This week is traveling by like a rocket ship to Mars. I am looking at my cup of Door County Spicy Nutcracker Coffee and the aroma is so nice that it is almost too aromatic to drink. I just enjoy smelling this one.
As I watched for Christmas Season Heroes yesterday, I didn't see any. The news channels were quiet and I just did not find anything to report. It was a quiet day. I don't know what today will bring. I do know this. December 7th, 1941 was not a quiet day. It was a day when America suffered a vicious attack at Pearl Harbor wiping out the American Pacific Fleet. I would never call that ancient history, because for some the wounds have yet to heal. But on that day there were many heroic and unselfish acts performed to protect our nation and to save lives as well as ships. I found a documented act of heroism and valor to share today as we remember this "Day Of Infamy".
Around the same time Arizona was being bombed, the training and target ship USS
Utah was rocked by two torpedo strikes from Japanese aircraft. The aging vessel soon began to list to one side as water flooded into its hull. Inside the boiler room, Chief Watertender Peter Tomich ordered his crew to abandon ship. After ensuring that his men had escaped their engineering spaces, the Austro-Hungarian immigrant and World War I veteran returned to his post and singlehandedly secured the boilers, preventing a potential explosion that would have claimed many lives. USS Utah rolled over and sank just minutes later. Fifty eight men—Tomich among them—went down with the ship. The 48-year-old was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his lifesaving actions, but in an unusual twist, the Navy was unable to locate any of his family members. His award went unclaimed for nearly 65 years until 2006, when it was finally presented to a relative during a ceremony in Split, Croatia.
John 15:13New International Version (NIV)
13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus. We forget that this little baby came to die. He left heaven, came to Earth, just to die for you and me. Many people gave their lives for others on December 7th 1941. We also need to remember just what Christmas is. Cradle to grave for Jesus. He proved His love for us in yet while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. Now there too, is a hero.
Have a great day!
Marty
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