A "Sleeping Giant"

December 7, 1941 began as a serene morning at the U.S. Naval base on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. The warships of America's Pacific Fleet rested at anchor. Many sailors were preparing for church or relaxing, and all was quiet at Pearl Harbor.

At about 7:35 AM a buzz from the sky broke the calm as a dive-bomber bearing the red symbol of the Rising Sun of Japan dropped out of the clouds. Seconds later a swarm of Japanese warplanes followed. Sirens wailed as explosions sounded across the harbor and black smoke poured into the sky. Despite the heroism of men fighting for their ships, their fellow sailors, and their lives 2,400 died, 1,200 were wounded and 18 ships of the U.S. Navy and 300 planes were destroyed or damaged.

A remark attributed to Japanese admiral Yamamoto, who planned the attack, was, "I fear we have awakened a sleeping giant and instilled in him a terrible resolve."

On this day let us reflect on our American "resolve" to protect and defend the freedoms that so many in our military have fought and died for. Thank you all for your service.