Look into Keira's memories.
DECEMBER 7TH, 1941. PEARL HARBOR NAVAL BASE. HONOLULU, HAWAI'I.
A day that will live in infamy.
It'd be foolish to believe the atrocities of the East could find their way to the shores of the West. With Japan's most recent invasion of China, following the massacre of Nanjing, it was becoming evident that their thirst for dominance in the Pacific would not rest. Emily had not been convinced that the Japanese would dare attack her land, her people. No one would be that idiotic, to attack a small base on a group of islands with no defense, could they?
Emily had arrived early that morning for routine inspection of the harbor. She drank coffee with the men still awake on base & played rounds of cards until shift change ; these were her men. Men who served proudly & would die for the privilege to see their children & their children's children to know what peace was.
The attacks happened just before 8am.
Many recalled hearings of a thunderclap in the sky as incoming warplanes from the Japanese Imperial Army bombed the base with torpedoes. It wouldn't take long for the alarms to ring out ; signaling a surprise attack that brought many of the men to action - but could do nothing but watch as their brothers in arms were bombed by the enemy & tossed into the water below like rag dolls.
USS ArIzona was the first ship to go down ; crippling her ammunition magazine & exploding from impact. A thousand men sent to their deaths, trapped inside a burning ship with no way out.
Three-hundred planes & twenty ships had been destroyed. Two thousand men perished, thousands more were injured. Aiding those who were injured, ensuring their safety as aid arrived when all had settled had been a personal priority. The ones who survived were in more need than the ones still submerged in water ; their fates already sealed. Suppose it could have been a much worse turn out had most of the ships had left for Midway & Wake Islands to support deployed troops. They were lucky, but it couldn't be said for others.
Never mind the burning sensation along her back, seeping into her nerves, she remained composed. Casualties were common in times of war ; Emily never suspected the carnage to come to her despite the urge to remain outside of another conflict despite her allies falling into the hands of a common enemy. Peace & neutrality was never an option.
The goal of the attack was to cripple the Pacific fleet ; but their victory would be short lived. Battleships, while useful, weren't the important vessels but rather the Aircraft Carriers. In their desperation to destroy the American spirit, the Japanese failed to take into consideration of the oil storage, submarine docks & shipyards had remained intact.
If it is war the Japanese Imperial Army wanted, then it is war they shall certainly have.
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