Kirk Polizzi: Lessons from Pearl Harbor

Seventy-five years ago America was forced into war. Over 2,500 American sailors, some still sleeping in their bunks, were killed as the empire of Japan deliberately launched its surprise attack on America’s Pacific Naval Fleet at Pearl Harbor. What followed was four of the bloodiest years in American history.

That generation –the greatest this nation ever produced – had grown up quickly. From all over America they marched off to a war that this country did not want, but once this premeditated invasion was initiated, the people of America united as never seen before to win World War II.

Are there any lessons from Dec. 7, 1941? Yes there are.

First, America can never again be caught off guard and there is nothing we Americans cannot do when we unite as one. We quietly have this in our arsenal of democracy: the will to fight and to win, and with that will, we put all of our adversaries and enemies on notice.

The Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto at Pearl Harbor had it correct: America is indeed a “sleeping giant.”

This story was originally published December 8, 2016 at 10:57 AM with the headline "Kirk Polizzi: Lessons from Pearl Harbor."