Sunday, Dec. 7, marks the 84th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. On that morning in 1941, half of the entire U.S. Pacific Fleet was in port, including eight of the fleet’s nine battleships. Notably absent were all of the Pacific Fleet’s aircraft carriers. When the attack came, all eight battleships were damaged, and the USS Arizona was sunk instantly after a bomb detonated its forward magazine, killing over 1,000 sailors, half of the more than 2,400 military personnel and civilians who died that day. 

One group of ships, however, escaped harm; the submarines moored at Pearl Harbor. While the surface fleet struggled to recover from its devastating losses, the Pacific submarine force went on to play a crucial role during the early years of the war. 

This anniversary also brings back personal memories for me. No, I wasn’t there in 1941, well, in a way I was decades later. In 1969, I was serving aboard the USS O’Callahan (DE-1051) as part of a task force en route from San Diego to Vietnam, with a scheduled stop in Hawaii. We were scheduled to arrive in Pearl Harbor around 0800, and I had the “Officer of the Deck” 0400–0800 bridge watch. As dawn broke and Hawaii came into view, I enjoyed the peaceful morning until I noticed aircraft flying in formation over the Pearl Harbor area, and suddenly felt a wave of panic. They were Japanese Zeros. 

I immediately called the Captain to the bridge. Instead of the alarm I expected, he arrived smiling. “Lieutenant Patch,” he said, “didn’t you read the ‘yellow sheets’ (teletype news we received daily)? They’re filming Tora! Tora! Tora!” That was quite a way to arrive in Pearl Harbor.  

Another memory from those years has stayed with me. A few years later, we were stationed in Pearl Harbor, and from our Navy housingunit we had a view of the Arizona Memorial.Our next-door neighbor was the Japanese Naval Liaison Officer to the U.S. Pacific Fleet; he and his family became close friends. When Japanese ships made port visits, he always invited us to their receptions on board. On Pearl Harbor Day, the base held ceremonies attended by many dignitaries, including,on one occasion, a Japanese pilot who had taken part in the attack 34 years earlier. These ceremonies were not celebrations but solemn remembrances. Some may feel uneasy about such moments, but to me they underscored something important: war is terrible, but people are people. When the fighting ends, healing begins. Today Japan is one of America’s closest allies. As a Vietnam veteran, I’m reminded of that dynamic every time I see how strong and cooperative U.S.–Vietnam relations have become. 

As we observe this anniversary, let us remember not only the more than 2,400 Americans who died and the over 10,000 wounded, but also the 100+ Japanese who lost their lives that day too. May we honor the past while continuing to strive for peace.