EDITORIAL: Carroll among unsung heroes of Pearl Harbor Last
Friday was the 71st anniversary of the day that President
Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed would “live in infamy”. On Dec.
7, 1941, 353 Japanese aircraft dropped bombs and strafed with
machine gun fire 100 U.S. Navy ships moored at Pearl Harbor.
They also struck surrounding Army Air Corps and Marine airfields
during the two-hour attack that commenced just before 8 a.m.
Twenty-one ships were severely damaged or sunk, including the
USS Arizona, which to this day lies 38 feet below the water’s
surface at Pearl Harbor. A total of 2,403 American troops and
civilians died that day. President Roosevelt, who had been in
diplomatic talks with Japan, declared war on the Asian nation on
Dec. 8, 1941. Three days later, Germany and Italy, both allies
of Japan, declared war on the United States. Many veterans who
survived the Pearl Harbor attack, have since died. Of the
300,000 troops who were there on Dec. 7, 1941, only about 2,000
were still alive in 2010 accord