Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt – Stream of Consciousness – Stop Me If You Have Heard This One

~ John W. Howell

A picture of a string with drops of water- the logo for SoCS

Stop me if you have heard this one. The Coffee machine stands ready for the order. One could almost hear the click of heels as the coffee was promptly delivered. One sip and the clock came to mind.

The setting is 1941, and the location is Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii. The time is 7:55, and the duration is 110 minutes. The plunger is pulled, and we find ourselves on the deck of the battleship USS West Virgina. It is a beautiful Sunday morning, and in the distance, we can see what looks like a whole squadron of airplanes returning to Hickam Field on the island.

These are not American planes returning but 353 Aircraft – 40 torpedo planes, 103 level bombers, 131 dive-bombers, and 79 fighters of the Imperial Japanese Navy with the intent of sinking the American fleet at Pearl Harbor.

These Japanese aircraft were launched from the Japanese fleet north of Hawaii, which consisted of 67 Ships: 6 heavy aircraft carriers, 2 heavy cruisers, 35 submarines, 2 light cruisers, nine oilers, 2 battleships, and 11 destroyers.

In about one hour and fifteen minutes, Japanese planes destroyed or damaged 19 US warships and 300 aircraft and killed over 2,400 US servicemen.

As the West Virginia settles to the bottom of the shallow harbor, the alarm goes off, and we find ourselves back on the couch.

There is a text from Linda Hill. It reads: Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “Stop me if you’ve heard this one.” Write whatever comes to mind when you think of the prompt. Enjoy!

To see what others have done with the prompt, visit Linda’s post. Here is the link: https://lindaghill.com/2024/12/06/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-7-2024/

Today marks the 83rd anniversary of the attack and a day that should be remembered. We are not going to the pub today but will be thinking of those who lost their lives.

66 thoughts on “Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt – Stream of Consciousness – Stop Me If You Have Heard This One”

  4. Didn’t expect Pearl Harbor with that opening. Though, I’m feeling like it’s seen more as a distant event that almost a myth. Mostly because that seems to be the mentality that 9/11 (guess my generation’s Pearl Harbor) has fallen into.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I agree, Charles. The greatest generation is almost gone and since my father was part of that generation and served in combat I just wanted to bring a reminder forward since my generation is getting close to that line as well.

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    1. The greatest generation fought that war so that we could continue on. Most of them are gone and I felt that before the next generation slips away there should be more said. Thanks you for your lovely words, Michele.

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  18. A sad, sad day in history.

    Thanks for the chronicle, John!

    Stop me if you’ve heard this one!

    “There is no such thing as a little freedom. Either you are all free, or you are not free.” – Walter Cronkite

    ⛓X O⛓

    Liked by 1 person

  20. Hi John, I learned a lot about the attack on Pearl Harbour when I read To Wake the Giant by Jeff Shaara. When I read about all the deaths from burning oil and explosions, I gained a lot of understanding about why people in America felt the way they did about Japan.

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