We Remember

     On December 7, 1941, at Pearl Harbor on Ford's Island, Hawaii, between about 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM, the Japanese naval air force struck without warning and severely crippled the American Pacific Fleet. The two hour attack left Oklahoma and Arizona destroyed beyond repair, California, West Virginia, and Nevada out of commission for a year or more; and Maryland, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania (the flagship) under repair for weeks.

     In addition to the loss of matériel, over 2,400 Americans died, and about 1,000 more were wounded. This unexpected attack united America and led to our entrance into World War II.

Image Source:  http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/h97000/h97378.jpg

Information Sources:

A&E Television Networks, LLC. Pearl Harbor. Accessed December 7, 2011.  http://www.history.com/topics/pearl-harbor.

Naval History and Heritage Command. "Battleship Row during the Pearl Harbor Attack." Accessed December 7, 2011. http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/pearlhbr/ph-bba.htm.

Naval History and Heritage Command. "Overview and Special Image Selection." Accessed December 7, 2011. http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/pearlhbr/pearlhbr.htm.

Today in History - William Wordsworth

Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802

by William Wordsworth

(sonnet) p. 118

Earth hath not anything to shew more fair:

Dull would he be of soul who could pass by

A sight so touching in its majesty:

This City now doth like a garment wear

The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,

Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie

Open unto the fields, and to the sky;

All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.

Never did sun more beautifully steep

In his first splendor valley, rock, or hill;

Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!

The river glideth at his own sweet will:

Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;

And all that mighty heart is lying still!

The original publication placed the date as 3 September 1803.  Later editions admitted it was actually inspired and composed on Saturday, 31 July 1802, when he and his sister Dorothy were traveling across the bridge together.  The poem describes the River Thames and London in the early morning, before the bustle of traffic and business began.

MLA Citation:

Wordsworth, William. Poems, in Two Volumes. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orms, Paternoster-Row, 1807. Print.