December Most Unique Month Of The Year
Everett Taylor
December can be a busy month to the point of being hectic at times in today's fast-moving world, and even in times past when the pace might not have been as frantic, it had unusual features.
As the last month of the year, a lot of people are trying to get things wrapped up for a new start come January. It also is the month when winter officially begins. Saturday, Dec. 22, is the first day of winter this year.
What really sets it apart from the other months, of course, is the holiday season of Christmas and New Year's.
Christmas activities can consume a lot of time these days with parties and other activities, shopping and preparing for Christmas dinner. Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are not holidays in themselves but can involve more activity than the holidays themselves.
Actually, the celebration of New Year takes place largely before the actual midnight arrival of the day itself.
There also is a date of historical note for the state of Texas in Dec. It was on Dec. 29, 1845 that Texas was admitted to the Union as the 28th state.
Even with all of those significant events in the month, however, something happened one December now more than 65 years ago that created a shadow over all of them that year. For those who were old enough to remember it will always be a somber portion of a month otherwise mostly associated with a season of joy and good will toward all men.
It was on Dec. 7, 1941, a Sunday that started serenely at Pearl Harbor where 185 vessels of the United States Pacific Fleet, including seven battleships, were tied and anchored.
Shortly before 7:55 a.m. a wave of Japanese aircraft swept in, targeting the fleet and U.S. aircraft lined up at nearby air stations.
A Memorial Park Service pamphlet issued to visitors at the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor notes the Japanese leader, "Cmdr. Mitsuo Fuchida, sent the coded messages 'To, To, To' and 'Tora, Tora, Tora,' telling the fleet that the attack had begun and that complete surprise had been achieved."
It took the surprised Americans several minutes to offer any response to the attackers, but they eventually managed to register some hits on the attacking aircraft with anti-aircraft fire, shooting down 12 enemy planes.
The attack lasted about two hours and much of the U.S. fleet was sunk or disabled and a majority of its aircraft destroyed.
The U.S. Navy had suffered its greatest defeat in history with 21 vessels sunk or damaged. American dead totaled 2,390, with hundreds wounded. Japanese losses were 29 planes, 55 airmen, five midget submarines and nine crewmen.
The USS Arizona was sunk with most of its crew inside and remains at the bottom of the harbor. The U.S.S. Arizona Memorial was erected over the sunken vessel and visitors can see the remains of the ship from the monument.
Most Americans might remember the Japanese attack, once a year on the anniversary date, but visitors to Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii see a place where it not only is remembered, but relived, every day of the year.
Only a few of the U.S. military survivors of the Pearl Harbor attack are still around, and perhaps a half dozen or so still are with the Park Service at the visitor center and chat with people stopping by.
One of the more recently completed attractions there is the Battleship Missouri Memorial, featuring the Mighty USS Missouri, "the world's most historic battleship afloat."
Visitors can get a close look at the Surrender Deck where, on Sept. 2, 1945, the greatest military leaders of World War II gathered while the ship sat anchored in Tokyo Bay, to witness the signing of the Instrument of Surrender by the Japanese.
The document represents the end of the world's bloodiest war which started for the United States with the lopsided Japanese surprise attack on Dec. 7, 1941.
As the last month of the year, a lot of people are trying to get things wrapped up for a new start come January. It also is the month when winter officially begins. Saturday, Dec. 22, is the first day of winter this year.
What really sets it apart from the other months, of course, is the holiday season of Christmas and New Year's.
Christmas activities can consume a lot of time these days with parties and other activities, shopping and preparing for Christmas dinner. Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are not holidays in themselves but can involve more activity than the holidays themselves.
Actually, the celebration of New Year takes place largely before the actual midnight arrival of the day itself.
There also is a date of historical note for the state of Texas in Dec. It was on Dec. 29, 1845 that Texas was admitted to the Union as the 28th state.
Even with all of those significant events in the month, however, something happened one December now more than 65 years ago that created a shadow over all of them that year. For those who were old enough to remember it will always be a somber portion of a month otherwise mostly associated with a season of joy and good will toward all men.
It was on Dec. 7, 1941, a Sunday that started serenely at Pearl Harbor where 185 vessels of the United States Pacific Fleet, including seven battleships, were tied and anchored.
Shortly before 7:55 a.m. a wave of Japanese aircraft swept in, targeting the fleet and U.S. aircraft lined up at nearby air stations.
A Memorial Park Service pamphlet issued to visitors at the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor notes the Japanese leader, "Cmdr. Mitsuo Fuchida, sent the coded messages 'To, To, To' and 'Tora, Tora, Tora,' telling the fleet that the attack had begun and that complete surprise had been achieved."
It took the surprised Americans several minutes to offer any response to the attackers, but they eventually managed to register some hits on the attacking aircraft with anti-aircraft fire, shooting down 12 enemy planes.
The attack lasted about two hours and much of the U.S. fleet was sunk or disabled and a majority of its aircraft destroyed.
The U.S. Navy had suffered its greatest defeat in history with 21 vessels sunk or damaged. American dead totaled 2,390, with hundreds wounded. Japanese losses were 29 planes, 55 airmen, five midget submarines and nine crewmen.
The USS Arizona was sunk with most of its crew inside and remains at the bottom of the harbor. The U.S.S. Arizona Memorial was erected over the sunken vessel and visitors can see the remains of the ship from the monument.
Most Americans might remember the Japanese attack, once a year on the anniversary date, but visitors to Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii see a place where it not only is remembered, but relived, every day of the year.
Only a few of the U.S. military survivors of the Pearl Harbor attack are still around, and perhaps a half dozen or so still are with the Park Service at the visitor center and chat with people stopping by.
One of the more recently completed attractions there is the Battleship Missouri Memorial, featuring the Mighty USS Missouri, "the world's most historic battleship afloat."
Visitors can get a close look at the Surrender Deck where, on Sept. 2, 1945, the greatest military leaders of World War II gathered while the ship sat anchored in Tokyo Bay, to witness the signing of the Instrument of Surrender by the Japanese.
The document represents the end of the world's bloodiest war which started for the United States with the lopsided Japanese surprise attack on Dec. 7, 1941.
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