HagaFinn's BlogSpot: Pearl Harbor Remembrance and Christmas Decorations

Remembering Pearl Harbor Day on December 7th

While doing some reading recently about the start of World War II, we ran across an article that took us by surprise. It was titled "Reflections on Pearl Harbor". It goes like this:

"Sunday, December 7th, 1941--Admiral Chester Nimitz was attending a concert in Washington D.C. He was paged and told there was a phone call for him. When he answered the phone, it was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on the phone. He told Admiral Nimitz that he (Nimitz) would now be the Commander of the Pacific Fleet. Admiral Nimitz flew to Hawaii to assume command of the Pacific Fleet. He landed at Pearl Harbor on Christmas Eve, 1941. There was such a spirit of despair, dejection and defeat--you would have thought the Japanese had already won the war.

On Christmas Day, 1941, Adm. Nimitz was given a boat tour of the destruction wrought on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. Big sunken battleships and navy vessels cluttered the waters every where you looked. As the tour boat returned to dock, the young helmsman of the boat asked, "Well Admiral, what do you think after seeing all this destruction?" Admiral Nimitz's reply shocked everyone within the sound of his voice. Admiral Nimitz said, "The Japanese made three of the biggest mistakes an attack force could ever make or God was taking care of America. Which do you think it was?" Shocked and surprised, the young helmsman asked, "What do mean by saying the Japanese made the three biggest mistakes an attack force ever made?"
Nimitz explained.

Mistake number one: the Japanese attacked on Sunday morning. Nine out of every ten crewmen of those ships were ashore on leave. If those same ships had been lured to sea and been sunk--we would have lost 38,000 men instead of 3,800.

Mistake number two: when the Japanese saw all those battleships lined in a row, they got so carried away sinking those battleships, they never once bombed our dry docks opposite those ships. If they had destroyed our dry docks, we would have had to tow everyone of those ships to America to be repaired. As it is now, the ships are in shallow water and can be raised. One tug can pull them over to the dry docks, and we can have them repaired and at sea by the time we could have towed them to America. And I already have crews ashore anxious to man those ships.

Mistake number three: every drop of fuel in the Pacific theater of war is in top of the ground storage tanks five miles away over that hill. One attack plane could have strafed those tanks and destroyed our fuel supply. That's why I say the Japanese made three of the biggest mistakes an attack force could make or God was taking care of America.

I've never forgotten what I read in that little book. It is still an inspiration as I reflect upon it. In jest, I might suggest that because Admiral Nimitz was a Texan, born and raised in Fredricksburg, Texas--he was a born optimist. But anyway you look at it--Admiral Nimitz was able to see a silver lining in a situation and circumstance where everyone else saw only despair and defeatism. President Roosevelt had chosen the right man for the right job.

We desperately needed a leader that could see silver linings in the midst of the clouds of dejection, despair and defeat.

Hard to Believe that Admiral Nimitz Saw Hope through All of This

Both Neil's Dad and Pamela's Dad entered the war and fought as a member of what Tom Brokaw described as the Greatest Generation. Neil's Dad fought in the South Pacific in the US Coast Guard, and Pamela's Dad Wilbur was an artillery sergeant with the US Army with General Patton. While neither of them talked much about their Service, we thought back about it last week and we honor their service and sacrifice.

Neil with Our Christmas Tree -- Doesn't He Look Happy?

We went to one of the local greenhouses to pick out a tree for our new house. We haven't put up a tree in a long time, so it was time to go through all of the old Christmas boxes and decorate the tree and house. Pamela did a wonderful job, and the house has Christmas decorations all over the place.

Neil Putting the Angel on Top of the Tree

More Christmas Decorations

Hard to See, But the Top of the Small Tree is a Fresnel Lens

Our Ornaments are a Mix of Finney Family, Hagadorn Family and Ours

Pamela also hosted a Creative Memories Open House and Workshop last Saturday and had several people working with her on Christmas and other projects. Neil called it the Wine and Estrogen Workshop but it turns out that will only be an unofficial title.

Pamela's Creative Memories Workshop Partners

Our Christmas Living Room

The weather this week has been pretty mild--really mild compared to Juneau. It has not been below freezing, and temperatures have been in the fifties. Our friends in Juneau have had a Winter Wonderland of lots of snow and it is now warmed up and raining on top of it. We do not miss it.

One of the Christmas Ships We Hope to See on Friday

This week, we plan to meet friends to view the Christmas Boat Parade on the Willamette River and have dinner afterwards. Next week we plan to drive up to Silverdale, Washington to see Neil's Dad and his wife Waneta before Christmas, and take in the Space Needle and a Chihuly glass exhibition while we are there.