"The World into Which I was Born was a World of Hero Soldiers and Patriotism - by Chuck Stilwell"
The World into which I was born was a world of hero soldiers and patriotism. On December 7, 1941, in a devastating surprise attack, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, a U.S. naval base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Just before 8 a.m. on that Sunday morning, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes descended on the base, and destroyed or severely damaged at least 19 American naval vessels, including eight battleships, and over 300 planes. More than 2,400 Americans died in the attack, including civilians. At least another 1,000 people were wounded that day. My cousin, Jim Stilwell, had shore duty or shore leave at the time and so escaped the tragedy of the sinking of the USS Arizona to which he was assigned. Of the 2400 known dead during the strike, 1177 of them died on the USS Arizona, many of whom are still encased in the vessel, which is now a United States Memorial site. The day after the assault, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. The attack on our