Don't Forget

[Caustic Burno]

Today is the day we were sneak attack by the Empire of Japan.
Thousands of American's died during a sneak attack on Sunday morning December 7, 1941.
Many thousands more died for our freedom in the followin years.

May God Bless those who have paid it all and all Veterans serving today and keep them safe protecting our freedom.

Well said CB. Lowered my flag early this morning. Too many of my relatives served and died for our freedom for me to forget.
Dad was a Thunderbird, served in the 45th infantry at North Africa, Sicily, Salerno, and invasion of Rome. Not only loved him for being my Dad, but ALSO what he did in his life for all of us.

Dad was in the Navy in the Med supporting the North African campaign and did convoy escort duty in the North Atlantic also. Had an uncle at Pearl on Dec 7th was assigned to the Nevada got lucky and was on a weekend pass that day.
Had one uncle made the beach landings at Iwo, Okinawa and Guadalcanal and another that was in the European Theatre. My daughter has dad's dress whites from the navy the uncles dress blues from the marines and the others army uniform it is kinda neat.

 

[Calman]

My family has had a member in every war since WWI.a brother ad myself served in the veitnam war.At one time me and my two brothers we're all in the army at the same time.

Cal

 

[Caustic Burno]

My family has had a member in every war since WWI.a brother ad myself served in the veitnam war.At one time me and my two brothers we're all in the army at the same time.

Cal

:tiphat: Thanks for your service.

We have a member of the family serve in every war from the Revolutionary to this one.
As a young boy I was in awe of Dad and my uncles and even more so today, the sacrifices of the men and women of that generation is unbelievable

 

[Commercialfarmer]

Dates when the declarations became "official"--not the dates when a declaration was asked for or presented to governing bodies.

Poland Declared War on Germany at Midnight 31st August - 1st Sept 1939. [See the German White Book]
Great Britain on Germany ....................................September 3, 1939, 11 a.m.
France on Germany.............................................September 3, 1939, 5 p.m.
India on Germany................................................September 3, 1939
Australia on German..........................................September 3, 1939
New Zealand on Germany.....................................September 3, 1939
Union of South Africa on Germany..........................September 6, 1939
Canada on Germany............................................September 10, 1939
Norway and Germany.........................................No formal declaration of war
Belgium and Germany........................................No formal declaration of war
Luxembourg and Germany .................................No formal declaration of war
The Netherlands on Germany...............................May 10, 1940
Italy on France ...............................................June 10, 1940
Canada on Italy ...............................................June 10, 1940
New Zealand on Italy ........................................June 11, 1940
Australia on Italy.............................................June 11, 1940
Union of South Africa on Italy..............................June 11, 1940
Greece on Italy ...............................................October 28,1940
Germany and Greece ........................................No formal declaration of war
Germany on Yugoslavia.....................................April 6, 1941
Italy and Yugoslavia.........................................No formal declaration of war
Yugoslavia on Bulgaria......................................April 6, 1941
Yugoslavia on Hungary.......................................April 10, 1941
Bulgaria on Greece...........................................April 24, 1941
Bulgaria on Yugoslavia......................................April 24, 1941
Germany on USSR............................................June 22, 1941
Italy on USSR.................................................June 22, 1941
Rumania on USSR...........................................No formal declaration of war
Finland on USSR.............................................No formal declaration of war
Hungary on USSR...........................................June 27, 1941
Great Britain on Rumania ...............................December 7, 1941
Great Britain on Hungary................................December 7, 1941
Canada on Finland.........................................December 7, 1941
Canada on Rumania.......................................December 7, 1941
Canada on Hungary........................................December 7, 1941
Australia on Finland......................................December 8, 1941
Australia on Rumania....................................December 8, 1941
Australia on Hungara.....................................December 8, 1941
Union of South Africa on Finland.......................December 8, 1941
Union of South Africa on Rumania.....................December 8, 1941
Union of South Africa on Hungary.....................December 8, 1941
New Zealand on Finland..................................December 7, 1941
New Zealand on Hungary................................December 7, 1941
New Zealand on Rumania...............................December 7, 1941
Japan on the United States............................December 7, 1941
Japan on the British Empire...........................December 7, 1941
Great Britain on Japan.................................December 8, 1941
The United States on Japan...........................December 8, 1941
Canada on Japan.........................................December 8, 1941, as of December 7, 1941
Costa Rica on Japan.....................................December 8, 1941
Dominican Republic on Japan.........................December 8, 1941
Guatemala on Japan....................................December 8, 1941
Haiti on Japan............................................December 8, 1941
Honduras on Japan......................................December 8, 1941
El Salvador on Japan ...................................December 8, 1941
Panama on Japan........................................December 8, 1941
Cuba on Japan...........................................December 9, 1941
The Netherlands on Japan ............................December 8, 1941
The Netherlands Indies on Japan December 8, 1941
China on Japan December 9, 1941
China on Germany December 9, 1941
China on Italy December 9, 1941
Union of South Africa on Japan December 8, 1941
Australia on Japan December 8, 1941
Free France on Japan December 8, 1941
Germany on the United States December 11, 1941
Italy on the United States December 11, 1941
The United States on Germany December 11, 1941
The United States on Italy December 11, 1941
Costa Rica on Germany and Italy December 11, 1941
Guatemala on Germany and Italy December 11, 1941
Cuba on Germany and Italy December 11, 1941
Nicaragua on Germany, Italy and Japan December 11, 1941
Poland on Japan December 11, 1941
Dominican Republic on Germany and Italy December 11, 1941
Haiti on Germany and Italy December 12, 1941
Honduras on Germany and Italy December 12, 1941
El Salvador on Germany and Italy December 12, 1941
Panama on Germany and Italy December 12, 1941
Rumania on the United States December 12, 1941
Bulgaria on the United States December 13, 1941
Bulgaria on Great Britain December 13, 1941
Hungary on the United States December 13, 1941
Czechoslovakia on all countries that are in
a state of war with Great Britain, theUnited
States, or the USSR December 16, 1941
Albania on the United States December 17, 1941
Nicaragua on Bulgaria, Hungary, & Rumania December 20, 1941
Belgium on Japan December 20, 1941
Haiti on Bulgaria, Hungary, and Rumania December 24, 1941
Great Britain on Bulgaria December 27, 1941, as of December 13, 1941
The Netherlands on Italy December 30, 1941, as of December 11, 1941
Union of South Africa on Bulgaria December 31, 1941, as of December 13, 1941

Just reading that list put me in awe. I can't imagine living it. Too bad people can't learn from the past.

 

[chrisy]

I had an Uncle in the Royal Navy, on the HMS Rodney, one in the army he was a gunner. and my Dad was in the secret service in the de-coding department in Blechley Park, I reckon that must have been interesting, he was not allowed to speak of it the official secrets act, I find it strange as the War was over so what harm could it have done then, but thems the rules I suppose and he had to stick by them or face imprisonment. Not because he was my Dad but he was a very clever man and funny too. I miss him so much.

 

[snake67]

Dates when the declarations became "official"--not the dates when a declaration was asked for or presented to governing bodies.

Poland Declared War on Germany at Midnight 31st August - 1st Sept 1939. [See the German White Book]
Great Britain on Germany ....................................September 3, 1939, 11 a.m.
France on Germany.............................................September 3, 1939, 5 p.m.
India on Germany................................................September 3, 1939
Australia on German..........................................September 3, 1939
New Zealand on Germany.....................................September 3, 1939
Union of South Africa on Germany..........................September 6, 1939
Canada on Germany............................................September 10, 1939
Norway and Germany.........................................No formal declaration of war
Belgium and Germany........................................No formal declaration of war
Luxembourg and Germany .................................No formal declaration of war
The Netherlands on Germany...............................May 10, 1940
Italy on France ...............................................June 10, 1940
Canada on Italy ...............................................June 10, 1940
New Zealand on Italy ........................................June 11, 1940
Australia on Italy.............................................June 11, 1940
Union of South Africa on Italy..............................June 11, 1940
Greece on Italy ...............................................October 28,1940
Germany and Greece ........................................No formal declaration of war
Germany on Yugoslavia.....................................April 6, 1941
Italy and Yugoslavia.........................................No formal declaration of war
Yugoslavia on Bulgaria......................................April 6, 1941
Yugoslavia on Hungary.......................................April 10, 1941
Bulgaria on Greece...........................................April 24, 1941
Bulgaria on Yugoslavia......................................April 24, 1941
Germany on USSR............................................June 22, 1941
Italy on USSR.................................................June 22, 1941
Rumania on USSR...........................................No formal declaration of war
Finland on USSR.............................................No formal declaration of war
Hungary on USSR...........................................June 27, 1941
Great Britain on Rumania ...............................December 7, 1941
Great Britain on Hungary................................December 7, 1941
Canada on Finland.........................................December 7, 1941
Canada on Rumania.......................................December 7, 1941
Canada on Hungary........................................December 7, 1941
Australia on Finland......................................December 8, 1941
Australia on Rumania....................................December 8, 1941
Australia on Hungara.....................................December 8, 1941
Union of South Africa on Finland.......................December 8, 1941
Union of South Africa on Rumania.....................December 8, 1941
Union of South Africa on Hungary.....................December 8, 1941
New Zealand on Finland..................................December 7, 1941
New Zealand on Hungary................................December 7, 1941
New Zealand on Rumania...............................December 7, 1941
Japan on the United States............................December 7, 1941
Japan on the British Empire...........................December 7, 1941
Great Britain on Japan.................................December 8, 1941
The United States on Japan...........................December 8, 1941
Canada on Japan.........................................December 8, 1941, as of December 7, 1941
Costa Rica on Japan.....................................December 8, 1941
Dominican Republic on Japan.........................December 8, 1941
Guatemala on Japan....................................December 8, 1941
Haiti on Japan............................................December 8, 1941
Honduras on Japan......................................December 8, 1941
El Salvador on Japan ...................................December 8, 1941
Panama on Japan........................................December 8, 1941
Cuba on Japan...........................................December 9, 1941
The Netherlands on Japan ............................December 8, 1941
The Netherlands Indies on Japan December 8, 1941
China on Japan December 9, 1941
China on Germany December 9, 1941
China on Italy December 9, 1941
Union of South Africa on Japan December 8, 1941
Australia on Japan December 8, 1941
Free France on Japan December 8, 1941
Germany on the United States December 11, 1941
Italy on the United States December 11, 1941
The United States on Germany December 11, 1941
The United States on Italy December 11, 1941
Costa Rica on Germany and Italy December 11, 1941
Guatemala on Germany and Italy December 11, 1941
Cuba on Germany and Italy December 11, 1941
Nicaragua on Germany, Italy and Japan December 11, 1941
Poland on Japan December 11, 1941
Dominican Republic on Germany and Italy December 11, 1941
Haiti on Germany and Italy December 12, 1941
Honduras on Germany and Italy December 12, 1941
El Salvador on Germany and Italy December 12, 1941
Panama on Germany and Italy December 12, 1941
Rumania on the United States December 12, 1941
Bulgaria on the United States December 13, 1941
Bulgaria on Great Britain December 13, 1941
Hungary on the United States December 13, 1941
Czechoslovakia on all countries that are in
a state of war with Great Britain, theUnited
States, or the USSR December 16, 1941
Albania on the United States December 17, 1941
Nicaragua on Bulgaria, Hungary, & Rumania December 20, 1941
Belgium on Japan December 20, 1941
Haiti on Bulgaria, Hungary, and Rumania December 24, 1941
Great Britain on Bulgaria December 27, 1941, as of December 13, 1941
The Netherlands on Italy December 30, 1941, as of December 11, 1941
Union of South Africa on Bulgaria December 31, 1941, as of December 13, 1941

Your opening line provides a bit of a disclaimer

At 2130 hours on 7 Dec the Parliament of Canada declared war on Japan

Within 5 minutes of that - the government of Panama did the same

I thought that Panama was very interesting

Merry christmas to all

Bez

 

[greybeard]

Dates when the declarations became "official"--not the dates when a declaration was asked for or presented to governing bodies.

(list)

Just reading that list put me in awe. I can't imagine living it. Too bad people can't learn from the past.

Me too--weren't many nations not directly involved in that world war.

 

[chippie]

I am afraid that Dec. 7 has become a date that doesn't mean a thing to many. My parents lived through the war and my father served in the Navy, so the date was a meaningful part of my life while growing up.

My daughter had a horse show this weekend and while we were waiting in line Friday afternoon to enter, someone asked the date. The secretary said, "December 7" and I said today is Pearl Harbor Day. Just about everyone gave me a blank look. : (

 

[Ryder]

I am afraid that Dec. 7 has become a date that doesn't mean a thing to many. My parents lived through the war and my father served in the Navy, so the date was a meaningful part of my life while growing up.

My daughter had a horse show this weekend and while we were waiting in line Friday afternoon to enter, someone asked the date. The secretary said, "December 7" and I said today is Pearl Harbor Day. Just about everyone gave me a blank look. : (

It is a sad thing that people don't understand the meaning of that date and times.
My parents were living in New Orleans. After the attack my father being Merchamt Marine, was automatically involved. We moved to St. Petersburg Florida where he taught on a training ship.
After that he was going back to sea. Ships were being sunk going and coming by German submarines. He moved me and my mother back to the country where his parents were so we would be looked after if he didn't come back.
This is how I grew up a country boy rather than growing up running the streets of New Orleans.

My father was chased by German subs in one ocean and Japanese planes in another. The crew fished part of a downed Jap plane out of the sea and made a bracelet and presented it to my father for my mother's upcoming birthday.
Inscribed on it is "Philippines, March 1945".

 

[chippie]

Ryder, that is interesting.
My father was a lieutenant in the Navy. He served on a a submarine. He never spoke about the war while I was growing up. The first time that he ever talked about his experiences was shortly before he passed away in 1984. There were many times he thought that he was not coming home.
I was 30 years old.

 

[Ryder]

Chippie, a lot of them didn't talk about it. They were of that generation and just did their duty as they saw it.
I had an uncle who was a truck driver in the army. He once volunteered to deliver fuel to tanks who were trapped behind enemy lines. When asked why he volunteered he said the others had wives and children but he was single so better him than them. He was awarded the Bronze Star.
It became known what he did because of the decoration. If not for that I doubt he would ever have mentioned it.
I don't think he ever really thought of himself as a hero, but he did have great respect for leaders like Gen. Patton.

 

[chrisy]

Chippie, a lot of them didn't talk about it. They were of that generation and just did their duty as they saw it.
I had an uncle who was a truck driver in the army. He once volunteered to deliver fuel to tanks who were trapped behind enemy lines. When asked why he volunteered he said the others had wives and children but he was single so better him than them. He was awarded the Bronze Star.
It became known what he did because of the decoration. If not for that I doubt he would ever have mentioned it.
I don't think he ever really thought of himself as a hero, but he did have great respect for leaders like Gen. Patton.

As I mentioned a lot never spoke of it, because they couldn't for various reasons, ie the official secrets acts and some wanted to forget as the memories were to painful, as my Mum once said to me 'all our young years were stolen away from us, when we should have been enjoying ourselves we were in fear of our lives, you youngsters don't know how good you have it, and only rightly so'

 

[Dave]

I grew up surrounded by men who served our country in WWII. My Dad was a Navy tail gunner in dive bombers until he was given some sulfa drugs and his reaction to them nearly killed him. Of course sulfa was the drug of choice at that time as that was before antibiotics. A man who was like a second father to me ran landing craft at Iwo, Tarowa, Okanowa, and several others. One neighbor was a B-17 pilot who was shot down over Germany and spent nearly two years as a POW. Another was a infantry captain in the Philipines who was awarded 3 purple hearts. The list goes on too long to remeber them all and I wouldn't want to forget any of them.

 

[Caustic Burno]

I grew up surrounded by men who served our country in WWII. My Dad was a Navy tail gunner in dive bombers until he was given some sulfa drugs and his reaction to them nearly killed him. Of course sulfa was the drug of choice at that time as that was before antibiotics. A man who was like a second father to me ran landing craft at Iwo, Tarowa, Okanowa, and several others. One neighbor was a B-17 pilot who was shot down over Germany and spent nearly two years as a POW. Another was a infantry captain in the Philipines who was awarded 3 purple hearts. The list goes on too long to remeber them all and I wouldn't want to forget any of them.

A dear friend of mine was one of the first Navy Seal's in WWII they were called frogmen then.
He had to be fished out of the water off Okinawa after going ashore and planting explosives.
We had him over for lunch after church yesterday. He is in his nineties and his mind as sharp as a tack.
I love to listen to him talk and his philoshoy on life, reminds me of dad and my uncles.
Crying shame we have left the trail they paved for us.