is 100 percent against you".

No matter how you feel about her beliefs and how she voted, you must admire the courage of this woman to stand up, at that moment and in those circumstances, for what she believed in. Alone.

Her political career was over, but Jeannette Rankin was not done by any means. She remained active in pacifist, feminist, and civil rights movements. She lived long enough to lead protests against the Vietnam War, including a 5,000-woman march to the Capitol Building to present a peace petition to House Speaker John McCormack. In 1972, Rankin, then in her nineties, actually considered running for a third term for a House seat but withdrew for health reasons (she died the following year).

Truly an amazing woman.

[Epperaliant]

While I was playing the scenario I remember being in awe thinking that a few decades after those events, Magnum P. I. would have driven his Ferrari along those very roads.

[bru888]

While I was playing the scenario I remember being in awe thinking that a few decades after those events, Magnum P. I. would have driven his Ferrari along those very roads.

Perhaps not if the Japanese had gotten those carriers, as I mentioned before. And there may have been an earlier TV show about Hawaii detectives, but instead of "Hawaii Five-0" it would have been named "Hawai Faibu-0" (ハワイファイブ-0) or something. And it could have starred Toshiro Mifune instead of Jack Lord!

Toshiro Mifune.jpg (34.18 KiB) Viewed 1363 times

Jack Lord.jpg (49.5 KiB) Viewed 1363 times

[Epperaliant]

While I was playing the scenario I remember being in awe thinking that a few decades after those events, Magnum P. I. would have driven his Ferrari along those very roads.

Perhaps not if the Japanese had gotten those carriers, as I mentioned before. And there may have been an earlier TV show about Hawaii detectives, but instead of "Hawaii Five-0" it would have been named "Hawai Faibu-0" (ハワイファイブ-0) or something. And it could have starred Toshiro Mifune instead of Jack Lord!

I imagine that most episodes would involve people getting killed about matters of honor lol.

[PoorOldSpike]

U.S. wartime poster-





P-38's kill Yamamoto