We shall never forget...

"We shall never forget" is a common, powerful refrain used every December 7th, which is known throughout America as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.  Yesterday, we honored the over 2,400 Americans killed in the surprise Japanese attack in 1941, a date then President Franklin D. Roosevelt called "a date which will live in infamy," ensuring the sacrifice, bravery, and lessons of that day are remembered to inspire future generations and uphold peace.  

Yes, now that 84 years have passed, Japan and the United States of America are friends.  There are those that would suggest that we should not continue to live in the past.  There are those among us who would suggest by referring to December 7, 1941, we are in some way anti-Japanese or even worse, racist.  They are wrong.  We should always honor our soldiers, airmen, sailors, and marines for their service to our country.  Life as they knew it changed forever after December 7, 1941.  And for some, their very lives ended on December 7, 1941.  We can honor their sacrifice without being anti-Japan.

We honor and cherish those who gave their lives in the service of their country every year on National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.  But we also remember, on that day of all days, an entire generation who likely saved our world from ultimate destruction.  We too remember their sacrifice.

President George H.W. Bush, who was himself a member of that "greatest generation" and who served as a Naval aviator during World War II, gave a speech at the USS Arizona Memorial on the fiftieth anniversary of Pearl Harbor on this day in 1991.  I encourage all of you to watch it - it is very moving.  He ended his remarks by looking out over the water, his voice cracking as he fought back his emotions:

Look at the water here, clear and quiet, bidding us to sum up and remember. One day, in what now seems another lifetime, it wrapped its arms around the finest sons any nation could ever have, and it carried them to a better world. May God bless them. And may God bless America, the most wondrous land on Earth.

Let us remember.  Never forget...