December 7th, 2011

Weird. It’s been 70 years since the attacks on the Pearl Harbor ships and airfields.

I was in the Navy and stationed at Pearl Harbor in 1991, for the 50th anniversary and watched the ceremonies from my apartment overlooking the harbor. It was truly surreal to see the planes fly over and the modern battleships in the harbor and to see the Arizona memorial, all at the same time.

I could look out at the memorial every morning as I got ready for work. I lived on the 33rd floor of a apartment building that was near the harbor and my balcony let me look out over the harbor. Early in the morning, before the tourists would start to go out to the memorial in the boats, I could see the outline of the Arizona in the harbor.

The first time I saw it from that height I was amazed at how well i could see the outline and turrets and even details of the deck. And of course the perpetual oil slick that comes from the oil that is still seeping from the tanks, even after all these years. It gave me chills.

Anyway, that’s my memory of December 7th and Pearl Harbor.