Friends of Padre Steve’s World
I have had a busy day working on a chapter revision of my Gettysburg text dealing with the critical role of ideology and religion as a cause of the Civil War, as a motivation to those who fought it as well as in shaping the history of it, especially in regards to the Lost Cause. This like many of my the chapters has taken on a life of its own and is fascinating to me. It is hard to believe how many details of the ante-Bellum era fit our current political crisis as well as can teach us about the role of religion in the conflicts in the Middle East and Africa.
But tonight will be the next to last segment of my yearly Pearl Harbor series, this one about the Herculean taks of salvaging the Pacific Fleet after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Have a great night.
Peace
Padre Steve+
One of the more interesting aspects of the Pearl Harbor attack were the efforts of the US Navy to salvage and return to duty the ships sunk or so heavily damaged that they were thought to be irreparable after the attack. 21 ships were sunk or damaged during the attack, roughly 20% of the fleet present.
Of these were battleships, the USS Arizona sunk by a cataclysmic explosion, her broken hulk with her collapsed foremast the iconic symbol of the attack. USS Oklahoma was capsized on Battleship Row. USS Nevada was grounded and sunk off Hospital Point after an abortive attempt to sortie during the attack. USS California and USS West Virginia lay upright on the bottom of Pearl Harbor, their superstructure, distinctive cage masts and gun turrets visible above the oily water.
The former battleship USS Utah lay capsized on the far side of Ford Island while the light…
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