Thoughts on WWII

I’m reading the book OVERLORD: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy by Max Hastings and on the very first page of chapter 1 he says something that really gave me a new perspective on the attack on Pearl Harbor. He said “Then, in the dying days of the year, came the miracle of Pearl Harbor.” 

The attack on Pearl Harbor will never be forgotten by the United States, it was an inexcusable act by the Japanese that brought us into the war. As Americans, it is a very dark day in our history and I personally wish it did not happen as it did and I suspect most Americans feel the same. However, that is a very centralized and narrow view of that event. It does not look at the bigger picture of the world. Hastings statement above showed me that.

For the Americans it was a disaster and a direct blow to our heart and soul. But in the end it really was a miracle blow in favor of the British who were hanging on by a thread. Because of the attack on Pearl Harbor and our Declaration of War against Japan, Hitler declared war on us. This was a turning point in the war in Europe. What if Japan never attacked us and Germany never declared war on us? Would we have stayed out? Would Britain along with the Soviets been able to beat Hitler’s war machine back without us? Just questions that I am pondering which I’m sure many others have.

My own opinion is if Japan did not attack Pearl Harbor we would have entered the war at some point; these events just accelerated our decision. Germany would have eventually made the fatal error of declaring war on us. However, the war would have probably lasted longer.

These words are just my thoughts and me trying to look at a bigger picture of the events of WWII. The men who fought and died at Pearl Harbor are among our first American Heroes of the war.