Pearl Harbor display commemorates 70 years

Seven words. Seventy years. One ugly, tragic day in United States history.

Dec. 7, 1941 was, as president Franklin D. Roosevelt said, a day which will live in infamy. On that day, the Japanese attacked U.S. forces at Pearl Harbor, killing more than 3,500 Americans in one of our country's saddest moments.

One of those, Polson native George David Smart, who served as a Navy coxswain at the time, was presumed dead shortly after the attack. He lives on at the Miracle of America Museum in Polson as part of its Pearl Harbor remembrance display.

Adorned with letters, poems, posters, medals and flags, much of it commemorating Smart's service, the display gives people a chance to acknowledge and recognize the sacrifices made by Smart and other veterans then and now.

"I've had people come in and say this display you can feel," said Gil Mangels, founder of the Miracle of America Museum. "It gives meaning to a veteran who was doing a service to his country."

Mangels has a special connection to the museum. Not only has he embraced antiques and collectibles as a hobby, but he's also a war veteran, having served during the Cold War.

"I felt the depression in an enslaved country," Mangels said. "When I got back out, I'd always had an interest in antiques, and when I started the museum, at the top of my list was to pay tribute to the veterans and acknowledge the price of freedom. We don't glorify war. War is hell."

For the past 15 years, the Pearl Harbor display has sat as part of the vast museum. Mangels continues to add to it, like he does the rest of the museum, as more and more items are brought to him.

"We've added some things as the family has found things," Mangels said.

Perhaps the most emotional pieces of the display are the telegrams sent from the Navy to Smart's family. A telegram dated Dec. 20, 1941, from the Navy to Smart's family informs them that their son is missing following the attack. On another, dated Feb. 4, 1942, the Navy tells Smart's family it's been impossible to locate him following an exhaustive search.

The display also features medals awarded to Smart posthumously, which were given to his family. Powerful items such as these has Mangels hoping that people who visit the display will go home with a different outlook than they came in with.

"First off, I hope people gain appreciation for veterans," Mangels said. "That's improved since the Vietnam war. Secondly, be on guard. We still have enemies to our nation. We need to be eternally vigilant."

As part of the remembrance, the museum will offer free admission to visitors on Dec. 7 to give people an opportunity to visit the display and recognize the sacrifices made not just by Smart, but all of our veterans. The museum will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.