(For decades, paranormal investigator George “Buster”
Singleton published a weekly newspaper column called “Somewhere in Time.” The
column below, which was entitled “Pearl Harbor should always be remembered,”
was originally published in the Dec. 7, 2000 edition of The Monroe Journal in
Monroeville, Ala. This column and all of Singleton’s other columns are
available to the public through the microfilm records at the Monroe County
Public Library in Monroeville. Singleton’s columns are presented here for research
and scholarship purposes and as part of an effort to keep his work and memory
alive. Enjoy.)
We Americans are a forgetful and a forgiving people. Some
say that this is good. A few, like myself, believe that we should keep in mind
the acts of aggression that have been committed against us and remember that it
could and might happen again.
Today (Thursday) should be remembered. Fifty-nine years ago
on this date, an act of aggression against us set into motion a war. The intent
of that war was to wipe us, the United States, from the face of the earth.
Many who read this were too young to remember that dreadful
Sunday when the Japanese Empire launched the attack on our fleet that lay at
anchor in the still and peaceful waters of Pearl Harbor.
This peaceful Sunday morning was transformed from a day of
worship and relaxation into a living hell for the members of our armed forces
who were present on board the naval vessels that lay at anchor in the waters of
the harbor that fateful morning.
Without warning, the morning skies grew dark with hundreds
of fighter planes and bombers that swept downward leaving death and destruction
in their wake. The cries of the wounded and dying settled over the waters of
the Pacific as though a giant fog of death had appeared from nowhere. Wave
after wave of Japanese bombers returned time and again to drop their loads of
death upon our unsuspecting fleet.
Hundreds of our young fighting men wound never see the dawn
of another day. Most of them never had the chance to fight back or raise a hand
against the Land of the Rising Sun. The still waters of the Pacific received
the remains of those who would never see their beloved homeland again.
The mothers and fathers of those who died could only guess
what tragedies befell their beautiful sons. They now sleep eternally in the
sunken hulls of the bombed out ships still at anchor in Pearl Harbor.
The killing and the destruction did not stop at Pearl
Harbor. The armies and navies of the Rising Sun continued to run roughshod over
the islands of the Pacific where any Americans were to be found. Bataan,
Corregidor, Guam and several more islands fell to the guns of the Rising Sun.
The atrocities that befell Allied and American prisoners taken by the Japanese
were worse than death itself.
Thousands upon thousands of American and Philippine soldiers
were tortured to death. No mercy was shown to the wounded and the starving as
the Japanese used every sadistic way known to mankind to torture and kill those
who were unlucky enough to be taken prisoner.
The Bataan Death March was to go down in the annals of
history as one of the worst atrocities ever. More than 60,000 American and
Filipino soldiers were taken prisoner by the Japanese army. These poor,
miserable men, many suffering from wounds, starvation and mistreatment, were
forced to march more than 70 miles to prison camps. More than 10,000 of these
miserable souls died or were killed during this long march of death.
Time and good living has dimmed most of the memories of this
dreaded time in our history. Little thought is given to those who sleep forever
in a faraway soil so that we may enjoy the good life that we do today.
We turn a deaf ear to the stories of horror and the
atrocities that border on the very edge of our worst imagination. Our hearts
bleed for the Japanese people who are buying up our country by leaps and
bounds. We spend billions for the defense of their country, while not one cent
of their money is offered as payment for the destruction and death and sorrow
put upon us during that dreadful war.
We hold our heads low when we are scolded for trying to
export our manufactured goods to Japan. Then, we sit idle when our sea ports
are swamped with the imported goods from the Land of the Rising Sun. Our kind
and gentle nation turns a deaf ear when the news reports another billion dollar
real estate deal is silently closed by our trusted friends, as they bow
politely.
We lie back and enjoy the good life, while watching a
television set that was made in Japan, while a Japanese-made automobile sits in
our garage. Truly, truly, truly, we Americans are a forgiving and forgetful
people.
So, this Thursday, I feel that maybe a total of 60 seconds
will be devoted to Dec. 7, 1941. A few will remember, ones like myself and some
of those who are older, some of those who survived the marches of death
conducted by the armies of the Rising Sun.
I remember too well that fateful day, Mon., Dec. 8, 1941,
when a general assembly was called at Sweet Water High School. I remember our
principal standing before the school assembly with tears rolling down his
cheeks.
“You have slept through a night that will be remembered as
long as mankind walks the face of this earth,” he said. At that time, I thought
he was right, but now, I’m not sure.
Let us not forget the thousands who sleep today in some
faraway land who never had the opportunity to live the good life in this
wonderful country we call ours. Perhaps the words of a little known poet might
say it better.
When at last the Colors fade,
And the final roll call made.
The fading notes of taps are played.
What If?
When face-to-face with millions slain,
For the cause of freedom’s gain.
The anguished cries, “We died in vain, We died in vain.”
What If?
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