Pearl Harbor wasn’t one of those top selling movies that somebody just made up off the top of their head. It was a date in every American’s history that has somehow started to fall through the cracks of our holiday celebrations.

At the time Pearl Harbor took place, Dec. 7, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was in charge. After the attack was over, even though he was crippled and it hurt to stand, he stood in front of his broken nation and said, “Yesterday, Dec. 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.”

Roosevelt’s quote is still one that people remember today; however, the effect of Pearl Harbor on the United States has fallen from people’s minds.

On thing that people seem to have forgotten is the fact that thousands of people lost their lives during that surprise attack. Some of those lives were people from Chilton County. Whether you knew it or not, there were people who lived right here in this county who were killed during Pearl Harbor.

“The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu,” Roosevelt said.

The anniversary of Pearl Harbor is Sunday. For some, it doesn’t seem like 67 years have passed since the attack. For others, the 67 years have driven the attack from their minds. Sunday will be a day that we all will always know even if it is just something we learn about in our history books in school. While we still have veterans who fought in the attack alive today, we should do our best to show them that we still remember their courage.