The USS Arizona going down

I looked at the calendar to figure out what day I'd be posting my next article (so I could label the link) and found that it will be December 7th. Well that made me think a little bit, and I decided to write about our veterans this week.

For those of you that don't know, December 7th was the infamous day in 1941 that Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese. It was early Sunday morning, when most of the sailors were still asleep. We suffered heavy casulties and the loss of several ships. The attack catapulted the US into World War II with an early low morale. It would be several months until the men of the Doolittle Raid would bomb Japan and boost American spirits.

I don't care much for the movie Pearl Harbor. When I first saw it, I didn't know much about the attack (at least not as much as I do now). I did, however, know a lot about the Doolittle Raid, and there were a few historical inaccuracies that stood out. Also, the movie seemed to glorify war, as too many Hollywood war flicks do. BS if you ask me. Still, a movie like Pearl Harbor can at least get people thinking.

Everyone always says "We owe our veterans so much," but does anyone ever really think about it? Usually only at certain times when we are stirred out of our routine. We go to school or work all day without thinking of the current war, then we come home and see that a handful of troops were killed in Iraq. This news makes us reflect for a while...then we go back to our routines.

Let this article stir you out of your routine for a bit. Today, December 7th, spend some time thinking about what others have sacrificed (and what others still do sacrifice) so that we are fortunate enough to have these routines.