December 7, 1941 -- toughness, then & now

Nearly one-half of the approximately twenty-four hundred Americans killed during the Japanese surprise attack on American military installations in and around Pearl Harbor on Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands were aboard the USS Arizona, whose sunken remains are visible below the surface of blue-green lagoon waters. The structure above the battleship's remains is the USS Arizona Memorial. The ship itself is a National Historic Landmark and active military cemetery which holds the remains of more than a thousand Sailors and Marines killed aboard the vessel in the attack, as well as survivors of the assault whose ashes now may be placed within the vessel or scattered above it. Today marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of the attack which struck at 7:55 a.m. on December 7, 1941. 
 
Remember Pearl Harbor & hang tough ....

[Editor's Note: The following words were not written by me. They were composed by a hunting magazine writer named David Petzal. I am using them here because I think they fit perfectly with the commemoration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Japanese surprise attack on United States' military bases in and around Pearl Harbor on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu on December 7, 1941.

Back then, students of history might recall, German and Japanese military leaders did not think American men and women had the physical or the mental toughness, much less the will, to fight back against aggression. It is evident the leadership in places like Iran, North Korea, the self-proclaimed ISIS state, China and Russia have the same attitude toward Americans today. Who knows, they might be right. So, then, here are some words to think about on Pearl Harbor Day 2016:]

.... toughness is endangered, and hunting is one of the few fields in which it is fashionable, necessary, and encouraged. Schools and colleges teach the opposite of tough. In these institutions, tough is as unfashionable as English grammar, common sense, and American history as it actually happened ....

.... A friend of mine, a handgun hunter, went on a sheep hunt in Alaska where no sheep were to be seen. The only way to find them was by walking, and so he walked. He walked until the blood soaked through his socks, and then through his boots. He finally shot his sheep, made it back to camp, and then he could walk no more. He is tough ....

.... The military, where toughness is still at a premium, can teach us much on the subject. At West Point, the maxim is "Embrace the suck." This means no matter what kind of wretched situation you find yourself in, it is the wretched situation you have chosen. Everything in your life has led you to this. Enjoy it. Relish it. Savor it.

Some toughness is physical, but much is mental. I know a SEAL who made it through Basic Underwater Demolition school, where everyone is made of whalebone and steel springs but the attrition rate is still 80 percent, by adopting the mantra: You'll have to kill me. I will not quit. I've talked with half a dozen SEALs, and to a man they say that what got them through it was resolve, not biceps.

Can tough people complain? In the military, pissing and moaning is practically a duty. For civilians it's more complex. If you don't pull your weight in (hunting) camp, your bitching rights are null and void. If you do your share of work, you may complain, but only if you do it with wit and style. Artful complaining can make a grim situation less so. Mindless whining turns mens' minds to thoughts of slaughter.

Is there a slogan for the tough? Almost. You've seen those T-shirts that say, KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON. I would change it to KEEP CALM, CARRY ON, AND SHUT UP.

.... hang tough.

[Postscript from me: The World War II generation has often been called "The Greatest Generation." Perhaps, the cornerstone of that greatness was the courage and the toughness men and women needed to possess simply to survive back then. There were no "safe zones" for them, no so-called "self-help" books or gurus, no food stamps, no unemployment benefits, no credit cards and the country just was emerging from The Great Depression -- well, you get my drift.

Those who were part of the World War II generation relied on themselves, on their families, their friends, their neighbors, their schools, their churches, their communities and on their own innate character, strength and will power. This is why the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on Sunday, December 7, 1941, was only a knockdown blow and not a knockout punch.

That is why Pearl Harbor needs to be remembered as long as there is a United States of America -- as a lesson of what kept the nation safe from fascist, dictatorial regimes back then and what is needed to do so still today.]