I displayed the flag this afternoon in recognition of the 73rd anniversary of the "day that will live in infamy" as President Franklin D. Roosevelt called it. It was on December 7, 1941 when the Japanese Air Force made a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and destroyed a significant portion of the United States Naval Fleet that was in the harbor. The Omaha World-Herald has a story today on Nebraska Native Donald Stratton, one of the 300 survivors of the USS Arizona where 1,177 shipmates died. He and 3 other of the 8 remaining survivors, will drink a toast today to the memory of their fallen shipmates. My brother Don and I were playing with a football on that warm, sunny December Sunday on the Vrana farm north of Garland. Our sister Vivian, turned on the radio about 2:00 pm and got the news. We were in Peace Negotiations with the Japanese at the time so the attack came as a complete surprise. To this day, I could go back out to the old farm and using a remaining Walnut tree for a guide, mark the spot where I was standing when I heard Vivian's message. We can forgive but there are some things we can never forget. And those of us that remain can only Thank God and ask for his Blessings on those that died for Our Country and for us.
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