Have we learned, remembered lessons of Pearl Harbor?

At 6:05 a.m. 68 years ago today, six Japanese aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a first wave of 183 airplanes, mostly dive bombers, horizontal bombers and fighters, headed toward Hawaii.

Less than two hours later, at 7:51 a.m., they broke the Sunday morning stillness by striking the military airfields on Ford Island.

At 8:30 a.m., a second wave of 170 Japanese planes, mostly torpedo bombers, attacked the U.S. fleet anchored at Pearl Harbor.

One of the planes dropped an armor piercing bomb that penetrated the forward ammunition compartment of the battleship USS Arizona, blowing it apart and sinking it within seconds.

Of the overall death toll of 2,350, 1,177 were from the battleship.

By the time the attack concluded, nine U.S. ships were sunk and 21 ships were severly damaged, but only three of those would be irreparable.

Have did we learn any lessons from Pearl Harbor? More importantly, have we remembered any that we did learn in decades past?

Volumes have been written on the social and political conditions that led up to the surprise attack, not to mention countless books, documentaries and dramas resulting from the years that followed.

It's up to our political leaders to look out for our country's best interests around the world, and do what they can to defuse situations that might lead up to another outrage like Dec. 7, 1941.

But despite their best efforts, we must remember that there are forces around the world that mean us harm, despite our best efforts.

It is in recognition of that fact that we must always be prepared for the worst.