“Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan,” words famously spoken by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as he addressed a joint session of Congress. He finished his speech with a request for Congress to make a formal declaration of war against Japan, thus entering the United States into World War II. Continue reading
Every generation has events that shape the psyche and memory of their time. Consider the terror attacks of September 11th, 2001. Do you remember where you were when you heard the news? 27 percent of our current citizenry does not because they were born after or were too young to remember the events of that day. It is not that they are not familiar with the events of that day and all the consequences of it, but the day does not have the same resonance for them as it does for we watched in shock as the towers were struck and then fell. Continue reading
You probably don’t know Bill Monfort. He turned 105 years old yesterday. A Navy veteran who lived through the attack on Pearl Harbor and just about every naval battle in the Pacific during World War II. He wears a baseball cap. It reads “Kamikaze WWII Survivor” in capital letters. At 103, Monfort contracted COVID-19. He was living alone, his wife having passed away years earlier. It was July 2020, and vaccines were not yet available. He spent three weeks in the hospital. He recovered, and after spending time in a rehabilitation center, moved back to his apartment in an assisted-living complex. In between all that he and his wife were founders of a local organization where people with disabilities could live in a homelike setting. Today, the charity, Angels Unaware, boasts eight campuses and is the longest-running group home in Tampa Bay. His daughter’s disability was the source of his passion and mission.
Thank you for your service.
Today is December 7th and we remember the opening salvo of this country’s participation in the grim reality of war: the attack on Pearl Harbor. Even though Pearl Harbor was before I was born, it lies in my memory and consciousness writ large. Even before my service in the US Navy and my duty station in Pearl Harbor, I knew the story of that fateful Sunday morning in 1941. There are plenty of accounts, histories, analysis, and more about the event and all that came before and after. It is said that history is written by the victors. Perhaps no longer true as there are now many perspectives. But what remains constant is that history is lived in the lives of regular people. Continue reading
Clayton Schenkelberg passed away this week. He lived in a care facility in San Diego, CA. He is survived by five of his children and more than 40 grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. He was 103 years old – and oldest living survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor
Born Oct. 17, 1917, in Carroll, Iowa, Schenkelberg knew hardship early on. His mother died when he was 9. The stock market crashed when he was 12, triggering the Great Depression. When he was 17, his father, a livestock salesman and grain-elevator operator, was killed in an accident. Continue reading
Every generation has events that shape the psyche and memory of their time. Consider the terror attacks of September 11th, 2001. Do you remember where you were when you heard the news? 27 percent of our current citizenry does not because they were born after or were too young to remember the events of that day. It is not that they are not familiar with the events of that day and all the consequences of it, but the day does not have the same resonance for them as it does for we watched in shock as the towers were struck and then fell. Continue reading
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