Sunday, December 7, 1941

6.00 am
The sun was just rising, alerting all life of the warm and loving embrace of a new day. In this scenic Pacific Island off the edge of Chinese Mainland, the buttery yellow sign of the morning sun was pushing the shadows of the surrounding hills to their edges. People were ready to welcome another Sunday to overcome the weeklong fatigue and were looking forward to morning service at the Church, eagerly waiting for a delicious Sunday brunch later. The sweet smell of honey that hung in the air truly emphasized what a lovely day it was. The thought of any threat at all was pushed to the back of everyone’s mind. Little they knew the thin ice they were trading on and how the turn of events in the coming hour would catapult Global crisis to the next level. 

6.10 am
Deep in the horizon, maneuvering past the gigantic waves of the Pacific Ocean were three aircraft carriers. Inside navy marines stirred for their destinations was just a few hours away. They knew what they had signed up for and that there was no going back from it, but what was scary was that they were okay with the turn of events that was about to take place. They were forged to kill, with their hard as rock gaze fixed on the path that lay ahead .The marines were prepared to sacrifice and do anything for their country, the land of the rising sun.

6.45 am

The colossal ships finally stopped, a few kilometers away from land. This was no random place to stop but was meticulously strategized in order to avoid coming into contact with the enemy’s radar or to be seen by the enemy’s scouts. This coup d’état was strategically planned so that there were no mistakes and so that minimal troop’s would be sacrificed. The stakes were high but in their hearts they knew they would arise triumphant. Failure was not an option. The smell of gasoline spread quickly as pilots started their assigned planes. Lead by their commander Mitsuo Fuchida, the Japanese headed into the misty abyss of the Pacific Ocean.

7.02 am
Flying was Private Shafer’s one and only hobby and was the only reason he joined the United States air force. The feeling of absolute freedom could only be achieved during flight, thought Shafer. Even though his job was dead serious, he couldn’t help but enjoy it. But in a job as critical as this, focus is paramount for survival, as the doors of death lay open every second on the job. Crisis and peril lie on every corner but after going over this routine for over a quarter of a year any human being is bound to get careless or even nonchalant.  Suddenly yellow dots appeared on this radar, which he simply could not comprehend. There seemed to be hundreds of aircrafts heading towards the mainland. The icy cold hand of fear gripped his heart and his hands felt like they were made of lead but he still had to finish his duty. With all his might he reached for the radio to warn headquarters when he suddenly saw the face of death. On his radar a smaller dot was locked on to him. There was nowhere out of this and he knew it. This was his last second in the living world and it ended with an explosion.

7.30 am
Their mission was clear: they had to destroy any and all of USA’s arsenal. Commander Mitsuo Fuchida, the almighty, fearless leader  had accompanied his men in this air strike. He wanted to be part of this historical event and wanted to achieve eternal glory but more importantly he also wanted to guide his men and serve his beautiful nation to the fullest. Whizzing through the sky like a group of bees just under the speed of sound they would soon pass over land. Ingeniously they followed the frequency of a local radio station to guide themselves across the vast blue area that lay between the shore and their cruisers. Using the morning mist they cloaked themselves from the people below. Once they reached the mainland they would rain fire on the ground destroying everything.

At the stroke of 7.48 am, December 7, 1941, the Japanese mercilessly bombarded Pearl Harbor claiming 2403 Americans’ lives and wounding another 1178 Americans. 

This catastrophic blood gore left people scarred for life where millions of innocent souls who had nothing to do with this conflict, burnt in the deep anger of the Japanese, who left nothing but ashes behind for their families to remember them by.  This event was on the cusp of a new era of modern warfare and nudged America into World War 2, leading to the invention of the nuclear bomb. A new era, where mankind can only shiver in the cold embrace of fear, for one of these days, the stars could fall down.