Catastrophic Defeat = Monumental Defeat
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In my current frame of mind I am not all that interested in violent movies : arms chopped off, drawing and quartering, burning at the stake, cat-a-nine-tails, etc. etc.
I never did like scary movies as a kid or roller coasters, although I was involved in some things that were both foolhardy and dangerous.
But I just saw Tora, Tora, Tora ---- and absolutly incredible movie with Jason Robards, Lloyd Bridges, E.G Marshall and some wonderful Japanese actors.
The cinematography is brilliant. The research is apparently scrupuloulsy accurate.
The "sneak attack" on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 destroyed much of the American Pacific fleet.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) is only a disembodied presence, on the phone, but not seen.
Also missing are the American aircraft carriers --- out at sea. Later they would win a most unbelievable victory at Midway.
Brutal battles ensued at Iwo Jima, Guadacanal and other "stepping stones" to Japan.
Some of the smater Japanese officiers understood that this would stiffen American resolve and awaken a sleeping giant.
It did, and brought America into World War II and the worst carnage the world has ever seen.
It didn't end until August of 1945, when the American fleet sailed into Tokyo Harbor. The Sea of Japan became, as Theofore H. White wrote: "An American Lake."
That followed atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Incredibly, not a single nuclear weapon has fire in anger in more than 50 years ( ! ! ! )
Teddy White believed it to be the apex of American power. I'm not sure; today looks pretty good to me.
In my current frame of mind I am not all that interested in violent movies : arms chopped off, drawing and quartering, burning at the stake, cat-a-nine-tails, etc. etc.
I never did like scary movies as a kid or roller coasters, although I was involved in some things that were both foolhardy and dangerous.
But I just saw Tora, Tora, Tora ---- and absolutly incredible movie with Jason Robards, Lloyd Bridges, E.G Marshall and some wonderful Japanese actors.
The cinematography is brilliant. The research is apparently scrupuloulsy accurate.
The "sneak attack" on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 destroyed much of the American Pacific fleet.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) is only a disembodied presence, on the phone, but not seen.
Also missing are the American aircraft carriers --- out at sea. Later they would win a most unbelievable victory at Midway.
Brutal battles ensued at Iwo Jima, Guadacanal and other "stepping stones" to Japan.
Some of the smater Japanese officiers understood that this would stiffen American resolve and awaken a sleeping giant.
It did, and brought America into World War II and the worst carnage the world has ever seen.
It didn't end until August of 1945, when the American fleet sailed into Tokyo Harbor. The Sea of Japan became, as Theofore H. White wrote: "An American Lake."
That followed atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Incredibly, not a single nuclear weapon has fire in anger in more than 50 years ( ! ! ! )
Teddy White believed it to be the apex of American power. I'm not sure; today looks pretty good to me.
It was said that FDR knew about the sneak attack, but wanted it to occur to bring America into the war. (I am dubious.)
Patriotism (and some crookedness) blossomed in America: GI Joe, Rosie the Riveter,
Johnny Got a Zero, air raid wardens, rationing of food, gas, rubber --- and the black market with war profiteers investigated by the Truman Committee, chaired by Sen. Harry S. Truman, a once-bankrupt much-scorned haberdasher who became a great President when FDR died.
Kids like me worshipped the GIs on leave, combat boots, bell-bottom trousers-coat-of-Navy blue, and the Merchant Mariners --- when it came to be understood their gallantry and the dangers they faced.
The defeat led to a monumental victory that has shaped the world ever since.
Ben
Patriotism (and some crookedness) blossomed in America: GI Joe, Rosie the Riveter,
Johnny Got a Zero, air raid wardens, rationing of food, gas, rubber --- and the black market with war profiteers investigated by the Truman Committee, chaired by Sen. Harry S. Truman, a once-bankrupt much-scorned haberdasher who became a great President when FDR died.
Kids like me worshipped the GIs on leave, combat boots, bell-bottom trousers-coat-of-Navy blue, and the Merchant Mariners --- when it came to be understood their gallantry and the dangers they faced.
The defeat led to a monumental victory that has shaped the world ever since.
Ben
posted by Ben Wattenberg at 10:03 AM
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