A day of infamy, don’t forget!

As I sit here on December 8, 2025, the morning after the 84th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, I’m struck by a profound silence. I didn’t hear a single word in the news this past week or month about that fateful day—December 7, 1941—when our nation was thrust into the deadliest conflict in human history. 

President Franklin D. Roosevelt called it “a date which will live in infamy,” and yet, it seems to have faded from our collective memory. At 82, I remember the shockwaves it sent through my childhood world. For my generation, it’s not ancient history; it’s a lived nightmare that claimed millions of lives and reshaped the globe. But for younger folks, it seems like it’s just a footnote in a textbook. 

Today, in this column for seniors like me—and a wake-up call for everyone else—I want to remind us all why we must never forget. In an era of “wars and rumors of wars,” as the Bible warns in Matthew 24:6, the lessons of Pearl Harbor are more urgent than ever, especially with nuclear weapons proliferating across the globe. 

Let me take you back to that Sunday morning in Hawaii. At 7:48 a.m., without warning or declaration of war, waves of Japanese aircraft—over 350 in total—descended on the U.S. Pacific Fleet anchored at Pearl Harbor. It was a meticulously planned surprise attack aimed at crippling America’s naval power in the Pacific. Bombs and torpedoes rained down for nearly two hours, sinking or severely damaging eight battleships, including the USS Arizona, which exploded in a massive fireball and sank with over 1,100 sailors trapped inside. 

Three cruisers, three destroyers, and nearly 200 aircraft were destroyed or damaged on the ground. The human toll was staggering: 2,403 Americans killed, including 2,008 Navy personnel, 109 Marines, 218 Army soldiers, and 68 civilians. Another 1,178 were wounded, many with burns and shrapnel injuries that scarred them for life. 

Japanese losses were minimal—29 planes and about 130 men—but the attack achieved its goal: it dragged a reluctant America into World War II. The very next day, December 8, 1941, President Roosevelt addressed a joint session of Congress and a stunned nation via radio. “Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan,” he declared. 

Congress voted almost unanimously to declare war on Japan, and soon after, Germany and Italy declared war on us. What followed was four years of global carnage that no one could have fully imagined. The U.S. alone suffered over 416,000 military deaths and about 12,000 civilian losses by war’s end in 1945. Worldwide, the toll was unimaginable: an estimated 70 to 85 million people perished, including 21 to 25 million military personnel and 50 to 55 million civilians from bombings, starvation, disease, and genocide. 

Families were torn apart; cities like London, Dresden, and Hiroshima lay in ruins. For seniors like me, these aren’t statistics—they’re the brothers, fathers, and friends we lost. I remember the ration books, the victory gardens, the air raid drills. It was a time when the world hung by a thread, and ordinary folks rose to extraordinary heroism.

But here’s the kicker: it wasn’t that long ago. Eighty-four years is a blink in history’s eye—less time than from the Civil War to World War I. Many of us seniors were children then, listening to the radio broadcasts, waving goodbye to loved ones heading off to fight in Europe or the Pacific. We saw the telegrams arrive with devastating news. 

Younger generations, buried in their screens and social media, might think WW II is as distant as the Roman Empire. But it’s not. The survivors are dwindling—I’m one of the lucky ones who can still share these stories—but the echoes remain in our veterans’ homes, our memorials, and our national soul. 

So why harp on this now? Because history has a way of repeating itself, it could happen again, and next time, it might end everything as we know it! Back then, we faced conventional bombs and battleships. Today, nine countries possess nuclear weapons: Russia, the United States, China, and others including France, the UK, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea are still adding to the global arsenal. A single miscalculation could unleash devastation far beyond Pearl Harbor or even Hiroshima. 

We’re living in a powder keg of “wars and rumors of wars”—Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, escalating tensions in the Middle East, and saber-rattling in the South China Sea toward Taiwan. Nuclear proliferation has turned regional conflicts into potential existential threats to all life on Earth. 

Imagine a surprise attack today: not planes over Hawaii, but missiles crossing oceans in minutes, wiping out cities and poisoning the planet for generations. Seniors, let’s share our stories while we can. Younger folks, listen up—history isn’t just dusty books; it’s a warning. Pearl Harbor taught us that complacency invites disaster, that unity and resolve can overcome evil. In this divided world, let’s honor the fallen by vowing “never again.” Visit a memorial, read a book, talk to a veteran and talk to your grandchildren.

Remember December 7, 1941, not as a forgotten date, but as a beacon guiding us away from the brink. Because if we forget, infamy could strike again—and this time, who knows what tomorrow would look like?

Thanks for reading All About Seniors, see you next week!

Bill Milby is a Director of Visiting Angels® of Central Georgia, a non-medical, living assistance service for seniors. If you have questions or comments about this column you can reach him at william.mercylink@gmail.com or search for us at  https://www.facebook.com/VisitingAngelsofCentralGA