Today, December 7, 2021, we mark the 80th anniversary of the attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor. We honor those who survived the attack to tell the story and those who signed up because of that infamous day and fought the Axis powers of Germany, Italy and Japan.

On Sunday, Dr. Jeff Gardere, professor of clinical psychology, was on Fox & Friends being interviewed by Rachel Campos-Duffy regarding the Oxford, Michigan school shooting. Dr. Gardere partially blamed the shooting on “toxic masculinity”. To her immense credit, Campos-Duffy pushed back. “Boys will be boys” is no excuse for bad behavior. No toleration for it here. But, we didn’t have school shootings 80 years ago, when real men and women defeated the Axis powers. We owe a debt of gratitude to the men and women who didn’t shy away from tough things. Pearl Harbor is a great starting point.

The United States had been interested in Hawaii for military purposes since 1898 and the islands were important throughout the Spanish-American War. Since the U.S. intended to become a Pacific military power, forces continued to build there.

At 7:55 a.m., the first wave of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor began. At about the same time, Japan sent notice to Washington D.C. that she was breaking off diplomatic ties. The time was 12:55 p.m. on the East Coast. Church was over, people were cleaning up the dinner dishes, and kids were going out to play. It was all so normal until word started to come in over the radios. President Franklin Roosevelt found out from the Secretary of the Navy:

On December 7, 1941, at around 1:30 p.m., President Franklin Roosevelt is conferring with advisor Harry Hopkins in his study when Navy Secretary Frank Knox bursts in and announces that Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor. The attack killed more than 2,400 naval and military personnel.

There were eight ships moored together at Battleship Row in Pearl Harbor. Two more battleships were also off of Oahu. Of the ten ships, the USS Oklahoma, USS Utah, and USS Arizona were sunk and some crew members were buried with the ships. The most famous of the ships is the USS Arizona. The Arizona Memorial is featured in Deanna’s photo featured at the top of the post. If you have never been to the Arizona Memorial, you should go. Oil still occasionally bubbles up from the ship. Survivors of the Pearl Harbor attack on the Arizona may choose to have their ashes interred with their shipmates. As of July, 2020, 44 survivors of that day have chosen burial at the Arizona.

There were about 50,000 military personnel (Army, Navy, Marines) in Hawaii on December 7, 1941. On that day, about 2400 (mostly Navy) personnel were killed. Eighty years later, we have about 75 Pearl Harbor survivors left.

In the video below, Don Dare, a Vietnam veteran, interviewed Technical Sergeant Durwood Swanson, who was stationed at Hickam Field on December 7, 1941. The occasion was his 100th birthday, June 11, 2021:

Mr. Swanson played with Hank Williams. So much for one life well lived. He still remembers his friends and laid roses on the graves at the National Cemetery of the Pacific, Punchbowl Crater. Punchbowl Crater is another emotionally charged location one must see.

From WINK, here is the story of another Pearl Harbor survivor:

A few dozen survivors of Pearl Harbor are expected to gather Tuesday at the site of the Japanese bombing 80 years ago to remember those killed in the attack that launched the U.S. into World War II.

Herb Elfring, 99, said he’s glad to return to Pearl Harbor considering he almost didn’t live through the aerial assault.

“It was just plain good to get back and be able to participate in the remembrance of the day,” Elfring told reporters over the weekend.

Elfring was in the Army, assigned to the 251st Coast Artillery, part of the California National Guard on Dec. 7, 1941. He recalled Japanese zero planes flying overhead and bullets strafing his Army base at Camp Malakole, a few miles down the coast from Pearl Harbor.

Elfring, who lives in Jackson, Michigan, said he has returned to Hawaii about 10 times to attend the annual memorial ceremony hosted by the Navy and the National Park Service.

From Cronkite News, here is the story of Jack Holder, one more Pearl Harbor survivor:

On that day of infamy, Holder was on duty at Ford Island, where the attack was concentrated. He said he can still clearly see the face of the Japanese pilot who shot at him and his fellow shipmates as they hid in a sewer ditch.

“When the first bomb fell at Pearl Harbor, it fell about 100 yards from me,” Holder said. “My section was in the hangar. The section leader had just started roll call when the first bomb dropped. And we all run outside to see what had happened in the explosion. We seen all the aircraft and this guy with a rising sun insignia. We knew exactly what had happened.”

After the U.S. officially entered the war, Holder flew more than 100 missions, including many that turned the tide in favor of the U.S. in the Pacific Theater: the Battle of Midway and the Solomon Islands campaign, including the largest island, Guadalcanal. He also flew missions in the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay, on the coast of France.

I hope none of these stories are considered toxic masculinity by Dr. Gardere. We need more real men and red-blooded American women to step us and save our Republic. Just like they did after Pearl Harbor. God Bless Them Every Day.

Featured Image: Deanna Fisher for Victory Girls/All Rights Reserved.