Commentary
Pearl Harbor revisited
By Belinda A. AquinoIt has been 71 years since the “day of infamy” at Pearl Harbor that marked the beginning of an agonizing four years in the Pacific known as World War II.
It has been 71 years since the “day of infamy” at Pearl Harbor that marked the beginning of an agonizing four years in the Pacific known as World War II.
Last Wednesday, Dec. 7, marked the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, home of the US Pacific Fleet in Hawaii. In his speech to the US Congress the following day in 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called it “a date which will live in infamy” declaring that “a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.” Some writers have characterized the attack as “treacherous,” “unprovoked” and “premeditated.” History paints a different side to the story.
Officials and ordinary citizens who believe, or fervently hope, that the American government will abide by its “friend,” the Philippines, should the tensions over the Spratlys escalate into actual conflict, would do well to recall the events of 1941-1942. As recounted in the book “Escape from Davao” by journalist-historian John D. Lukacs, the attack on [...]
