Fortunately, the attack on Pearl Harbor was not as devastating as it could have been. To begin with, the aircraft carriers were not in port that day. Secondly, the Japanese Navy was so fixated on sinking American battleships and cruisers that they completely overlooked the dry dock on the other side of the harbor. The sunken ships needed only be righted and towed across the harbor for repair instead of the mainland 2,400 miles away. The Japanese bombers never touched the massive fuel supplies stored farther inland, thus preserving a valuable resource that would be used against them later. Had they succeeded, we would have likely lost Hawaii while providing the Imperial Japanese army and navy a staging area for invading the west coast of the United States. The attack served only to ‘awaken a sleeping giant’ as Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto noted afterwards.

While I was wandering around the museum built out of the battleship USS Missouri, I came upon a rack of unused five inch shells slowly corroding on the dock. I could’t help but think just how many lives were saved because they were never used in combat. They were ready if the Navy needed them, but unused nonetheless.

Today, more than ever, deterrence has its purpose. I am thankful that America still holds the advantage rather than a power that does not value personal liberty as much as we do. Thank you veterans for being there when America and her allies needed you. The freedom that you bought with your blood is the real peace dividend.

Photographed on Fujichrome Provia 100 color slide film with a Konica Hexar Silver camera.

Tags: ships, military, Color, museum, film