I'll See You in My Dreams by Doreen Kimmel

Author:Doreen Kimmel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Publish on Demand Global LLC

Chapter 42

On Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, we went to church and headed for mama Anna’s for our usual family get-together. Everybody was having a great time playing with the kids, and eating everything in sight, when Rose’s sister Lena came running in from the parlor. She was the quiet sister who never made waves and just enjoyed sitting around while we told stories, or she’d be off listening to the radio in the parlor. Well on that day Lena was hysterically crying and yelling for us to go inside and listen to the radio. The poor kid was beside herself, and we couldn’t imagine what she’d heard on the radio. In one fell swoop, the entire family was huddled around the radio listening to an unbelievable broadcast. The announcer was crying and trying to blurt out the news of a disaster in Hawaii. As he regained his composure, we were all weeping at what he was telling all of America.

At 7:20 a.m. Pacific time the Island of Oahu in Hawaii was hit with a wave of Japanese airplanes from aircraft carriers out at sea. Our Naval fleet consisting of destroyers and numerous other ships were being bombed and sunk right there in the harbor. By 9:30 a.m. Pacific time the Island itself was under attack. Our planes never had a chance to get in the air, and our ships were scrambling to get under way in the besieged harbor. Thousands of Americans were being killed by this surprise attack. Japan had declared war on the United States. Everyone in the room looked at me and Sam and said nothing, as tears ran down their cheeks. We were all of one mind at that moment. Lou, Mike, and America. I took Sam’s hand as the pain in my gut wrenched my very soul. Our brothers. “Oh dear God, they’re just two kids trying to grow up. Now they’ve been thrown right in the middle of a war with only one way out.” My silent prayer went up to a merciful Christ. “ Please protect my brothers and bring them home safely to us, and may all of our fallen Americans find peace and salvation in your arms.”

For the next couple of days, the death toll in Hawaii kept rising. Stories of tragedy and heroism floated across the radio airwaves. At least 2,390 deaths were recorded thus far. One radio broadcast hit Sam and I like a bombshell. The USS Nevada had been damaged during the bombardment, and while heading to open sea it saw the USS Arizona go down in a huge fireball. It was doubtful that there were any survivors. Sam said that Lou had mentioned the name of the ship he was on, but it was a while back and Sam just wasn’t sure. I tried to remember if Lou had said Arizona or Nevada. At one time, Lou had said it was funny that he was assigned to a ship with the name of the state he wanted to live in.

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