Given the assignment to write a report on Pearl Harbor, my grandfather came to mind. My grandfather’s name is Robert Lee Woodrow. He was born on January 4, 1926. My grandfather will be 88 years old on January 4, 2014. My grandfather joined the army in 1939 when he was 15 years-old, two years before Pearl Harbor took place. I asked him a few questions about it
Since the Pearl Harbor attack was such a pivotal moment in history, I decided to interview my grandfather since he was a part of Pearl Harbor. We talk about how hard it was as an African American in the Navy, and what they were and were not allowed to do. We figure out why Japan was mad enough to attack and whether or not there were warning signs. Was everyone able to forgive each other after that fateful day?
“Cheyanne: Were you scared when you joined the Armed Forces?
Robert: Very. I was very scared. I was young. I felt that I had no choice. I was tired of traveling from state to state. I wanted a better life and I wanted to do something for my country. I did not know what to expect. It was a hard time in America for African Americans. I thought things would change if I joined the Armed Forces. I thought things would change for me. I wanted to make something out of myself.
I was earning 17 or 20 dollars a month and that was a lot of money for me at the age of 17. Although I had joined the Armed forces I did not like it. I was not able to do much. The units were separated and segregation was still in place. I was ordered to do a lot of cooking, laundry and mopping the floors. I thought I would be doing something more. It was still a lot of hard work.
We were treated the same way as we were treated in the United States. All of the African Americans aboard the USS Arizona ...
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...er to look for Osama Bin Laden as they did when the Japanese attack. So many people were traumatized, and people felt a need to avenge them. People started to regularly wear American flags, celebrities threw charity events, and as a whole, the nation had come together. The President, President Bush, was looking for Osama until his term had ended. President Obama had even taken action after succeeding President Bush. He had continued looking for Osama until he was captured and killed.
These two dates will always bring shame and heartbreak to the country, but when we look back on it, we find a little positivity grown from it. Each time a devastating incident occurs, we jump right back up, come together as a country to fight back. Our devotion to the country has yet to waiver. That is definitely the overlying fact between each of the pivotal events of the 21st century.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt referred to December 7, 1941- the day of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor- as “a date which will live in infamy.” This description has continued to be accurate, nearly 70 years after the attack on American soil. However, not many people have the same emotional connection to the events at Pearl Harbor, as does the former Admiral Husband Edward Kimmel, the man who was in the position of “Commander-in-Chief” at Pearl Harbor. The events of this day caused his rank of “Admiral” to be removed.
When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, America was at last forced to officially enter World War II. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt officially declared war on the Japanese and in his famous radio address to the American people, he professed that December 7 was a day that would live in infamy. Americans and Japanese alike, still remember Pearl Harbor Day, but how many remember the gallant, fighting Marines who served on a tiny atoll in the Pacific by the name of Wake Island?
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is a day that will remain infamous in the history of America. Although people know about the attack and remember it, they might not know as in-depth as Walter Lord narrates in his book Day of Infamy. Lord’s Day of Infamy is a vivid recounting of the events that occurred on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Lord articulates the story of Pearl Harbor, not only the actual bombing but also the planning involved on behalf of the Japanese and the aftermath associated with the bombing. Day of Infamy narrates all of the events in Pearl Harbor in a very concise 200 pages and it gives an hour by hour narration of what was occurring. The timeframe for his unfolding of the story is from 3:30 am on December 7, 1941 to 5:30 pm that same evening. At 3:30 most Americans were just lying in bed and relaxing on what seemed to them as just another Sunday morning. Some unlucky soldiers were at their gate post awaiting the arrival of some cargo ships. The soldiers on guard spotted a white light but when they shinned their spotlight on it the white light veered away. The soldiers dismissed it but they had no idea that it could have given them important information as to what Pearl Harbor was to undergo in the next few hours.
September 11, 2001 is a date in American history that will not be forgotten by American citizens. After the assault on both the Twin Towers in Manhattan, and the
On December 7,1941 Japan raided the airbases across the islands of Pearl Harbour. The “sneak attack” targeted the United States Navy. It left 2400 army personnel dead and over a thousand Americans wounded. U.S. Navy termed it as “one of the great defining moments in history”1 President Roosevelt called it as “A Day of Infamy”. 2 As this attack shook the nation and the Japanese Americans became the immediate ‘focal point’. At that moment approximately 112,000 Persons of Japanese descent resided in coastal areas of Oregon, Washington and also in California and Arizona.3
On December 7th, 1941, Japanese aircrafts attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor (Axelrod 148). Before this, the United States had not entered World War II, but this changed everything. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise, which consisted of two waves. By the end of the day, many United S...
At almost eight o’clock in the morning in the island of Oahu, Hawaii the day of Infamy began. December 7th, 1941 was one of the most devastating attacks on American soil. The day of Infamy, or more commonly known as Pearl Harbor, was an attack on American soil from the Imperial Army. This attack was the final burst of the tension that had been built up between the United States and Japan. To understand the tragic attack it is important to understand the events leading up to it. The United States unrest with Japan started in 1937 through the invasion of Manchuria which began the Second Sino-Japanese War. Japan launched a full scale invasion of the Republic of China. The tension between Franklin D Roosevelt and Japan was initiated with
Pearl Harbor was one of the most motivational events in American history. From the very beginning Japan and America had their own social views and stereotypes about each other that a feud was bound to occur. On December 7, 1941 the nation of Japan sent out a fleet of their Imperial navy to attack the American held base on the island of Oahu. Leading this attack was Japanese admiral Isoroku Yamamoto who was a militarily strategic genius.” Yamamoto was planning on sinking the entire American Pacific fleet so the U.S navy could be put out of the war for the time being and the Japanese navy could continue their expansion in the Southwest Pacific.”(book)(Gordon Prange 136-138)
Words cannot describe the terrible loss and grief caused by this day. Looking back, it seems easy to point to times where the attack could have been prevented, or where the United States could have been better prepared. Instead, we look back to remember the lost and to ensure that day won’t happen again. Roosevelt’s words are eternally bonded to our memory of this day. “A date which will live in infamy.”
The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on America divided two nations, yet knit one closer like the attacks on Pearl Harbor. There were many events that lead up to 9/11 that were only the beginning. The attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001 was the finale. George Bush wrote in his diary, “The Pearl Harbor of the 21st century happened today…” (George Bush). This attack was a surprise, just like Pearl Harbor, but the U.S. reacted swiftly and effectively. The appalling events Now, more than a decade later, the 9/11 attacks still affect our life today.
of Japanese soldier being aid by Japanese American to help plan the attack on pearl harbor
How do people celebrate on the day of the tragedy on September 11, 2001? How do people remember that day? How do people born on that day react to it in the future? Up until September 11 it has been the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil. Some people could say different that this had been the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil, but some may agree it had been the most deadliest terrorist attack on American soil. The deadliest event that happened before 9/11 is when, people watched the abduction and murder of Israeli athletes during the Munich Olympics in 1972. How people celebrate September 11, how they remember September 11, birthdays, weddings and anniversaries on September 11 and having to deal with the pain of remembering,
A traumatic experience is capable of causing communities to join together and can force people to become fearful of what is happening around them. In President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “Day of Infamy” speech, he stated “I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.” When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7th of 1941, the nation was devastated. Over 2,000 people were killed that day. Hearts became filled with fear. People would realize that an attack like that could have happened anywhere else in the United States. They would realize they could have been one of the people who died that day. That
Being a soldier was a really tough life. In the end I hated doing the same thing day after day with no change in sight, I despised the leaders that didn 't take care of their subordinates, and most importantly, I couldn 't lead my soldiers from the front anymore. I 'll be the first one to say that joining the army was the best thing to happen to me. I have grown so much as a person and the lessons I learned are invaluable. In the end I realized the negative factors outweighed any possible benefit I might receive from continued service. It was time for me to
The treatment if the African-Americans have, in my opinion, almost always been worse than e.g. the treatment of European people. Back in the 17th century, the white people travelled to Africa and took the Africans as slaves back to their country. In their country, they continued to treat them as slaves with, no respect, to do the hard work, i.e. picking cotton, harvesting tobacco, building railroads etc. You were basically judged based on your skin color, not by your character. Even though the slavery was set a long time ago, the segregation and discrimination has yet not completly ended.