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Never Forget
?A Date Which Will Live in Infamy?: FDR Asks for a Declaration of War
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, stunned virtually everyone in the United States military. Japan?s carrier-launched bombers found Pearl Harbor totally unprepared. President Franklin Roosevelt quickly addressed Congress to ask for a declaration of war.
In solemn remembrance 12/7/41
From my aunt Barbara in Idaho
I wondered if anyone remembered besides me. It was my Aunt Nellie?s birthday. We were having a party when someone turned on the news. We knew her husband, Uncle Dell would have to go. They had three children but he was still one of the first called. He had close calls and some injuries but was never the same again. My dad and I listened to the news together every night. We loved General Patton.
A bit more from My Aunt Barbara:
Uncle Dell served in Europe. He was at the Battle of the Bulge. My brother in law to be joined at 17. He served on a PT Boat in the Pacific. He and my sister were childhood sweethearts from the first grade. Dad was a farmer so he was not called to serve. I was 9 when the war started. It seemed that all of the young men and some not so young in our little town of Iona and surrounding area went to war. Sugar and many other food items were rationed. At school we bought Saving Stamps to help the war effort. Eventually, if we were able to buy enough, we traded them in for War Bonds. Most women and children worked as farm labor. There were very few men left around that were physically able.
My favorite Cousin, the late "Midge" Sullivan, was born on 12/7/1941. What mixed emotions there had to be on that day....the joy of new life & the loss of so many others.
Mike