Day of Infamy
EmailEveryone who was old enough seems to remember exactly where they were when they heard the news of Pearl Harbor, 65 years ago today. It is much as later generations would remember where they were when John F. Kennedy was killed, or the first plane hit on 9/11. Clayton Sandell and I have done a piece about the USS Arizona, which seems frozen in time, but is slowly dissolving into the sea. It’s the closing piece on World News this evening. The dotcom version is HERE. And you can see the webcast version HERE. (A bit of an experiment; let me know what you think.) I had a relative, practically a kid when the Japanese attacked, who packed up everything and went with his brothers to enlist that week. He served in the Pacific until 1945. I think about him often.
Space Station Flies Over Eastern U.S. at Night 
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I think it is very easy for many people to forget men and women that fought to save the world 65 years ago. I too had family that fought in the war. My great grandfather earned 2 purple hearts in Europe, and my other great grandfather served in the Navy in the Pacific. It’s hard to fathom it, but those men saved the world. Then look at today, the same type of men and women are fighting and dieing in Iraq. They do not have the support of the American public as the men and women did during WWII. Our current troops are dealing with atrocities that most people couldnt even comprehend, and they see it everyday. They deserve our support, just as much as the same men and women recieved 65 years ago.
Posted by: Lawrence | December 8, 2006, 8:51 am 8:51 am
I saw your report on WN and found it to be a fitting and appropriate tribute to commemorate the day, as well as an informative and educational analysis of how to preserve the monument. My compliments to your video crew, especially to the videographer who photographed the blobs of oil moving to the surface, then flattening to a rainbow-colored oil slick–great work! I do have one question, though: would the low-level electrical current passing through the sunken ship, proposed as a solution in you report, harm fish and other sea creatuures who don’t actually come in contact with the ship?
Posted by: chuck | December 8, 2006, 8:51 am 8:51 am
Hello, Chuck. Thanks to you, and Lawrence, for the thoughtful words. I’ll pass on your compliments to the right camera people; the underwater footage was taken by National Park Service divers.
A quick answer to your question, Chuck: My understanding is that the current required would be very, very mild. But it’s complicated, and not likely to be tried for some time. The Arizona is not in one piece, so it’s not as simple as attaching an electrode to each end of the hull. A lot of mapping would have to be done first.
But time is on their side. Other answers may come along before anything happens.
–Ned
Posted by: Ned Potter | December 11, 2006, 10:33 pm 10:33 pm