At 8:00 AM on Sunday 7 December 1941 Japan attacked the United States naval installations and fleet resting at anchor in Pearl Harbor. American aircraft carriers were out to sea, a lucky break for the US.
Pearl Harbor in January 1941 almost a year before the Japanese attack
Pearl Harbor dry dock area after the attack
The average age of the American soldiers who jumped into France or landed at Normandy was twenty-two. That includes everyone including the men running the show. Plenty of those who fought were as young as eighteen.
When good confronted evil, when the flame of freedom flickered, the men sent to make it right were young. They had their entire lives in front of them, but first they had to save the world.
By midnight, the Americans would lose 2,500 KIA, 3,200 WIA, 2,000 MIA, and 26 POW. Many of them were paratroopers who had jumped into the darkness over France slightly after midnight.
Big Red Car here. Things are going well in the ATX, as usual. On Earth as it is in Texas!
Today is a solemn day, the observance of the American led attack from England on the beaches of Normandy. The Allies had prepared long and hard — a huge startup effort — to land on the mainland of Europe and to expel the German invaders.
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