December 7, 1941 (4)
November 20, 2008 – 9:59 am
More memories of Pearl Harbor Day
- Rose recalls the attack was announced late on a Sunday afternoon. Her older siblings were not at home but she and her mother were listening to “The Shadow Knows” on the radio. Perhaps that’s the program that was on the radio at Jeanne’s friend’s house mentioned in the previous blog. At any rate, in the middle of the program, an announcement interrupted the suspense of this very popular drama with the words that Pearl Harbor had been attacked. Rose and her mother wondered how this could possibly effect their lives. But, then, it was time for dinner.
- Helen, her mother and her father went to Grand Central Station that Sunday afternoon to catch a train to Pleasantville in Westchester County, where they were having dinner at a friend’s home. At the station and all the way to their destination, people were talking about the attack on Pearl Harbor. No one seemed to know where it was. When they arrived at their friend’s house, they told her of the attack. Although a well-educated woman, she didn’t know where Pearl Harbor was either, so she spread out a map on the table for them to see just where this place was. They had no idea how significant this day would be for our country in the days ahead.
- Charlie remembers clearly that he was watching a movie along with a bunch of other soldiers at the Post theater in Pine Camp, New York. He had been drafted in May of 1941 at the age of 25. In the middle of the movie, an announcement was made telling them to return to their barracks for further information. It was there they learned the words that would change their lives forever. Some of them had hoped to be discharged within a short time. It was not to be. The following day was spent in meetings preparing the men for what lay ahead.
For other World War II stories, go to www.peggeorge.com
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