Yesterday, I was informed that every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I have to go to see a therapist to help with the night terrors and my supposed PTSD. I visited the base yesterday, but this was the first time I had actually noticed that as I got closer and closer to the entrance, my flashbacks became more and more intense. Today, I get dressed quickly and head to the same familiar location. Calm down Dawson, deep breaths; I repeat this over and over in my head until I don’t see anything but the road and the palm trees swaying in the distance.
The day that the Japanese attacked the United States without warning is engraved in my brain as if a videotape is running on repeat in my head (Dougherty 14). Every day, I wake up with the smell of gunpowder
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Of the men still able to walk, they took turns helping the nurses and doctors with men holding on to their last breath. Even though the skies were clear of planes for the moment, the enemy hadn’t vanished from the waters yet (Taylor 150). Men looking on their radars picked up a sub just out of the entrance of the harbor. They crushed the sub instantly (Taylor 151). Pearl Harbor was fighting back!
Just before 0900, a second wave of planes arrived, and the bombing resumed (Dougherty 25). Puffs from exploding shells dotted the air (Taylor 143). Every man on the ground had a gun aimed at the Japs. By 0945, less than two hours after the first bombs fell, the attack was over (Dougherty 25). From there on out, every hand was busy helping men off of ships and watching the skies like a hawk. I didn’t think any of our eyes would ever leave that sky. “Yesterday,” President Roosevelt said, “the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked” (History.com Staff). I stood in the doorway of the still busy hospital, watching the President on the television. Everybody seemed to stand still as they waited for the words he was about to