December 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor - A Moment of Silence Please

USS Arizona Burns After Being Bombed and Torpedoed
December 7, 1941 - Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

It's hard to believe, but 68 years have passed since the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in what FDR called "a day that will live in infamy."

It's difficult to imagine how the Japanese leaders could have been so misguided.  Apparently, they believed we did not have the will to fight a war.  They were right, but that lack of will evaporated on that Sunday morning long ago.  An irresolute, quarrelsome and divided nation quickly merged into one united, determined and mightily pissed-off people.  On Monday, December 8, long lines of young men stood outside of recruiting stations all over the country to sign up.  The Warlords of Japan had drafted their own death warrants in American blood.

It's also hard to believe that our own leaders could have been so complacent that they failed to protect Pearl Harbor from such a surprise attack.  They had momentarily forgotten what Thomas Jefferson said 165 years before:  Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.