PEARL HARBOR TEACHES IMPORTANT LESSON IN READINESS

Fifty-two years ago today the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The devastating attack shocked America and catapulted our nation into World War II.

Members of the Cape Girardeau chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association will remember that "Date of Infamy" during a memorial service this morning at the Cape Girardeau riverfront. A wreath of remembrance will be cast into the river.

For those who lived through the war years and particularly those servicemen who survived Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941 is a date that will never be forgotten. We salute these veterans. For them, there will always be the violent memories of death and destruction, the Japanese bombers zeroing in on the U.S. fleet, the bomb bursts, and skies streaked with tracer rounds and fouled with billowing black smoke.

The attack on Pearl Harbor hardly took two hours. In that time, 2,330 Americans died and the Pacific Fleet was decimated.

But while the attack on Pearl Harbor remains vividly etched in the minds of World War II-era Americans, it's just another footnote in history for many younger Americans.

That's unfortunate because there's a lesson to be learned from Pearl Harbor. It shows what can happen when the nation is caught off guard, unprepared militarily.

It's a hard lesson that draws caution to plans of diminishing our armed forces too quickly.

Today should be a day of remembrance and regret -- but not of retribution. Since that bloody day 52 years ago, Japan has become an important trading partner and ally. From the ashes of Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima has grown a strong friendship.

The United States was in an isolationist mood before Pearl Harbor, choosing to look the other way and ignoring the winds of war in much of the world. But the attack on Pearl Harbor not only thrust us into a world war, but it made us realize the need to have a strong national defense.

Despite all the talk about a new world order, the United States remains the world's premier policeman. When conflict breaks out around the globe, it's the U.S. that's often called upon to help end the crisis.

And why not? As the richest and most powerful nation on Earth, it only makes sense that other nations would appeal to the U.S. for help in a crisis.

Working with the world can sometimes bring the world's problems upon us. But we cannot become Fortress America and close our eyes to the plight of those outside our borders.

We must recognize that the end of the Cold War has not brought an end to all war. Violence still reins in places like Bosnia and Somalia.

President Clinton seems intent on continuing the nation's role as international policeman. To do so will require this nation to maintain a strong military.

If we forget the bitter lesson of Pearl Harbor, we may end up reducing our military strength to an unacceptable level and our nation would find itself ill prepared to deal with possible future conflicts.

No one wants war, but only through strength can we preserve peace. Pearl Harbor underscores that point, but only if we continue to observe that date that will live in infamy.