[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 187 (Wednesday, December 7, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H8192-H8193]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              PEARL HARBOR

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Poe) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the sun was lazily rising on the 
horizon. It was around breakfast time on a stunning Sunday morning. It 
was quiet, peaceful, calm. People felt secure. There was a small 
tropical breeze as the American flag was being raised on a nearby 
flagpole.
  It was this day that Luke Trahin, a 22-year-old sailor from southeast 
Texas, noticed large formations of aircraft darkening the glistening 
sky. He kept watching in awe until suddenly the aircraft broke 
formation, dove from the sky, and unleashed a fury of deadly, 
devastating bombs and torpedoes on a place called Pearl Harbor in the 
Pacific. It was this day, 70 years ago this morning, when Luke Trahin 
and his fellow sailors, soldiers, and marines saw war unleashed upon 
America. It was December 7, 1941.
  The Japanese had caught America by surprise and took advantage of an 
unprepared nation. And after the smoke cleared on that morning of 
madness, 98 Navy planes and 64 Army aircraft were destroyed. Luke's 
unit, Patrol Wing One, lost all but three of its 36 aircraft. 2,471 
Americans, servicemen, and civilians, were killed by this unwarranted 
invasion of terror from the skies.
  The pride of the United States Navy, the battleships--West Virginia, 
California, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Maryland, Nevada, and Arizona--
were trapped in the harbor. They made easy targets for the Japanese 
pilots. The sailors onboard these battle wagons fought with the courage 
of an entire legion of warriors when they were attacked by a skillful, 
fanatical, and tyrannical enemy. All of these fierce U.S. Navy 
battleships were sunk or damaged. Their guns, Mr. Speaker, are now 
silent.
  The hull of the USS Arizona became the sacred graveyard in the 
peaceful Pacific for more than 1,177 American sailors and marines. I 
have seen, Mr. Speaker, the oil that still seeps to the surface from 
the hull of the battleship Arizona.
  Luke Trahin and his Navy buddies in Patrol Wing One quickly got 
organized, prepared, and waited for 2 days for the expected land 
invasion by the Japanese. It never came. But America was at war. It was 
World War II, and the war was long. It spread from the Pacific to 
Europe to Africa to the Middle East to Asia. The Japanese, then the 
Nazis, seemed undefeatable. But even the Japanese were concerned about 
the spirit of America. The Japanese commander of the Pearl Harbor 
invasion remarked that what Japan had done was wake a sleeping giant.
  World War II was hard. Millions served in uniform overseas; millions 
served on the home front; all sacrificed for the cause of America. The 
Nation woke from a somber sleep of neutrality and, with our allies, 
defeated the tyrants that would rule over the world. That was a time 
when Americans put aside all differences and united to defend freedom 
in our Nation. When the war was won, over 400,000 Americans had given 
their lives for this nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I'm always intrigued by the stories of those war heroes 
and the folks of that generation. There isn't one of them that cannot 
recall the exact moment and place they were when they heard the news of 
Pearl Harbor. Both of my parents, barely teenagers at the time, still 
talk about what they were doing when they heard on the radio that 
broadcast that Sunday morning about the invasion.
  Until September 2011, this was the deadliest attack on American soil. 
``December 7, 1941, a date that will live in infamy.'' Those were the 
words of President Franklin Roosevelt that became forever embedded in 
the minds of patriots across our land igniting and launching a nation 
into the fiery trenches of battle throughout the world.
  Those of that Greatest Generation proved that when freedom of this 
Nation is threatened, our people will stand and fight. They will bring 
the thunder of God upon our enemies. Defending freedom and liberty was 
the battle cry of the sailors, marines, and soldiers that died 70 years 
ago at Pearl Harbor.
  We remember December 7, 1941, and the Americans who stood tall and 
kept the flame of America burning brightly. They were a remarkable 
bunch of people. They were the Americans.
  My friend, Petty Officer Luke Trahin, stayed in the United States 
Navy for 38 years, either on active or reserve status. He wore his 
uniform every Memorial Day, every Veterans Day, and spent a lot of time 
speaking proudly about this country. He died 4 years ago on December 5, 
2007. He was 89 years of age.
  And that's just the way it is.

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