by The average life expectancy of an American is 78.7 years according to CDC statistics. Extrapolated this means that the average American born on December 7, 1941 would have recently passed away. The attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy has become something that is remembered in history books and in movies with very few actual survivors alive to tell of it.
As I noted last year, for my parents it was their “where were you when” event. It was also personal. The older brother of one my mom’s best friends was an ensign aboard one of the battleships and survived. As the story goes from my mom, he was up and getting ready to go to Mass when the attack started. The Noxema shaving cream on his face kept his face from being burned too badly. Apocryphal perhaps, but that was the story passed down to me.
The commemorative event held annually in Pearl Harbor will be closed to the public this year thanks to the pandemic. However, the ceremony will be broadcast live here and on Facebook.
May they rest in peace…