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Pearl Harbor: Remember lessons learned from history

For the Greatest Generation there was more than one defining moment. Survival of the Great Depression and D-Day are often cited, but between those two is the date that propelled them from one to the other: Dec. 7, 1941.

When the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor in what was then the territory of Hawaii, the United States was launched into World War II, and a fight in both the Pacific and European theaters. The “date which will live in infamy” left 2,403 dead and 1,178 wounded; but it spurred a nation.

Now, 75 years later, our attackers have become our allies. Mid-Ohio Valley residents are quite familiar with the good working relationship our country — and state — have enjoyed with Japan.

We honor those who fought and died as a result of the attack on Pearl Harbor, while remembering the world they saved has moved forward. Their heroism, in large part, allowed it to do so. Author Craig Shirley, who wrote “December 1941: 31 Days That Changed America and Saved the World,” said the attack led the U.S. to become “the arsenal of democracy.” The country was united in a way that has not happened since.

And as a united front, the generation that fought after Pearl Harbor showed the rest of the world who we were, and what we stand for. At the turn of a new century that meant another surprise attack; new enemies.

But as we spend a moment today thinking of the men and women who lost their lives three-quarters of a century ago, we must be grateful. They and those who fought for almost another four years laid the groundwork for the U.S. to become the most feared military force on the planet. With that great power has come great responsibility — the U.S. became the leader of “the Free World.”

Parkersburg resident Pearl Kress, who was 16 at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, has seen the united front that wrought so much power flourish, and she has seen it falter.

“I hope it never happens again,” she said. “But I’m afraid it will.”

So we must be grateful, and we must heed the lessons they learned. They could save us, again.

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