Pearl Harbor Day


  • A day of rememberance on 7 DEC 2022.

    A great article about Pearl Harbor.  Drives home the human cost:

    https://tucson.com/news/local/tucsonan-finishes-five-year-quest-to-profile-every-uss-arizona-casualty-at-pearl-harbor/article_7c8ef550-513d-11ec-9581-a722d4d304d1.html

    Pictures taken today at the Arizona Military Museum, Phoenix, AZ:

    The chain is from the USS Arizona.



  • My Paternal Grandparents lived on Oahu in '41.  They saw the Japanese aircraft fly over.  My Grandfather attempted to join the Navy immediately following Pearl Harbor but was turned away as he was a skilled ship worker at Pearl Harbor.  His war effort would be helping to repair the gravely damaged Pacific fleet.

    (My Maternal Grandfather would fight in France, Belgium, and Luxembourg with the Third Army).


  • Scratch built USS Arizona in local Veteran's Day Parade.  Owner told me it was about 26 ft long.  

     


  • More from the Arizona Military Museum:

     



  • Commerative Air Force Museum, Mesa, AZ:

     


  • Salut à toi, mon ami au loin (my friend, so far away)...

    Thanks for the photo of the basic sailor's uniform. I was unaware of the existence of this kind of "sailor cap" in the Navy. Very smart, because very traditional : it has a shape between The Royal Navy one and the Reichsmarine one... Very interesting.

    Can you tell me if it is still worn or not ? (and its official name if possible...).

    Un grand merci et à bientôt !

     


  • @Pierre Lerdou-Udoy 

    Not an expert on the Navy.

    I believe the whole "traditional" uniform is called the "Cracker Jacks" in the US Navy.  I've always been told the bell bottom pants aid in capturing air and converting the pants into an impromptu flotation device.  (I can tell you regular BDU pants do indeed make a DECENT floatation device).  (Certainly a better explanation than they thought the Village People were awesome).

    According to this:

    https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.insider.com/all-the-uniforms-a-navy-sailor-is-issued-in-their-seabag-2022-6%3famp

    It looks like US Navy Seamen still get issued white and blue cracker-jacks.  The official names are in the article.

    The Army (and probably everybody else on earth) makes fun of the Navy's current blue camouflage uniform as it is useless as camouflage.... Unless you fall overboard..... Whereupon you desperately want to be seen.  Dark blue work coveralls with pull down orange panels/reflective tape would have made sense to me.... But what do I know.  


  • Citoyen (strike day in France) et ami,

    Thank you for your fast, funny (YMCA : I had forgotten that !) and practical response. The video clearly shows the types of uniforms currently being worn... which I can compare with the more historical effects (WW2).

    The parade uniform (Dress Blue Service Uniform - DBSU ?) is much the same, with one exception : the "Blue cloth cap" (of the photo) has been definitively replaced (1959-63) by the well known "White hat" (cf. Steeve McQueen... in The Sand Pebbles). The white or blue "jumper", with the large collar and the black "neckerchief" are similar...

    https://www.usww2uniforms.com/figures_navy.html

    ...and thank you for the military slang word for this uniform : "the Crackerjack".

    Always a pleasure... et à bientôt.


  • @Pierre Lerdou-Udoy 

    You're Very Welcome.

    The slang Cracker Jacks comes from this classic American treat:


  • Very interesting, Anaia.

    Never seen in France or Spain, but that's a very old brand. Around 1893, some of the young men of my family emigrated to the Americas (Nevada and Argentina/Uruguay) : they were hungry at home.

    It looks edible, but terribly "sweet" (full of sugar). At the time of : "let's eat varied, balanced and let's do sports", this kind of product is almost a declaration of war !

    I note that the kid also changed his "blue cap" for a "white hat", over time. "La boucle est bouclée", as we say in french (the circle is complete).

    I recently read that men and women of "my tribe" were present in Pearl Harbour :

    https://buber.net/Basque/2021/02/01/fighting-basques-six-basques-at-pearl-harbor-the-day-of-infamy/

    Izan ontsa. Be well.


  • @Pierre Lerdou-Udoy 

    Good read at the link.


  • @JTam @Pierre Lerdou-Udoy Nice I learned a little bit more for the old grey cells . Morning and love you guys . Geoff.


  • Egun on, ene lagun zaharra ("have a good day", old friend of mine),

    It's good for everyone to exercise HIS neuron !

    Incidentally, I learned that your (Royal) Navy, the finest, provided armed escorts to evacuate several thousand children from the (spanish) Basque Country, between the bombardment of Guernica (Gernika) and the capitulation of the Basque army (Eusko-Gudarostea) in 1937. A very nice gesture.


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