It was a bright sunny morning on this darkest of days
So quiet, so peaceful, the most tranquil of days
The ships are so shiny all glittering at bay
And of course, and why not we are the USofA
PEARL—so proper so fitting a name
Lush green mountains and black sand for play
Sailors at rest, Army men too, don’t forget Air core and US Marines to
The WAF’s and the WAC’s and the Red Cross were their
So many so many yet few would be spared
Some folks are sleeping and some are at play
Worshipping and working on a warm winters day
Up on a mountain a few men and a new machine
A contraption called radar with a grid and a screen
One blip, two blips then so many more
It must be broken there can’t be yet more
Maybe there birds migrating from the north
My GOD they’re Japanese zeros from the carriers of war
Flying low so as not to be seen
I can see the pilot his face is serene
Sound general quarters and scramble the planes
Fire up the engines get the ships on the way
Too late, to late the bombs drop like rain
People are dying, their eyes full of pain
Torpedoes in the water hitting ship after ship
Flames all around us, death has us in its grip
Sixteen ships were destroyed that day
One thousand one hundred and two men of the Arizona at the bottom still lay
Two thousand four hundred and three in all died that day
Blessed are the peace makers so Your words say
I thought we were in heaven, paradise was swell
Now, fire and smoke and flames straight from hell
Help me, help me, oh God what has happened
Forgive me, forgive me, I rejected Your perfection
It has been seventy-five years since that God-awful day
And you’re still not forgotten, as long as I have a say
So this tribute I write to those brave men of yesterday
God bless you and thank you, you’re still heroes today!
Some day it will be over, the war, death and pain
God will give us His peace, eternal life, no sadness or pain
So sleep now, be at rest till that upcoming day
When the Lord calls us home in a splendid array!
By: Frank Biela