Dorothy Brush "Random Thoughts" Published Dec. 4, 2002

That day 61 years ago
will live forever

Saturday, Dec. 7, marks 61 years since that Sunday, Dec. 7, when Americans were puzzled, shocked as the radio interrupted their programming to give the news that Pearl Harbor had been attacked. That date lives on in the memory of my generation as the day we lost our innocence just as Sept. 11, 2001 will live on in later generations. In 1941 we were aware there was war in Europe but that was an ocean away and we believed we were protected by that great body of water.

On that Sunday morning I was on duty as a student nurse. I was taking a tray to one of my patients and he told me he had just heard on his radio that Pearl Harbor had been bombed. I asked, "Where is Pearl Harbor?" This was not an unusual reaction. The late Alex Haley 50 years later recalled he was serving on a small Coast Guard patrol ship moored at the home port in Bern, NC when a seaman yelled the news. Haley said, "Pearl Harbor? Where's that?"

There was no television, only the radio, and as the day wore on we began to understand the seriousness of the attack through the word pictures painted by the reporting of trusted commentators. Few could conjure up the scenes of destruction in our imaginations. It was not until the newspapers printed the actual pictures of what had happened that we knew how serious this act was.

President Roosevelt spoke before Congress and to the nation Dec. 8 and began his speech with, "December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy." After a brief summary of events he listed all that had happened on the rest of Dec. 7. Speaking in staccato sentences he said:

"Last night, Japanese forces attacked Malaya.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked Wake Island.
This morning , Japanese forces attacked Midway Island."

He closed by asking Congress to declare that a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.

On that peaceful Sunday morning, 26 ships were anchored in Pearl Harbor. In the attack, seven were sunk, 13 bombed or torpedoed and were heavily damaged. Only six escaped damage. The battleship Tennessee was bombed but was refitted by 1942 and fought in 13 engagements during World War II, more than any battleship in the Navy. In 1959, at age 37, it was sold as scrap.

The numbers of those who have vivid memories of Dec. 7, 1941, are dwindling rapidly but those remaining will always remember Pearl Harbor.

* * *
This Sunday there is a ceremony we can all share. Guideposts magazine told the story of the Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting which since 1968 has been held on the second Sunday of December. The Compassionate Friends program began in England. Their mission was to help families get past the grief of a child's death - at any age, from any cause - through the support of other bereaved parents.

The first candles are lit in New Zealand at 7 p.m. and the lighting continues through each time zone at 7 p.m. so a 24-hour wave of light is created as a memorial to a dead child - at any age, from any cause. The death of a child whatever the age brings grief. Everyone is someone's child.

On Saturday fly our flag and on Sunday light a candle.

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Dorothy Copus Brush is a Fairfield Glade resident and Crossville Chronicle staffwriter whose column is published each Wednesday.