Where were you December 7, 1941?

Memories | Uncle George

[Uncle George]

Dec. 7, 1941 I was 10 years old and having fun running my toy putt-putt boat in the bath tub, you remember those steam boats you put a candle under the boiler and they run around making a loud putt-put noise. My mother came in very excited and told me Japan had bombed us at Pearl Harbor. I ran out in the front yard and many neighbors were outside loudly talking of the attack and we kids were scanning the skys for enemy airplanes because there was talk of Japan invading California and we were in the center of California. Everyone was frightened just as we were September 11, 2001. I have seen the "Sleeping Giant" awakened for the second time and I pray the Country will respond as it did in 1941. We had many less fifth column cells then but they were curtailed quickly then as our President is attempting to control these now. I remember the first soldier killed that was close to our family was my sisters boyfriend who enlisted quickly and died in battle early in the war. I remember her playing a little phonograph record he sent her as he left the U.S. We would all listen to him laughing and telling jokes and the tears would flow as we realized he and thousands more were dieing to protect this Country. Many Americans felt as we did because we took the loss of our loved ones, rationing of everything, around the clock war defence jobs without grumbling or complain. My father worked as a boiler fireman in a sawmill, lumber was a very essential product for defence. I witnessed an awakened giant in 1941 that that drew a Country together into an unbeatable force of all races and creeds that was to be my America for the rest of my life. I pray this Giant of today is the same that awakened on December 7, 1941.

[thesharkboy]

I wasn't born till after the war, but my father was also on the Ploesti raids. He was a tail gunner in the Liberator and Flying Fortress, stationed in Norfolk, England. Do you know where your uncle was stationed?

My uncle was stationed in Libya at the time and was never stationed in England. Did you take a look at the roster of planes whose link I posted, and did you pick out your father's plane?

[tdadams]

On September 11th, I was going out for a little jog around the World Trade Center, stopped to get a little coffee, and then was shocked to see the first plane hit the tower. No wait, maybe I was uptown at a friend's apartment watching it on TV. I can't remember really, but that's not important. I remember my first thought though, was "Darn that President Bush, with those enormous tax cuts for his wealthy friends and campaign contributors, we'll never be able to provide government assistance to all the homeless, jobless, Democrat-voting victims in New York City."

[grannyheart2000]

I was six years old and the main thing I remember is my Mother running out of the house telling all the neighbors that Japan had bombed us and we were at war....all the ladies started crying and we kids were terrified as we really didn't understand what was going on. Later on my Dad went to work building airplanes working the night shift while my Mom went to work for a telephone company. That was the first job my Mom ever had but the women all went to work taking the places of the men who went off to war. I remember taking a dime every Friday to school that was put into a savings book and went we had saved a certain amount it went towards buying savings bonds. The whole town was involved in the war with everyone doing something no matter how small it seemed....victory gardens...practicing blackouts....writing letters to servicemen...collecting newpapers and tin cans....it was a time that I remember as total solidarity with all.....everywhere you went it was "war" talk and how one could help...schools talked patriotism with students and told them what they could do to help the brave soldiers......as bad as war is I do remember some things from WWII that still warm my heart with strong emotion mainly the "togetherness" of the American people and the love for one another plus the willingness by all to help in whatever way they could. I found a site on the net where those who lived through WWII have written down their memories.....I just hope these are somehow preserved for future generations....they need to be read and remembered.........

[beekeeper]

Yes. He commenced fire on the Japanese and the Captain made him cease firing since the Captain did not know what was going on. It was too late, because the Japanese continued to fire and got the range. All the while my Dad was pleading for him to resume firing. When they finally did, they were taking hits. The Astoria sunk the next day. He never told me about what he did. I learned this from friends of his and books. A retired Admiral credited the Astoria as getting the only hit on the japanese ships, but that hit was on the flagship and the Japanes Admiral thought since they were hit then the other ships were also in bad shap, so took his ships out of Guadacanal. That saved the resupply ships which were sitting ducks and would have set us back in our defense of Guadacanal. As you can tell, I am very proud of him.

[Uncle George]

Yes Homer, you do have an interested audience here. I also love to hear peoples experiances of Dec7 and Sept.11. I think it is a heartfelt relief to describe personal feelings about those days of infamy. We all have a need to discuss these very emotional experiances. I built models during ww2 of nearly every ship, plane, jeeps, tanks learning the names of them in the process.

[skeeter]

As you can tell, I am very proud of him.

Not many in the command chain distinguished themselves that night, but you ought to be real proud of your dad.

Heck, I'm proud of him.

Think I'll go home tonight & re-read Richard Franks' work on the battle.

[BlessedBeGod]

Thank you so much!!! (Yes, you are the first!)

When I was in grade school, kids used to think that having a birthday on a "famous" day was cool. Now that I've experienced Sept. 11, I think I know what it must have been like in 1941. I can tell you, it's not cool.

[tubebender]

Hey Unk; I think you and I could have gone to different schools together. I was born in 33 in a small town in western Fresno County so I was 8.5 on 12/7/41. I just asked my oldest sister (80) yesterday what I was doing that day. She and our sister (76) were headed to Fresno and heard the news on the radio. They turned around and drove home to tell Mom and Dad and our brothers. Our oldest bro was drafted and went in the Combat Engineers cause he ould operate a CAT. Then they made him an MP.went to England in 42 for the buildup for D DAY.Ended the war putting bridges over the Rhine under fire.

Our next oldest bro tried to inlist in the Army Air Corps but they turned him down. He got drafted in late 42 and sure as hell they put in the Air Corps. Went through all the schools and ended up a bombardier on a B17 (HS COOKS CREW) First mission out of Stanstead(sp) England was over Normandy Dday+??. Due to much confusion and smoke that squadron killed several GIs and a General. Not a good start but the press in those days were slow in reporting those things as compared to this Week in Afgan. On his 17th over Weisbaden his plane and several others others were shot down. Wiped out his Squadron but he survived in various POW camps. That mission is immotalized with a30 x 80 mural by Keith Ferris on the wall the Air and Space Museum in DC.

Our oldest sister inlisted in The WACS at a hospital stateside. Her future husband was drafted out of Eureka and trained at Hammer field in Fresno. Combat Engineers 8th air force. He built the first P47 strip behind Omaha beach D DAY+10 and many other strips under heavy fire. My other Brother in Law joined the Navy cause he didn't want to march with the Army. Fought in many of the great Naval battles of the South Pacific. He came home a alcoholic and died from same.

12/7/41 changed us from one hell (deoression) to another(war) Mother was a aircraft spotter and we could name a plane by it's sound. I remember playing in the yard one summer day in 44 I think and I heard muffled explosion in the distance. It was the munition ship blowing up at Port Chicago near Oakland, 250 miles away.

T I have not watched PRIVATE RYAN because of the emotions that well up in me to this day. Sorry for rant.

[SouthernBelle]

Well, Taxman, I don't know for sure. What exactly are male Taurus types like? If it involves being stubborn and "bull"-headed, well, I'd fall right in there. Or so they say, anyway. LOL. At any rate, May of '41 seems to have produced SOME right-thinking people, huh? Glad to know we "almost" share a birthday!

[Mark17]

where were YOU on October 21, 1307?!?

Did they attack someone that day too? (S)

[Uncle George]

Rant on tubebender, ranting is good for the soul.

[Mark17]

Sorry, I didn't make my debut until 1972. Sorr-eeee! :-)

1972? Holy moly, I got back from Vietnam in 1971.

[austinTparty]

Well, although I was not even yet a gleam in my 10 yr old father's eye... HE can remember his aunt running out of her house sobbing, because her son (Dad's cousin) was at Pearl Harbor... he was sure one helluva lucky S.O.B. He lived through both that and the U.S.S. Indianapolis...

[catfur]

Well, I was almost 11 months old then.

But I do remember the great big block party at the end of the war. Streamers and confetti everywhere. One of the neighbors had a big band and had his entire crew there playing and he played the xylophone. It was awesome!

And... all the men except one on our block who fought the battle came home alive.

[liliana]

i was 9 years old and living in german occupied copenhagen, denmark and knew nothing about it,

[Uncle George]

Bump to the top.

[DJ88]

I wasn't born yet. As a matter of fact, my mother was 11 months old, so I wasn't even a twinkle in her eyes yet...:-)

My Dad, though, remembers it....he was almost 10.

[Naej]

Well at least I was born before then. I was 8 years old. The first I heard of it was when my Dad came to pick me up from Sunday School. We lived in the mountains then. We went directly home and my Dad hooked a long wire to a tree to make our radio work. Radio reception was very poor in the mountains. We got KDKA, Pittsburg on and people from all over our town came to our house to hear the radio reports. I asked my mother where Pearl Harbor was and she said "I don't know, but it is a long way from here so don't worry aboutit." She had a worried look on her face, though. I'll tell you one thing about the war - our country was never the same after that day.

[MissAmericanPie]

Uncle George I was no where around at that time, but I almost envy you the innocence of those times. I love the movie "A Christmas Story" that depicts the 40's things seemed so much simpler then.