The Pearl Harbor Rock Concert That Will Forever Live in Infamy
December 7, 2009
Good morning. This is Dec. 7, 2009, the 68th memorial of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, an attack that resulted in America’s entry into World War II. All told, 2,403 were killed during raid on the U.S. Navy base and other adjacent military facilities on what was then a U.S. Territory. This casualty total compares to the 2819 killed in the 9/11 attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.
To show how time heals (or clouds) our memories, it should be noted that on Sept. 15 of this year, the 64th anniversary of Japan’s surrender to the Allies, the U.S.S. Missouri, the American battleship on board which Japan officially capitulated, was the venue for a concert by a Japanese rock group Vamps. Who? No, not the Who—Vamps.
One would have assumed that the American media would have had a field day with this irony-filled news item, but nary a word was written, and the 600 Japanese fans who shelled out $150 apiece for tickets had a great time hearing the band play songs from its new album.
The “Mighty Mo,” as the American dreadnought was once known, was armed with nine huge 16-inch cannons that could fire a 2,700-pound projectile about 25 miles with deadly accuracy. It was a WMD of its time. She provided a shield of covering fire for retreating U.N. forces when Chinese and North Korean troops mounted a furious counterattack during the Korean War. Her final mission came during Operation Desert Storm (Iraq War I) when she fired cruise missiles at Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guard.
The Missouri is now permanently moored at Pearl Harbor, where it costs $20 to tour her fabled decks.
Vamps is headed by L’Arc En Ciel lead singer Hyde, who was quoted as saying, “I think it’s great that an instrument of war can be used to send out a message of peace like this.”
The clueless singer didn’t even give props to Ishino Setsuo. Ishino was the young Japanese kamikaze pilot who evaded withering anti-aircraft fire in order to crash his fighter plane into the Missouri in the closing months of the war. Now, that’s rock ‘n’ roll. Mighty Mo’s crew gave Ishino a military funeral with full honors and buried the 19-year-old Japanese pilot at sea.
