 December 7, 1941, I was an officer in the Navy and all of a sudden we heard aeroplanes coming. And this is on a Sunday. There were no aeroplanes supposed to be in the air on Sunday. And the next thing I looked out in the sky and I saw the red balls of the Japanese aeroplanes. December 7, 1941, America's role in the world and its course in history had forever changed. Japan was an imperial power hungry for more territory in the Pacific. It saw America as a potential threat to its aim of Pacific dominance and the attack on Pearl Harbor was meant to prevent the U.S. from interfering. America knew what was happening globally but demonstrated that it wanted no involvement in conflicts either in Europe or the Pacific. Isolationism was the prevailing mindset and the nation's policies reflected it. And all of a sudden they dropped bombs right on the Arizona so I immediately knew that we were at war. The attack on Pearl Harbor shattered those policies but also awoke America to action in ways no one could have predicted. So I got up and got half dressed and rushed down to the water's edge and as the sailors on the ship jumped off the ship and came ashore, I went out and brought them ashore and then took them down to the Navy hospital. I brought all the dead bodies up here and buried each one of them. It just makes your eyes. The U.S. Navy was transformed not only in its technology but in its vision and strategy towards achieving global maritime security. Today's sailor owes their readiness, training and doctrine to the bitter lessons learned on December 7th, 1941.