A surprise attack on US soil killing thousands of innocent people. Sound familiar? It should, but not necessarily because of recent events. The anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor was yesterday, and no one mentioned it.

No flags at half-mast...no memorials on the morning news...I went on about my grocery shopping like the other bazillion people in the store that morning.

After toting out my random assortment of goods, I drove over to take advantage of HEB's $1.60 gas where I noticed a tough old woman at the one adjacent to mine. She was wearing a ball cap over her short, grey hair, and a man's navy jacket that said "Pearl Harbor Survivor Association." Her car read the same on the license plate and on a bumper sticker proudly affixed. The jacket also specified "U.S.S. Utah." Well, for me this meant something. Most people recognize the U.S.S. Arizona for it's famous underwater memorial, a ship that has eerily entombed hundreds of people since December 7, 1941. The U.S.S. Arizona memorial remains a draw for tourists. However, the U.S.S.Utah capsized within minutes of the first bombing and still lies in the harbor on the opposite side of the island from the Arizona. The hull is mostly submerged. Like the Arizona, the Utah serves as the burial site for 60-or-so men and even one baby girl whose urn was aboard. Was this woman a survivor (unlikely, but she looked tough enough) or her husband? I didn't ask...wish I had.

The attack on Pearl Harbor was the beginning of the end of Hitler and his allies, an accomplishment by those Tom Brokaw called "The Greatest Generation." Women showed their muscle and drive to keep the country going, everyone sacrificed luxuries like sugar, nylon, and fuel. (Just think that yesterday I had a world of groceries at my fingertips.) The United States showed then the kind of hope and strength capable of such a nation. We, as a nation, were attacked on 12/7/1941. We, as a nation, persevered for freedom. Not just ours but the world's. Lest anyone forget Pearl Harbor Day...we should endeavor to imagine life without the U.S. involvement in WWII. And we should all remember daily the great sacrifice by the men and women of that generation, military and civilian alike, of things we take for granted: sugar, make-up, in-tact families, cars...life. So, just in case any of you overlooked Pearl Harbor Day as I did, went on with your business of grocery shopping as I did, it's not too late to spend a few minutes paying homage to servicemen and women of the past and saying "thank-you" to those of the present.