Pearl Harbor Day must never be forgotten

For many Americans, Dec. 7, 1941 is a date that will never be forgotten.

President Franklin Roosevelt called it a "date which will live in infamy."

On a quiet Sunday morning in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii exactly 65 years ago, forces from the Japanese fleet launched a sneak attack on the heart of the American Navy. For the United States, the longest and bloodiest war in history-World War II-was underway.

The war already had been raging for several years in Europe. Despite the best efforts of isolationists, America would no longer be constrained.

After Pearl Harbor, there would be no more calls for isolation or neutrality. There was no longer any choice: the U.S. was forced into the war. Nearly 2,500 people lost their lives on Dec. 7, 1941.

The U.S. Navy's Pacific fleet was severely disabled at Pearl Harbor. In the biggest blunder in the history of American military intelligence-the Sept. 11, 2001 attack was another big one-our country was caught totally off guard.

Because relations with Japan had deteriorated and the prospects for peace in both Europe and Asia had long since disappeared, it's hard to believe how Pearl Harbor could be taken by such surprise. The winds of war had been blowing for some time.

Fortunately, not one American aircraft carrier was docked at Pearl Harbor on that fateful December day. Consequently, not one was sunk. America's aircraft carriers would prove to be the deciding factor in the battle for the Pacific when the United States scored a giant victory at Midway six months later.

Like 9/11, Pearl Harbor Day will never be forgotten. Few dates in American history are more important.