Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Memorial Day, 2007




Figure 1 (top): A Marine rifle squad fires a volley over the bodies of fifteen officers and men killed at the Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, during the raid on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. Burial ceremonies like these took place a day after the attack on December 8. Note the sandbagged gun emplacement on top of the small hill in the upper right of the photograph. Official U.S. Navy Photograph.

Figure 2 (bottom): Sailors honor those same men killed at the Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay a few months later on Memorial Day, May 31, 1942. Note that same hill in the background where the sandbagged gun emplacement had been located. Official U.S. Navy Photograph.

Monday, May 28th, 2007, is Memorial Day here in the United States. Let’s take a moment to remember those individuals who, as Abraham Lincoln said, gave “the last full measure of devotion” to their country. All I can add is, “Thank you from a grateful nation.”