Quite the history to be proud of. My father was one of the firsts SeaBee (CB) sailors that built the airstrip on Guam, which helped to turn the tide of the war. It was essential to build long airstrips there so that long distance heavy bombers could bomb the crap out of the enemy. They did their jobs! There were still 5000 hostiles on the Island when my Dad set foot on it, and they were shot at on an hourly basis. Yet they finished the airstrip in a matter of days and had Americn troops landing there soon after.
My father was a Marine stationed at Mare Island on Dec. 7, 1941. He and a friend had gone to the mountains to cut down a Christmas tree in a vehicle that did not have a radio. My father’s parents lived in Sacramento so maybe the tree was for them. At some point on the return trip, maybe at his parents’ house, he learned about the attack and that they had to get back to Mare Island immediately.