"A DAY THAT WILL LIVE IN INFAMY"

Fifty-seven years ago, on a bright Sunday morning, more than 2000 servicemen lost their lives as a result of an attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor. President Roosevelt predicted that December 7th would be a day that would “live in infamy.” A Memorial has been erected on the very spot where the USS Arizona sank. More than 50 years ago I stood on that Memorial and gazed down into the water to view the remains of that once mighty battleship that now serves as a tomb for the sailors who lost their lives that day. I was not yet born when those men lost their lives, but my visit to the Memorial reminded me that freedom does not come cheap. But I fear, as do others, that with each passing generation the memorial becomes less and less significant. Frank Michel, columnist for the Houston Chronicle, once wrote:   Time carries out little sneak attacks on our collective memory and too few still feel the shock and pain. Too few are ready to rally ‘round. Too few still see the relevance. Too few know the history! That, I suppose, is part of why so many lie [sic] below the water at Pearl - and beneath the ground in places all over the globe. So that Americans of the late 20th century can wallow obliviously in the luxury of not knowing much and not caring much how, and at what great sacrifice, we got here.   The value of Memorials was implied when Joshua led Israel across the Jordan into the promised land. Twelve stones were taken from the bed of the Jordan River to use in setting up a memorial of that great event. Future generations would ask, “What mean ye these stones?” And they would be reminded that “Israel came over this Jordan on dry land...That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever” (Joshua 4:21-22).   Almost 2000 years ago a humble Galilean met with His disciples. On that night before His betrayal He took bread and fruit of the vine and instituted the single greatest Memorial this world has ever known. Shortly thereafter He was arrested, hurried through a mock trial, and crucified between two thieves on a cross outside of Jerusalem. That, too, is a day that will live in infamy! Since that time, millions have observed that feast in His memory. But once again, the passing of time has taken its toll, and a generation has arisen that seems to have forgotten that spiritual freedom has a price! The Memorial is neglected by too many of God’s own people. Trivial things take precedence over the really important. The Supper is spread; the invitation stands; but alas many a place is vacant when it comes time to “do this in my memory.”   Memorials neglected tend to become nothing more than relics of a by-gone era. Each generation must be taught afresh. Once educated, there must be observance of the same so as to repeatedly impress upon our minds the event or thing which the memorial itself represents. It is not enough to simply acknowledge a memorial. We must observe it as well.   Let us not neglect partaking in that Memorial ourselves and let us dare not fail to teach our children the significance of that one and only Memorial that carries with it eternal consequences if we neglect it.   By Tom Wacaster