75 years ago

cool hand · Dec 8, 2016

75 years ago I was a 6-year-old first grader in a one-room rural school. Electricity and radio were new at our house. I was a little young to understand exactly what was going on, but I knew it was something bad. The teacher lived nearby, had a radio, and wanted to hear FDR's speech to congress. He took us all to his house to listen to the speech. From then on I learned a lot about the then unfamiliar term "Pearl Harbor."

JF in MI · Dec 8, 2016

I have talked to a lot of people in their late 30s and early 40s and they have no idea what WW2 was or when. When I was 6 I knew more about the Civil War (almost 100 yrs then) then these people know about WW2.

Dick2 · Dec 8, 2016

I remember Pearl Harbor very well. We didn't turn our radio on in the morning. Went to visit the neighbors that afternoon (who had electricity and a radio); that's when we heard the news. When we got home, Dad built a fire in the cook stove and I sat on the oven door to get warm. I turned 7 three days after Pearl Harbor. Two brothers from our neighborhood were on the Arizona.

Chris(WA) · Dec 8, 2016

Its terrible sad what they teach or don't teach in school these days.

GarryinNC · Dec 8, 2016

My dad was 16, he is 91 now. He had ridden his Western Flyer bicycle about 4 miles to Lindsay Watkin's store. His older brother came driving up sometime later with the news about Pearl Harbor. He said that most folks did not know where it was. Dad said he figured any war would be over before he turned 18. He went in July 1944, got out in July 1946. Served on a Sherman tank crew from January 1945, until sometime after VE day, when they disbanded the 3rd Armored Division. He was in the 32nd Armor Regiment.

Garry

Crazy Horse · Dec 8, 2016

A rural one-room school ..... great story. I suspect the teacher's house was the "teacherage" right next door to the school where the teacher lived. Part of his teaching contract or agreement I suspect. Must have been great walking 2 minutes to work, but probably ten grades in one room, that'd be a tough job for sure.

Steamboat · Dec 8, 2016

I was exactly one year from being born (just turned 74). My sister just told me that she remembers our mother , upon hearing the radio broadcast to say "but I thought they were our friends."

The Dukester · Dec 8, 2016

In December. '41 I was 7 and a second grader at North Adams, Mi K-12 school. Our teacher, Miss Laser, told us quite a bit about the Japanese people and what a dastardly deed the sneak attack was. She told us how they had already killed thousands of people in China. In a very short time people we had never heard of before or at the most knew very little about became the most hated things we kids knew of.

Wheres Waldo · Dec 9, 2016

Thank our 'Leaders' that spent so much of our taxes to bring those mostly automobile companies here; not about to 'bad-mouth' the 'job creators', even though we spent a whole lot to get them here.

75 years ago

cool hand

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JF in MI

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Dick2

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Chris(WA)

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GarryinNC

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Crazy Horse

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Steamboat

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The Dukester

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Wheres Waldo

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