The Skies over Pearl Harbor
Image taken from wikipedia.org
On the blissful morning of December 7 1941, American servicemen and women awoke to the sounds of gunfire and explosion. As they looked up at the sky, they could see hundreds of Japanese planes and bombers unleashing their payload down upon the ships in the harbor. Women rushed to the hospitals to help with the wounded and every able-bodied man got to their battle stations and unleashed their firepower at the Japanese above. Meanwhile, over at the local naval airbase, the Japanese began targeting the planes lined up in rows. Almost all of the neatly organized planes were destroyed. It was at this moment where true heroism came to be.
Two pilots named George Welch and Kenneth Taylor got into the available planes and took to the skies. They began to target and shoot down Japanese fighters. They went up several times during the day killing dozens of Japanese pilots. For this event, the two men were awarded medals and became a symbol of bravery in the face of ultimate destruction. Their story was told in the film Tora! Tora! Tora!
