Sussex County History Today: Day of Infamy

Recently, I had the good fortune to scratch off a couple items from my “bucket list.”

While on the West Coast for work, I had a couple days layover that I could wander. Never having been to Hawaii, I made the trip. And I had a great time, thanks for asking.

Another item was a trip to Pearl Harbor. I was not disappointed with the result. It is a beautiful site with warm weather and sunshine. The blue green water was captivating in the well-kept harbor, which has all the modern conveniences and orderly buildings that one could want.

Pearl Harbor is also recognized as the location of one of the most important moments in human history. This is where, on Dec. 7, 1941, the United States was pulled into World War II by a surprise attack on our Pacific fleet by the Empire of Japan.

This was the site where more than 2,400 American sailors were killed and more wounded. The attack resulted in the sinking of 12 ships, including three of America’s battleships.

As part of the Baby Boomer generation, we look back on those who came before us - fathers and grandfathers - who went to war in the Pacific and Europe to defend our freedom. Our mothers and grandmothers were an integral part of the struggle against tyranny as well.

One of the most tragic and deadly events during the attack was the detonation of the explosives in the ammunition magazine aboard the battleship USS Arizona. The aerial armor-piercing bomb dropped by a Japanese warplane killed more than 1,100 men moments after the hit.

There is history that is embedded within each of us from personal experiences. These can be remembered by us for the rest of our lives. They can impact us in various ways and may also affect our motivations and alter our desires and pathways in subtle and large ways. This is personal.

There is history that is instilled within us as a society, an event or happening so large that it affects and can change patterns of our whole culture and outlook.

The assassination of President Kennedy and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks took place abruptly and poignantly and altered the way we think. The attack on Pearl Harbor had a similar impact for the Greatest Generation.

Each generation remembers facets of the event, just like the “never forget” expression for 9/11. But each generation ages, then passes from the scene.

“Remember the Maine” now falls on ears unaware of that tragedy, which began the Spanish-American War in 1898. This societal loss of memory emphasizes the importance of George Santayana’s statement: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” That is why it is important for us to be aware of history.

So, for me, this was a very filling bucket-list experience. The trip across placid harbor waters, the smell of the salty air, the ocean breeze and the gentle roll of the U.S. Navy transport reinforced the adventure. The anticipation was great for us to arrive at the diminutive sugar-white building at sea level in the immense harbor.

The arrival of the whaleboat to the serene setting and the silence of the crowd coming from the memorial was somewhat surreal. The memorial is so clean, so quiet and so bright as to belie the grim reminder that the edifice represents.

Names are engraved in black on the white walls and it makes you think. Looking over the sides, one can see the subtle waves as they are lapping against the stone structure and drifting around the now-hollowed-out gun girder and barbette. They seem to somehow connect and interact with yesterday and today.

As I peered over the side at the clear water, a couple beads of black came up from the depths, little drops of black oil that squirmed to the surface that somehow presented a voice from the past, from the men still on duty down below.

Remember those who protected our way of life; all gave some, some gave all. Remember events in our collective past so we can learn to avoid such tragedies in the future.

Bill Truran, Sussex County historian, may be contacted at billt1425@gmail.com