The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-08-15
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 tory began in defeat.
 The two words--rkarl Hartor-- once meant next to nothing to the average American. Then they be- came synonym for shame then q rally cry-now another name for triumph.
 1t bekan in smoke and flame, and with a IilAle man in Tokyo peering through his thick glasses at ( piece of paper spread out on an ornate table before him. It reads:
 We, by the grace of heaven, eTl- peror of Japan and seated on the throne of { line tnbrOken by ages eternal, enjoin upon our loyal and brave subjects. We hereby declare war upon the United States of The little man picked tip a quill pen and scratched his name on the paper ..
 War Declared
 Two days later another man many thousands of miles away sat in another room and read the paper before him. It said:
 (. .. resolved by the senate and the house of representatives of the United States of America in con- gress assembled. that the state of war between the United States and the imperial government of Japan which has thus been thrust upon the United States-is hereby formally declared !"
 The man looked at the clock. It was 10 minutes after four o'clock on the afternoon of December 6th, 194l. He scratched his signature at the bottom:
 Franklin Delano Roosevelt"
 Between those two events much had happened :.
 The night yielded to a cloudy dawn. Gray light fell on the islands of Hawaii, two thousand 400 miles from America. The great city of Honolulu lay asleep. Seven miles away, warships of the Pacific fieet gently rode at anchor. Around them were 10 square miles of blue Pearl Warbor water.
 First Inkling
 At precisely 6:30 o'clock, a supply snip headed for the sunken nets blocking the narrow entrance to the boy. Suddenly, the lookout spotted che fat outline of a submarine in its wake. The ships wireless sput- tered and minutes later destroyer churned out of the bay and eir- elsd the supply ship. It laced the Dlacid waters with depth bombs.
 But Honolulu slept on.
 At two minutes after seven o'clock . young corporal sat a giant bell shaped aircraft detection device, with eArphones on. Suddenly, his face became intent, and he quickly jotted down some figures:-
 Fleet of planes v. 130 miles to the south.'
 But sleepy lieutenant told him . flight Of American four-engine planes was expected.AIid the corpor- al relaxed.
 Then suddenly there was speck --and another-against the gray roof of clouds overhead. The specks multiplied and became planes. Planes with the rising sun of Japan painted on the unde1side of their wings.
 Savage Treachery
 They bombed machine gun ned torpedoed. The quiet Sum- day was ripped with whine of bul- lets, the crlimp of shells, the curses and screams of angry and dying men.
 The tide of war at last had lapped across the western world.
 A great battleship spouted into flame. Another turned on its side with great sucking sound, impris- ouing dozens of men in its great belly. Neatly parked rows of planes ek Hickam field were beaten into splinters Men cursed and shook their fists at the deadly spotted sky, One plane managed to take off with flyer in the front cockpit and q sergeant ii the rear. The sergeant was afnned-with . rifle.
 Casualties
 A great hangar burned and be- came thin skin of ashes covering the bodies of planes and of men. The blue waters of Pearl Harbor were q mass of oil-some of 1t afire. When it was all over ]. Ten war; ships were out faction-five of them battleships.
 2,343 men lay dead.
 l,272 lay wounded in hospitals.
 e62 were missing.
 America, dazed, bably hurt. stum-l bled to it's feet andprepared to fight a war.
 Tn the United States. thousands of Americans finished an unration- ed Sunday dinner.
 Tronf that moment to now their lives have been directed, their thoughts have been on little else but alie thing .. war. It became & part of them. From the moment of &eArl Hartor u. :. until now.
 From Pearl Harbor to now has been a long time. Not in terms of months or of years. But in the terms of change. The faces that are mise ing. The way Of Ifs that will never return.
 A few hours after the Japanese struck, President Roosevelt told the nation:-
 with confidence in our armed forces .. with the unbending de- termination of our people ... we will gain the inevitable triumph. So help us God"
 Suyino Buys