Assembly Marks 76th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor Attack

Brunswick Upper School students paused to reflect, listen, and learn on the 76th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941.

Longtime history teacher John Booth presented the facts of Japan’s surprise attack on the US Pacific Fleet stationed in the territory of Hawaii, on the island of Oahu — but keyed his lecture on the two critical questions of how and why the attack occurred.

 

Booth examined the role of Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, as well as considerations of Japanese expansionism and militarism. He also noted the United States’ failures in preventing the devastating attack.

 

“As a historian and an American, I must be clear in concluding that the attack on Pearl Harbor -- which brought the United States into World War II and led to the deaths of over a hundred thousand Americans and millions of Japanese in the Pacific -- was a monumental mistake made by aggressive and arrogant leaders driven to dominate,” Booth concluded.

 

“Still, these actions must be studied and better understood, with the hopes of improving humankind moving forward -- all while honoring those who lost their lives on that fateful day, defending our cherished values and freedom.”