If you’re linked with me on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter, you know that our Embassy Marines and I visited Children’s Hospital in Wellington yesterday to distribute a large pile of toys to kids who unfortunately will be spending their Christmas as in-patients rather than at home. As we went room to room I was reminded of words President Obama spoke earlier this month on Christmas in Washington, a televised annual concert benefitting Children’s National Medical Center, which I think nicely crystalize the true meaning of the season:

“Tonight is a chance to get into the Christmas spirit; to spread some joy and sing along with artists who have much better voices than we do. But it’s also a chance to make a real difference in the lives of some very brave young people being treated at Children’s National Medical Center. Many of these kids and their parents are going through tough times right now, and your support helps give them a reason to hope –- not just during the holidays, but all year round.

Caravaggio’s Adoration of the Shepherds.

“And that’s really what Christmas is all about. Each of us is incredibly blessed in so many ways. But those blessings aren’t just meant to be enjoyed — they’re meant to be used and shared with those who have less.

“The Christian faith teaches us that on this day a child was born so that we might have eternal life. And at the heart of many of the world’s great religions is the idea that we’re all better off when we treat our brothers and sisters with the same love and compassion that we want for ourselves.

“So yes, tonight is about … all the talented folks on this stage. But it’s also about the [people] who are spending this holiday in a hospital bed, or a shelter, or protecting our freedom on a battlefield far from home. Let’s keep them in our prayers, and follow Christ’s calling to love one another as He has loved all of us.”

In the hustle, bustle, clatter, and clang of the season it is often too easy to overlook the reason why so many workplaces are closed today, families are gathered, songs are sung, lights are lit, and feasts are prepared. The reason is not the gifts under the tree. The reason is the gift for which the holiday is named, and what that gift teaches us.

To everyone celebrating around the world today, Dr. McWaine and I wish you a very Merry Christmas. To those who are injured, ill, homeless, hungry, lonely, or in harm’s way, our thoughts are with you, and we pray that those who are able to share their blessings with you will do so. And to those around the world who must celebrate Christmas quietly behind closed doors due to fear of reprisals, we wish you strength, courage, and glad tidings.

The flags at the Embassy and at other American facilities around the world will fly at half mast today in commemoration of National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. Since I’m in transit today, what follows is a revised version of my post from December 7, 2011.

The first seconds of the attack on Pearl Harbor, recorded from an enemy fighter.

At 7:55 a.m. on a quiet Sunday morning 71 years ago today, waves of more than 350 hostile fighter, bomber, and torpedo planes darkened the dawn skies over Oahu in a surprise attack designed to cripple America’s defenses and advance a rival power’s aggressive expansion through the Pacific. No declaration of war had been issued.

On the rise and in need of resources to advance its regional objectives, Japan had already invaded Manchuria, China, and French Indochina. It was starting to push into Malaya and the Dutch East Indies to insure control of supplies of oil, minerals, and other resources needed to fuel its ongoing development.

USS Shaw explodes after being struck at the start of the attack.

Tokyo mistakenly believed that the United States would declare war when Japan launched its long-planned invasion of Great Britain’s Southeast Asian colonies. The preemptive attack by a Japanese aircraft carrier strike force on Pearl Harbor, home of the US Pacific fleet, was intended to cripple America’s ability to defend its Pacific neighbors.

While Pearl Harbor was burning, Japanese military forces attacked simultaneously in multiple other locations across the Pacific region. Guam, Wake Island, Manila, and Singapore were bombed. Malaya, Thailand, and the Philippines were invaded. Shanghai was seized. Japanese troops pushed toward Hong Kong and Burma. All the same day.

USS Arizona sinks in Pearl Harbor, taking 1,177 young Americans to their deaths.

In Pearl Harbor that day 2,402 Americans were killed and 1,247 were wounded. On American soil. While the nation was at peace. Eighteen American ships and approximately 340 American aircraft were destroyed or severely damaged.

In Washington, Japanese envoys arrived at the State Department after the attack had begun, to deliver a document from Tokyo criticizing the United States for not accommodating Japan’s demands in ongoing bilateral discussions. A declaration of war by Japan was not delivered until the next day.

USS California sinks in Pearl Harbor.

The morning of December 8th, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed an emergency joint session of the American Congress, beginning with one of the most iconic sentences uttered in American history: “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”

The address was broadcast live by radio to the American people. Twenty-one minutes after President Roosevelt finished speaking, the Senate voted 82-0 to declare war on Japan. Twelve minutes later, the House of Representatives concurred by a vote of 388-1. (The lone dissenting vote was cast by Republican Jeannette Rankin of Montana.)

President Roosevelt addresses a joint session of Congress on Dec. 8, 1941.

A strong streak of isolationism has always run through the American psyche, including as war raged elsewhere during 1940 and 1941. The America First Committee and other non-interventionist groups remained strong despite growing anxiety over the hegemonic waves sweeping Europe and East Asia. The Roosevelt Administration had begun taking economic steps to aid beseiged Britain and the Republic of China, but strong majorities of the population and elected officials still opposed entering foreign wars.

The attack on Pearl Harbor changed all that. Americans were shocked — forever, I would argue — out of our belief that the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans provide a safe buffer from the troubles and ills of the rest of the world. In a way that few other events have, Pearl Harbor altered the course of American thinking, history, society, and politics.

Lowering the Embassy flag.

For the next several years we and our friends will commemorate the 70th and 75th anniversaries of the terrible events of that era that shattered societies and changed the world.

Since December 7th last year we at American Mission New Zealand have focused on the joint service, shared sacrifice, and common values that bound Kiwis and Americans so tightly together during the War, and which still provide the bedrock on which our relationship stands today.

We continue the Septuagennial process by planning for several important 2013 commemorations including the 70th anniversary of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s iconic island-hop tour at the height of the Pacific War which brought her to New Zealand for a week.

Today, though, is about remembering Pearl Harbor, honoring those killed that Sunday in 1941, revisiting the lasting lessons learned, and drawing strength from how friends pulled together and persisted through even the darkest of days.

As President Obama noted in his Proclamation, “We pay solemn tribute to America’s sons and daughters who made the ultimate sacrifice at Oahu. As we do, let us also reaffirm that their legacy will always burn bright — whether in the memory of those who knew them, the spirit of service that guides our men and women in uniform today, or the heart of the country they kept strong and free.”

It’s that time of year again. Christmas is on the horizon, and my Marine colleagues at the Embassy have launched their annual Toys for Tots drive.

An early Toys for Tots effort.

Founded in 1947 in Los Angeles, Toys for Tots was born of a simple but powerful need.

Mrs William L. Hendricks wished to donate a homemade Raggedy Ann doll to a needy child during the holiday season but didn’t know one.

She could not find an organization willing to receive and process the donation, so she suggested that her husband (a Major in the Marine Corps Reserve) and his friends start a collection campaign themselves.

And they did. Because Major Hendricks worked at Warner Brothers, he set up donation bins outside Warner Brothers’ movie theaters in various Los Angeles neighborhoods.

More than 5,000 toys were placed into those bins that year. The next year, 1948, Toys for Tots expanded into a national campaign with support from Hollywood stars and studios. For example, Walt Disney designed the red train logo still used today.

The campaign is now structured as a nonprofit foundation and in 1991 was approved by the Secretary of Defense as an official mission of the US Marine Corps Reserve. In 2009, First Lady Michelle Obama placed collection bins within the White House for the first time.

The toys obviously bring a measure of pleasure and hope to children who would otherwise have a less happy Christmas. Because the toys are delivered personally by Marines, the children also have an opportunity to interact with successful, engaging adults who may have come from humble circumstances themselves.

The effort is international as well as domestic. Active-duty Marines serving in US Missions around the world run Toys for Tots drives, with the toys going to needy children in the locations in which the Marines are serving. In total, over the past 63 years Marines have collected and distributed more than 400 million toys to more than 190 million needy children worldwide.

Bins are up at the Embassy, and our Marines will occasionally be manning temporary bins in malls and shopping districts around the metro area. The toys collected will be distributed just before Christmas at the Cancer Ward of the Wellington Children’s Hospital and at the Salvation Army.

If you see a Marine standing beside a box over the next ten days or so, please consider saying hello and donating a new toy. If you don’t see a Marine with a box but would like to contribute, just let me know, and I’ll steer you in the right direction.

At 7:55 a.m. on a quiet Sunday morning 70 years ago today, waves of more than 350 hostile fighter, bomber, and torpedo planes darkened the dawn skies over Oahu in a surprise attack designed to cripple America’s defenses and advance a rival power’s aggressive expansion through the Pacific. No declaration of war had been issued.

The first seconds of the attack on Pearl Harbor, recorded from an enemy fighter.

On the rise and in need of resources to advance its regional objectives, Japan had already invaded Manchuria, China, and French Indochina. It was starting to push into Malaya and the Dutch East Indies to insure control of supplies of oil, minerals, and other resources needed to fuel its ongoing development.

Tokyo mistakenly believed that the United States would declare war when Japan launched its long-planned invasion of Great Britain’s Southeast Asian colonies. The preemptive attack by a Japanese aircraft carrier strike force on Pearl Harbor, home of the US Pacific fleet, was intended to cripple America’s ability to defend its Pacific neighbors.

USS Shaw explodes after being struck at the start of the attack.

While Pearl Harbor was burning, Japanese military forces attacked simultaneously in multiple other locations across the Pacific region.

Guam, Wake Island, Manila, and Singapore were bombed. Malaya, Thailand, and the Philippines were invaded. Shanghai was seized. The same day. Japanese troops pushed toward Hong Kong and Burma.

USS Arizona sinks in Pearl Harbor, taking 1,177 young Americans to their deaths.

In Pearl Harbor that day 2,402 Americans were killed and 1,247 were wounded. On American soil. While the nation was at peace. Eighteen American ships and approximately 340 American aircraft were destroyed or severely damaged.

In Washington, Japanese envoys arrived at the State Department after the attack had begun, to deliver a document from Tokyo criticizing the United States for not accommodating Japan’s demands in ongoing bilateral discussions. A declaration of war by Japan was not delivered until the next day.

USS California sinks in Pearl Harbor.

The morning of December 8th, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed an emergency joint session of the American Congress, beginning with one of the most iconic sentences uttered in American history: “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”

The address was broadcast live by radio to the American people. Twenty-one minutes after President Roosevelt finished speaking, the Senate voted 82-0 to declare war on Japan. Twelve minutes later, the House of Representatives concurred by a vote of 388-1. (The lone dissenting vote was cast by Republican Jeannette Rankin of Montana.)

President Roosevelt addresses a joint session of Congress on December 8th.

A strong streak of isolationism has always run through the American psyche, including as war raged elsewhere during 1940 and 1941. The America First Committee and other non-interventionist groups remained strong despite growing anxiety over the hegemonic waves sweeping Europe and East Asia. The Roosevelt Administration had begun taking economic steps to aid beseiged Britain and the Republic of China, but strong majorities of the population and elected officials still opposed entering foreign wars.

The attack on Pearl Harbor changed all that. Americans were shocked — forever, I would argue — out of our belief that the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans provide a safe buffer from the troubles and ills of the rest of the world. In a way that few other events have, Pearl Harbor altered the course of American thinking, history, society, and politics.

US Marines lower our Embassy flag today to mark the 70th anniversary.

Many of our friends have already started commemorating the 70th anniversaries of the terrible events of that era that shattered their societies and changed their worlds.

We join the procession today, with the lowering of flags at our Embassies, Government offices, and other facilities worldwide, to honor and remember those killed on December 7, 1941.

In the coming months and years we will solemnly mark the many other 70th anniversaries arising from the events of World War II.

Here at US Mission New Zealand, we will focus on the joint service, shared sacrifice, and common values that bound Kiwis and Americans so tightly together during the War, and which still provide the bedrock on which our relationship stands today.

I look forward to talking in future posts about our plans to commemorate the June 1942 arrival of US Army and Navy forces in Auckland and the landing of US Marines in Wellington.

Today, though, is about remembering Pearl Harbor, honoring those killed that Sunday, revisiting the lasting lessons learned, and drawing strength from how friends pulled together and persisted through even the darkest of days.