By Kurt Waterstradt
There is a day in world and American history that will forever “live in infamy.” A single event 83 years ago changed everything.
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941, plunged America into World War II. Every service member and veteran knows the story.
On that morning, our ancestors exhibited bravery and grit in dire circumstances as Imperial Japan attacked them.
Every year, we remember this day. The flag is lowered to half-mast. There is a memorial ceremony attended by the survivors, of whom only 19 of 335 remain.
The battleship USS Arizona remains at the bottom of the harbor, a rusting tomb for more than 900 Sailors and Marines.
I’ve been to the USS Arizona Memorial. Even as I stood on the deck, a popular location for reenlistments and promotions, peering down at the watery grave, I appreciated the sacrifices of that day but experienced no connection to them.
After 83 years and as time rumbles on, how do we honor the memory of those who lived and died that day?
The last survivor of the USS Arizona, Lou Conter, died this year at 102 years old. His life was extraordinary, and Pearl Harbor was only one of over 37,000 mornings in his life. Lou Conter and that simple statistic provide two pertinent lessons.
The first lesson is toughness: the ability to cope with hardship and difficult situations. Despite the outcome, each person that day showed toughness. They were ordinary people who did extraordinary things even as they faced danger and, unfortunately for many, death.
Most of us may never encounter a moment of this magnitude, but that doesn’t mean you can’t embrace toughness in your everyday life. You are guaranteed to encounter moments in life in which, sometimes, the best choice comes with a healthy dose of hardship.
The hardship in that moment could feel unbearable, even frightening, but take inspiration from those who faced immense hardship that fateful morning. Steel yourself against fear or doubt and charge forward. No matter the difficulty, you can handle it. This is an irrefutable truth.
The second lesson: one moment doesn’t define your life. Yes, we know Lou Conter’s name because of Pearl Harbor, but that event didn’t define his life. He was a naval aviator, an officer, and so much more. I encourage you to look him up. I mean, he lived to be 102! While that morning was significant, he had thousands of other moments too.
One moment doesn’t define you. The most difficult moment is still simply a moment. You will experience thousands of moments in your life. Don’t let one, good or bad, define you. Use your innate toughness to deal with the difficult ones as they happen, and then move on. Live the sweetness of each good moment and then move on. Let every moment be simply a moment.
This December 7, as you see a flag lowered at half-mast or someone reference Pearl Harbor Day, take a moment to appreciate those who lived and died that day and the example they set.