Pearl Harbor survivors review latest installment of infamous day

Louis W. Nockold

I viewed the movie, “Pearl Harbor,” with a critical eye to see how

well the script followed the events of the morning of Dec. 7, 1941.

I liked the prologue to the real story, which showed the relationship

between the two principal male characters and built the background for

the love story angle that was interwoven into the primary thrust of the

movie.

I felt the love story was somewhat overplayed and the actions of the

Navy nurses were not particularly indicative of the way Navy nurses would

have acted in the circumstances, but I felt this did not detract from the

enjoyable aspects of the overall movie.

The action scenes during the attack phases of the program were nothing

less than spectacular, but the depiction of the explosions showed a lot

more fire than is really involved with bomb bursts, but I realize this is

necessary to give an aura of realism and dramatic effect to show the

horror of the scenes being portrayed.

The flying of planes about 20 feet off the ground between the

buildings with barely enough room for wing span of the planes to clear

was very unrealistic and gave too much an aspect of “Star Wars” to be at

all realistic.

I liked the insertion of the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo to show the

determination of the Americans to strike back and prove to the Japanese

that they were not beyond reach.

From an overall standpoint, I found the movie to be excellent. The

depiction of the attack scenes was superb and the timing of the release

of the movie is perfect. It helps to remind the American people of the

horror of that fateful morning and goes a long way to further the motto

of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Assn.: “Remember Pearl Harbor -- Keep

America alert.”

It is, in my estimation, imperative that we, the American people,

insist that our government stem the tide of downsizing our military. Our

military establishment has been emasculated over the past eight years to

the point that our Navy is not able to meet all the demands made upon it,

and the other branches of the services are similarly stretched almost to

the breaking point.

* LOUIS W. NOCKOLD is a retired U.S. Navy commander. During the

attack, he loaded a 5-inch antiaircraft gun aboard the Honolulu, a light

cruiser in the shipyard at Pearl Harbor.