When Do We Forget

Do you remember the significance of these three dates? December 7th, November 22nd and September 11th.

Each of those dates are significant dates in American history. Each marks a day that impacts everyone today but also is more associated with a specific generation.

December 7, 1941 is the date of the surprise attack by the Japanese Navy Air Service on the American military base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, which directly led to the entry of the United States into World War II. That is 77 years ago next month.

News of the attack is a memorable event for the many parents of boomers who often could recall where they were when they heard news of the attack. Do people who were alive that day make note of it on the anniversary each year?  Is that date any less significant if few people remember without a reminder? 

November 22, 1963 is the day then President John Kennedy was assassinated in a celebratory motorcade in Dallas. That day is forever etched in the minds of many boomers, myself included. I remember exactly where I was and how I heard the news. I was in line for lunch in my school’s cafeteria and I overheard two teachers talking about it. School closed early that day. The nation was in shock. That was 55 years ago.

This year Thanksgiving Day happened to be on November 22nd. I watched the Washington Redskins play the Dallas Cowboys after a large holiday feast. I used to make note of this significant date days in advance, without any reminders, yet this year I didn’t remember it till I was checking something on my phone during halftime and saw a picture on Facebook of Kennedy in his limo in that parade.

At what point do we stop noting important dates in history that we lived through when they were current events?  Do the events lose significance or do the dates just fade a little as time marches on?

September 11, 2001 is the date of the terrorist attacks on our homeland. Two airliners were intentionally crashed into the World Trade Center towers in New York, another into the Pentagon in DC and another into a field in Pennsylvania before it reached its intended target in DC.

That one happened 17 years ago, yet 9/11 comes and goes with little mention. It already seems something from a distant past. That is a day that people who were young at the time will likely talk with their children one day in the context of “I remember where I was when it happened”.

But will they note it ON 9/11 without any external reminders?  That day is already nearly invisible in media coverage each year. Some people would prefer to forget. I want to remember every detail. I want to remember the fear but also the positive “help each other out” feeling that lasted for several months.

Is it important to remember important historical events if we lived through them?  Is noting the anniversary of tragedy a negative or a positive?

I believe nearly everything that happens to us as individuals or as a group or a country can be a learning experience. We can learn to be afraid of certain people or ideologies. We can learn how to be prepared for disasters whether the cause is human or natural.

Most importantly, we can learn to not repeat mistakes.

Like it or not, the events of the three dates I mentioned led to factors we live with to this day, 17, 55 and 77 years later. Military ships don’t line up in clusters in a harbor with one narrow exit and radar techs dig deeper when something doesn’t seem right on their screens. Presidents rarely parade in open cars on crowded streets. If they do, such as on Inauguration Day, the advance security team locks every window on the parade route, welds shut every manhole cover and screens every viewer.

We might want to forget 9/11, but we are reminded every time we are told to empty pockets and remove jackets as we enter an airport, government building or football stadium.

So when do we forget the three events I started with? When do we forget hurricanes and fires that impact our lives? The anniversary date might not always be top-of-mind but I believe we should NEVER FORGET the events and the positive lessons that emerge from the ashes and rubble.