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Pearl Harbor... a little photo-allegory.

By The Armorer on December 7, 2007 | | Comments (5)

Before.

Before, In a sense. Before the sleeping giant awoke.

During - the beginning

During. The setting of the Empire of the Rising Sun.

During - the End.

After. The USS Missouri, moored astern of the USS Arizona. The Instrument of Surrender of the Empire of Japan was signed on the deck of the Missouri

After. The <em>USS Missouri</em>, moored astern of the <em>USS Arizona</em>. The Instrument of Surrender of the Empire of Japan was signed on the deck of the <em>Missouri</em>.

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5 Comments

By wolfwalker on December 7, 2007 10:40 AM
I consider it a sad irony that the two battleships which memorialize the beginning and the end of the Pacific War share one point in their service records: neither ever performed the function for which she was actually built, engaging enemy warships in the line of battle. Arizona spent most of WW1 as a training and patrol ship, never fired her guns in anger, had a relatively quiet life between the wars and then died on December seventh. Missouri sailed with Fast Carrier Force Pacific Fleet and used her guns against numerous land targets, then did the same in Korea, Vietnam, and finally the 1991 Gulf War. But neither ship ever fired on, or was fired on by, enemy warships.
 
By kat-missouri on December 7, 2007 11:05 AM
I would say that after the advent of the carrier group, their days were significantly numbered as "ships of the line" that would engage other ships directly. True even today. For all we know, modern missiles have rendered the carrier useless beyond a throw away "first strike" before the missiles fly.
 
By Grumpy on December 7, 2007 2:11 PM
John, I wonder sometimes, what have we learned from Pearl Harbor? We start with the history of war, based on the this history, we develop principles of war. Based on these very same principles, we develop the methods of war. Based on these methods of war, we develop weapons of war. Now interlaced through this whole process we also have the laws of warfare. These laws of warfare are both national and international. We are bound to them by LAW! If for any reason we break them the nation's citizens pay the consequences. Many say do not forget Pearl Harbor. My question is this- What have we learned from Pearl Harbor on the principles of war level? Do we still apply them? NOTE: Do I really expect an answer? No, but I do visit the question from time to time. I like the idea of a place in my mind that I have a crock pot where I just let questions slow cook. This is the crock pot of my mind. This is just a question for that very same crock pot in your mind. This is a way to give value to those tragic losses of that "Day of Infamy" in today's world. Respectfully, Grumpy
 
By wolfwalker on December 7, 2007 4:27 PM
Kat, All true. However, what I meant was this: even after Pearl, American battleships did fight in at least a few surface actions. As best I can tell, the USN started WW2 with fifteen old battleships in commission. Two of them were sunk at Pearl Harbor; the rest all saw service of one sort or another during the war. Between 1941 and 1945 the Navy commissioned ten new battleships. Out of those 23, at least six of the old and five of the new ones did see action against enemy ships. But Missouri wasn't one of them.
 
By Murray on December 7, 2007 5:03 PM
A better question Grumpy would be what did THEY learn from Pearl. Not much if Sept11 is anything to go by.
 
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