WASHINGTON — With the 20th anniversary of the disastrous Pearl Harbor movie just over a year away, a private commission is urging creation of a monument to commemorate the tragic event.
As people across the country prepare to remember the infamous events of May 25, 2001, a group of historians and veterans have gathered in the capital to push for a permanent national memorial to remember the shocking loss of over 180 minutes and upwards of $15 per ticket suffered by so many Americans on that day.
On May 25, 2001, patriots and military history enthusiasts were drawn to sold-out movie theaters across the country. Yet the excitement quickly transformed into horror as the events of the following three hours and four minutes played out. Patriotic expectation was replaced with disbelief as a hackneyed love triangle consisting of Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, and Kate Beckinsale unfolded in seemingly agonizing slow motion, interspersed with some pretty cheesy, tacked-on combat scenes. Cries soon echoed in the darkness in theaters across the land. “What is this?” “Get on with it!” “WHY?”
“This was an intelligence failure, pure and simple,” said historian Lance Phillips, director of the monument commission. “All the warning signs were as blatant as they were ignored. I mean, Jerry Bruckheimer? Michael Bay? Ben Affleck?”
