Pearl Harbor--"A Date Which Will Live In Infamy;" America's Two Oldest WWII Vets Meet For The First Time, PD Line Of Duty Deaths

"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve,' attributed to Japanese Admiral Yamamoto

Remembering Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941

On December 7, 1941, 353 Japanese fighters, bombers, torpedo planes and mini-subs attacked the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The Japanese attacked in two waves from six aircraft carriers. American casualties and losses included 2,402 killed and 1,247 wounded. Of the American casualties, nearly half the total were on the battleship Arizona. Nineteen ships were either sunk or destroyed including four battleships. In addition, 3476 aircraft were either destroyed or damaged.

The following day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed the attack on Pearl Harbor "a date which will live in infamy."





WWII Vets, Both 107 Years Of Age, Meet For The First Time

Richard Overton, considered the oldest living U.S. military veteran in the United States, and Elmer Hill, also 107, lived four hours from each other in Texas but never met. They will meet on Saturday, National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

Overton volunteered for service in 1941. He joined the Army's 188th Aviation Engineer Battalion. He saw action in Guam and in other areas of the Pacific theatre.

Hill was drafted into the Navy in 1942. He served as a gunner aboard the USS Saginaw Bay aircraft carrier.

Of their approaching meeting, Hill said, "It'll be nice to see what we have in common."

Of the 16 million Americans who served in WWII, approximately 1 million survive today. Over 1.2 million African Americans served during WWII.
 USA Today, Stars + Stripes

Officer Line Of Duty Deaths

While Line of Duty Deaths in November were not as high as other months, there were still five deaths reported in the Gainesville PD Texas, Oregon City PD, Delaware County Park Police (PA), NY State Police and Florence County SC.  To date, we've lost 93 police officers throughout the country. Last February and September were particularly disturbing with 14 recorded in February and 13 in September.  Deaths due to gunfire accounted for a majority of the deaths followed by automobile accidents.  Eighty-nine of the officers were male and four female. Average age was 42 with an average tour of duty at 13 years, 8 months.
Officer Down Memorial Page