[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 138 (Tuesday, December 7, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S11864]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            PEARL HARBOR DAY

  Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, where were you on December 7, 1941? There 
are some of us who can remember that day. I was around 6 or 7 years 
old. I remember being on that small farm where I was raised. We were 
doing the evening chores when my mother--we did not have electricity in 
those days so you had a battery-operated radio and you did not turn on 
the radio until the evening. But mom had turned on the radio and the 
newscast was that Japan had attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor. 
When she told dad about that--I remember dad had two feed buckets in 
his hands--he said: ``Where in the world is Pearl Harbor?'' We did not 
even know where it was.
  At 6 o'clock in the morning, Pearl Harbor time, 183 Japanese aircraft 
were launched from six major fleet carriers and flew toward Oahu. At 
7:02 a.m. Honolulu time, the Japanese aircraft were spotted on their 
approach to Oahu, and they were mistaken for a flight of B-17 Flying 
Fortresses on an approach to the islands. At 7:15 a.m., a second wave 
of 167 Japanese planes departed the fleet carriers for Pearl Harbor. At 
7:55 a.m., the attack on Pearl Harbor began, with the first Japanese 
dive-bomber appearing over Pearl Harbor. It was followed by a first 
wave of nearly 200 aircraft, including torpedo planes, bombers, and 
fighters.
  The ships in our fleet were sitting ducks, all gathered up in one 
place. The anchored ships in the harbor made perfect targets for those 
bombers, and since it was Sunday morning--a time chosen by the Japanese 
for maximum surprise--they were not fully manned. In fact, back in 
those days in the Navy, half of the crew on the ships was on liberty.
  Most of the damage to the battleships was inflicted in the first 30 
minutes of the assault. The Arizona, which still lies in state, so to 
speak, at that harbor, sank. The Oklahoma was capsized. The California, 
Nevada, and West Virginia sank in shallow water. In all, more than 180 
aircraft were destroyed. U.S. military casualties totaled about 3,400.
  That was a fateful day in 1941. Tied up to the Arizona was a ship, 
the USS Vestal. A good friend of mine, a member of our church, and his 
two brothers were on that ship. It was a repair ship. They were working 
on the Arizona. He said he remembers that day like it was yesterday. 
Glenn Sahlgren is gone now. I spent many hours on the Big Horn River 
fishing with him. I told him: When they find our bones one of these 
days, they will be down here on this river with a fly pole in our hand. 
He said: Conrad, every day since December 8, 1941, has been a bonus to 
me. He and his two brothers were raised in Saco, MT. All three of them 
were in the Navy and on that ship, and it too sank. All three survived 
that fateful morning.
  They were young Americans, hit by surprise. Now we are talking about 
another intelligence bill on the heels of 9/11. There were 3,581 
killed, missing, and wounded. In my State alone, on the USS Arizona, 
Montana lost seven of its finest: Lloyd Daniel, Jerald Dellum, Joseph 
Marling, Earl Morrison, Robert Pearson, Harold Scilley, and George 
Smart.
  Of course, that attack launched America into World War II where it 
suffered even more losses. Thousands of men and women died in World War 
II, but it changed the face of the world and gave us the freedoms we 
enjoy today. None of us here earned those; we inherited them. What Tom 
Brokaw called ``the greatest generation'' is a true statement. For 
after that attack, this country bound up its wounds and didn't look 
back. We honored those who were lost, and we built a better peace.
  As this holiday season approaches and we gather around friends and 
family, it is important that we count our blessings. Most of those 
blessings were inherited and not earned. We remember those who went 
before us. We turn to this holiday and think about those families who 
are missing someone either because a family member died for their 
country or he or she is standing tall on foreign soil around the world.
  One characteristic about Americans, we have always thought about the 
next generation. Those who answered the call in 1941 knew full well it 
was worth the sacrifice so that their families, their children and 
grandchildren, would never be vulnerable to anything like that again. 
We are witnessing today's greatest generation also. They understand the 
risk and the mission, but they also understand their families and what 
this great country stands for--we tend to forget that every now and 
again--because they, too, think it is worth the sacrifice so their 
children and grandchildren will not live under the pall of terrorism, 
perpetrated on the world from the shadows by faceless people. Today we 
have brave military men and women again, just as those who have gone 
before them, standing on alert, securing our freedoms, guarding the 
innocent abroad. I salute their bravery and their sacrifice, and I ask 
my colleagues to do the same.
  This December 7 is a reminder of where we have been, how we reacted, 
what we have done, and the challenges to be faced in the future by 
young folks who are willing to pay the price.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Bennett). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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