The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor happened 66 years ago today (December 7, 1941). The surprise attack was a “day that shall live in infamy” as President Roosevelt said at the time. Today is a day of remembrance and to give thanks to those who died at Pearl Harbor and the thousands of soldiers who died in World War II overseas to defeat Adolf Hitler and the Axis of Evil.

The attack wrecked two U.S. Navy battleships, one minelayer, and two destroyers beyond repair, and destroyed 188 aircraft; personnel losses were 2,333 killed and 1,139 wounded. Damaged warships included three cruisers, a destroyer, and six battleships (one deliberately grounded, later refloated and repaired; two sunk at their berths, later raised, repaired, and restored to Fleet service late in the war). Vital fuel storage, shipyards, and submarine facilities were not hit. Japanese losses were minimal, at 29 aircraft and five midget submarines, with 65 servicemen killed or wounded.

Franklin Roosevelt told his assistant, “This means war.”, after reading an intercepted message. The message was not passed on to those at Pearl Harbor and the attacks happened the very next day on December 7th. The attack was not the start of World War II but it was the catastrophic event that was the motivational factor for the U.S. entering World War II.

The Japanese did not surrender until August 15, 1945 after the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. August 15th is known as V-J day or ‘Victory in Japan’ day.

Estimates put the number of casualties from WW II as high as 60 million with 40 million of those being civilians. Nearly 27 million Russians alone died in the war. About 85% of the deaths in the war were on the Allied side with the Axis of Evil just having about 15%. Genocide, starvation, disease and massacres killed most of the civilians. Over 10 million Jews died in Hitler’s concentration camps.

Today is a day of remembrance and to give thanks to those that served in World War II. They truly are our ‘Greatest Generation’ and are dying off very quickly. My grandfather served in WW II and Korea and he has so many stories that you won’t find in a history book. If you know of a veteran of the war then ask him about it. He would probably love to share his stories and your gratitude for his service will be very appreciated.