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CU Medallion [65528]
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December 7th always brings mixed emotions for me these days. December 7, 1941
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Dec 7, 2023, 8:58 AM
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will always be "A date that will live in infamy" due to the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. That touched off our official involvement in WWII. Anyone of my age (69) can only imagine the mood of the country at that time.
My parents at that time were a young married couple with no kids. I am also sure that my 25 yer old father's emotions were all over the map, wanting to serve his country, and yet realizing his obligations to his 22 year old wife and hopefully, family to come. Which leads me to why December 7th is bittersweet. Because, in the months after Pearl Harbor, whether by plan or accident, that future family got started, with my oldest sister, my parents first child, being born December 7, 1942. One year to the day after those horrific attacks.
That child graduated high school in 1960, immediately got married, and had three kids of her own. Of what eventually became five siblings, she was the only one who did NOT go to college out of high school, and graduate. Three got degrees from the University of South Carolina, and I got my Chemical Engineering degree from CLEMSON. But, oldest Sis was easily as smart as any of us, and as time went on, she decided, AFTER having all these kids, that she was GOING to be a college graduate, getting an Accounting Degree from Limestone.
They never said it, but it was plain to see that our parents took particular pride in the fact that they had supported ALL FIVE of their children to be the first generation of the family to obtain college degrees. None moreso than their oldest, who became the last to do so. She, from that point forward became MY accountant, which for me basically only amounted to her doing my taxes each year. I had to pay her, even though she insisted on giving me a family discount. That was the generation SHE was raised in, you did not give away money completely, you didn't know if you would ever have much more.
She had just done my taxes a couple of weeks before I got a call from my other sister that would change all our lives. Brenda, my oldest sister, had taken suddenly gravely ill, on a bus trip coming back from Atlanta, where a "Horizon 60" group including her and her husband had been to see The Passion Play. By the time we could get from Orangeburg to the hospital in Augusta where they had taken her, she was essentially gone. I, for the second time in my life, had the unenviable task of telling family members that machines needed to be turned off, and they had to let her go. She was in reality already gone, massive internal hemorrhaging had robbed oxygen to her brain. I will never forget looking into eyes that were the exact same shade of blue as my own, and seeing them now gray, instead. It took less than 10 minutes after all the machines were shut down, her beautiful heart stopped beating. Massive internal organ failure due to a choked off blood supply to her stomach was eventually found to be her cause of death.
She was the first of us five children to go, and the suddenness with which she went from good health to just being GONE never stops hurting. So now, every Pearl Harbor Day, I mourn, along with the rest of America, for those lost in that horrific attack in 1941. But, I also mourn the loss of the best big sister anyone ever had, who was born one year later. Happy Birthday in Heaven, Big Sis.
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Orange Blooded [3466]
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Re: December 7th always brings mixed emotions for me these days. December 7, 1941
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Dec 7, 2023, 9:16 AM
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I was 11 years old. Remember that day well. We came home from church and heard the news on the radio. Was a tough war. So many locals died. My brother-in-law was shot down while flying his B-24 over Romania. We youngsters volunteered the whole war, collecting scrap metal, oils, paper, etc. I will never forget.
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Orange Blooded [3615]
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Re: December 7th always brings mixed emotions for me these days. December 7, 1941
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Dec 7, 2023, 9:20 AM
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Interesting. I wish there were more stories what it was like to be a kid, 11 to 15 or so at that time. Did you understand exactly what was going on? Just wonder what it was like to be a kid back then.
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Orange Blooded [3466]
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Re: December 7th always brings mixed emotions for me these days. December 7, 1941
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Dec 7, 2023, 10:30 AM
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Interesting. I wish there were more stories what it was like to be a kid, 11 to 15 or so at that time. Did you understand exactly what was going on? Just wonder what it was like to be a kid back then.
Yes, I was that 11 - 15 year-old. I remember it like yesterday. Everyone was so united in deed, thought, and action, like never before or since. You continually saw sadness among your neighbors and townspeople - telegrams being delivered saying that a family member had been killed-in-action, was missing-in-action, was a prisoner of the Germans or Japs, wounded-in-action, etc. Everybody sacrificed in one way or the other. Everything was rationed - one pair of shoes per years, for example - that's the most I ever got anyway.
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Rock Defender [65]
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Re: December 7th always brings mixed emotions for me these days. December 7, 1941
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Dec 7, 2023, 9:30 AM
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Special day for us. My uncle (my dad's brother) was on the Arizona, and still is. Got to take my dad to the memorial back in 2005. Very emotional visit especially for him.
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CU Medallion [65528]
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I know I am being petty and all that, but I have to admit, whenever I see
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Dec 7, 2023, 9:50 AM
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pictures or video of Japanese tourists smiling and clicking away their cameras at the Arizona Memorial, it makes my blood boil. Always will.
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Oculus Spirit [90820]
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Thx 76er
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Dec 7, 2023, 10:00 AM
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for sharing your personal Dec 7 memories of life, hardship, love & death.
Your story is what made America & American families exceptional back then.
R.I.P. Sis~
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Walk-On [113]
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Re: I know I am being petty and all that, but I have to admit, whenever I see
Dec 7, 2023, 4:56 PM
[ in reply to I know I am being petty and all that, but I have to admit, whenever I see ] |
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pictures or video of Japanese tourists smiling and clicking away their cameras at the Arizona Memorial, it makes my blood boil. Always will.
I was a tourist at the Arizona Memorial in 2001. My dad was in the Army, 2nd Armored Division, in WWII who drove a tank onto Omaha Beach and later battled Panzers in The Battle of The Bulge. My parents and I made a trip to Hawaii and one of the first places we visited was Pearl Harbor.
The Navy boat that ferried us from the visitors center to the Memorial itself was half populated by foreign visitors, noticeably Asian. Although in retrospect I wish I had, I did not approach them since they were not speaking English. At the Memorial itself, the group spread out on the structure that strides the sunken USS Arizona. I noticed that many brought wreaths with them, and also followed the instructions of the staff to not throw them into the water whole, but, shred them into pieces. They appeared to be respectful, at least to the hallowed ground upon which they stood.
Most of them were fairly young, none appeared old enough to have experienced WWII in person. I was left pondering their motives. Were they apologizing for their ancestors, or some distant relative who died in the attack? I didn't know what was in their thoughts, however, I chose to interpret their actions in a positive light.
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Hall of Famer [22740]
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Re: December 7th always brings mixed emotions for me these days. December 7, 1941
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Dec 7, 2023, 10:07 AM
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So sorry for your loss. I hope your grief is overwhelmed by fond memories of a great lifetime together.
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Orange Blooded [2347]
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Re: December 7th always brings mixed emotions for me these days. December 7, 1941
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Dec 7, 2023, 10:30 AM
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My DOB same as your sis.
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CU Medallion [65528]
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My sister died March 31st, 2009. She was only 66 years old. One of the
Dec 7, 2023, 10:59 AM
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tragic things about her death was, she and her husband had finally, after many years, built and moved into their "dream house" just a couple of years earlier. She did not have much time to enjoy it. Her husband died about eight months later, in a terrible mechanical accident with an "exploding" motor grader rim lock ring blowing loose and hitting him in the head. So, his children lost BOTH their parents within an eight month time span, both suddenly.
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All-TigerNet [10640]
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Re: December 7th always brings mixed emotions for me these days. December 7, 1941
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Dec 7, 2023, 10:55 AM
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My sister-in-laws uncle was the Commanding General of Marine Aviation in the Pacific in WWII for a period of time. Prior to that he was Commanding General of the 1st Marine Air Wing. He was stationed in Hawaii for the duration of the war. I inherited all of his documents regarding the conduct of the war (confidential, secret, and top secret papers). It is fascinating to read them and learn what was going on behind the scenes during the conduct of the war. The #1 concern of the commanding officers was the treatment and safety of their Marines.
In one letter he jumped all over a Marine Captain for having a dirty plane and made the captain wash the plane himself. In other letters, jumped all over the logistics command for not getting fresh meat, fruit, and vegetables to his troops, when he found out that other troops were betting it. He often chided senior Squadron Commanders for not flying and spending too much time sitting behind their desks. He though all Marine pilots should be flying some, regardless of their rank.
One of my favorite documents was Major Greg Boyington's (Pappy) 50 tips for Marine pilots. Tip # 2 ...... "Fighter aircraft are designed, and fighter pilots are trained, to fight. If there are enemy aircraft in the air, and contact is not made, something is wrong. The only exception to this are those situations where we must stay close to something we are expected to protect; where to attack means that we have been lured away."
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All-TigerNet [10640]
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Re: December 7th always brings mixed emotions for me these days. December 7, 1941
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Dec 7, 2023, 11:19 AM
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Follow up ..... In remembrance of 1941, I have been going through my documents this morning and found a hand written letter from Marine General F C Rogers who had written to general Moore describing him taking the Japanese surrender "up north" (maybe Pelieleu). On the opposite side of the letter was a typed copy of Gen. Rogers VJ speech. This is the way he described Dec 7th.
"Approximately three years and nine months ago, we were a peace loving, self-satisfied, politically indifferent nation. We could have been compared to a prize fighter who had retired and let himself grow fat and lazy.
The Japs and Germans, like tough and coming fighter spotted our obvious poor condition and decided to go in an "take" the big fat man and then run the world to suit themselves. And the Japs, being what they are, hit first, below the belt, and before we even got into the ring, without knowing it did us the greatest possible favor. The low punch not only woke us up, that it made us so sore that we got wise to ourselves as well as our enemy. Our days of self-satisfaction were over. We were not in shape and we knew it. There was no time to go into training. We had to get in there and fight ourselves into condition.We did just that. It's true, we got cut up some, but we never stopped boring in and after the first tough round the fat began to melt, our timing came back, and we forged ahead. We won all the rounds from then on and on August 15 of this year our last enemy threw in the towel in order to avoid complete annihilation. WE WON. We finished this war not only in condition, but the World's Champion, and no person nor nation can deny us the title."
This was just part of the speech, but pretty much sums it up.
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Orange Blooded [2849]
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I went to Omaha Beach and the cemetery two years ago
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Dec 7, 2023, 4:19 PM
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What those soldiers did redefined the word bravery. Scaling cliffs with machine gun fire raining down on you. Unbelievable. They saved the world.
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Legend [16027]
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Re: December 7th always brings mixed emotions for me these days. December 7, 1941
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Dec 7, 2023, 6:45 PM
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Sorry for you lose of your sister. December 7th is a difficult day for so many people. You and your family will be in my prayers. Thank you for having the courage to share your story. It helps others to appreciate life more and show love to others more.
In fact my prayers are for any who post a tragic story about Dec 7th and or about someone’s loss. It’s a tuff world we live in. May God Bless you all. I wish I had special words to say but in times of sadness and loss of loved ones and tragic events all I know to do is turn the grief over to God through prayer.
A moment of silence for today December 7, 1941 and for all those who served and those who gave their lives for our country and our flag 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Message was edited by: wueagle86®
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Recruit [99]
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Re: December 7th always brings mixed emotions for me these days. December 7, 1941
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Dec 7, 2023, 7:53 PM
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Check out this article about Little Mountain SC,
19 Shealy boys out of a town of 150 went to WW2
From The State newspaper
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CU Guru [1835]
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It's a dark day.
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Dec 7, 2023, 8:47 PM
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I was born in 1954, just 9 years after the war. My uncle was shot down over Germany in January 1945. He didn't survive. Another uncle was a pilot on the Enterprise. He came home. I've been to Pearl Harbor. I became angry when I saw the details of the attack displayed. (Even though we've always known the details) I reminded myself that we destroyed all of those attacking carriers at Midway, but I still wanted to leave. The most astonishing thing I saw, and this was in 1988, was at a Chinese restaurant up the hill from Pearle. It's the oldest restaurant in Honolulu, and every Sunday for decades a group of women meet for breakfast/brunch. Just by chance we went to the restaurant on Sunday morning. We went into the restaurant and noticed them at that large, round table. I didn't know the history of that group until I left and read the newspapers on the wall. It was noted that on 12-7 1941 the group heard explosions and rushed outside. When I went outside, I was shocked to look down the street and see Pearl Harbor. I was speechless, turned to look back at that group and then back at Pearl Harbor. I thought OMG it the same group as was here that Sunday in 1941. The members are now different, but it's the same continuous group, and I'm standing where they were in 1941.
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