Spirited remembrance; Stealth bombers mark Pearl Harbor event

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Steven Wilson
  • 36th Operations Group Public Affairs
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, GUAM --  Two members of the 393rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron piloted their B-2 Spirit stealth bomber over Pearl Harbor December 7 in honor of Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

This flight was part of a stealth bomber global power sortie, where the aircrews practice their global reach capability by flying more than 19-hours from Guam, to the training range on the Big Island of Hawaii and returning.

Maj. Ryan Link, 393rd EBS assistant of director of operations and mission commander for the remembrance flight, said he considered it a personal honor to be involved with the annual Pearl Harbor memorial ceremonies.

"Flying in the same battle space that forced our Nation into the greatest conflict the world has ever known was a very somber experience for me," Major Link said. "As I flew over the harbor I thought about that infamous day in 1941 and all of our veterans down there watching me. It's an event I'll never forget."

Major Link is not alone in his belief December 7 should always be remembered.

Capt. Michael Deaver, 393rd EBS scheduling officer, was the other aviator piloting the Pearl Harbor remembrance flyover. Captain Deaver said this special sortie in reverence to the Pearl Harbor attack reminded him of the terrorist attacks in his homeland six years ago.

"I'll remember exactly where I was Sept. 11, 2001, for the rest of my life," Captain Deaver said. "While watching those tragedies unfold, I recall wondering if this was what Pearl Harbor felt like during the attack in 1941. In both instances, our Nation was attacked and in both cases our armed forces responded to hold the aggressors accountable.

"That's why I proudly wear this uniform. I believe the veterans present for the flyover at that sacred place in Hawaii felt the same way 66-years ago."

This national day of remembrance, Public Law 103-308, was signed into effect by President George W. Bush Dec. 5, 2001. According to a Dec. 7, 2001, press release from the White House, President Bush urged "all Federal agencies, interested organizations, groups, and individuals to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff this and every December 7 in honor of those who died as a result of their service at Pearl Harbor."

At the law's official signing, President Bush compared the attack on Pearl Harbor to the terrorist attacks inflicted on the Nation three months earlier, when he said "our people and our way of life again were brutally and suddenly attacked, though not by a complex military maneuver, but by the surreptitious wiles of evil terrorists who took cruel and heartless advantage of the freedoms guaranteed by our Nation."

Most history books cite the air raid on Pearl Harbor, which started 7:48 a.m., Dec. 7, 1941, as the catalyst launching the U.S. to war. However, the conflict actually may have begun a little more than an hour earlier when an American minesweeper ship, USS Condor, spotted a Japanese midget submarine just outside the harbor's entrance and notified USS Ward, an American destroyer. The Ward reported firing on and sinking a submarine at 6:37 a.m.

The attack on Pearl Harbor cost U.S. forces 2,333 deaths, 1,139 wounded, 188 aircraft, two battleships, one mine laying ship and two destroyers.

Japanese losses were 29 airplanes, 64 casualties, and possibly five mini-submarines. Pearl Harbor also resulted in the first Japanese prisoner of war when a Japanese mini-sub ran aground and one sailor survived.

Airmen throughout the Asia-Pacific region, 55,000 in all, are still serving honorably like their heroic counterparts in 1941. Pacific Air Forces is the largest area of operations in the world, protecting 60-percent of the world's population in 43 countries.