esrosedotblog

I remember this day in 1941 quite vividly.

We were listening to the radio (no teevee then) and there were bulletins. I was almost five so this is vivid.

My Dad got hyper excited and my mother, missing out on the attention, I think, fainted.

No one knew what it meant but I do remember the "presence" of Franklin Roosevelt who calmed us down and then declared war.

It took up most of my young life, the war. It was a central fact.

My Dad volunteered for the Navy. I think he didn't want to miss it. This was his war.

Don't be surprised. A lot of guys felt this way. Bellicosity. We may have calmed down some from that time as we have seen the realities of war, global or otherwise.

The day's events are indelibly written in these photographs.

There was rationing. There was crazy shit going on in families. A lot of the rules were lifted.

I remember as vividly the day my Dad came home from the Navy. He had served as a radar man (one of the first) on a destroyer escort. Tough duty across the North Atlantic, subs and the rest.

He never slept a complete night for the rest of his life.

The day has always meant a lot to me. One other guy my age used to mention it. He is gone now. Not many other people remember it. The "day of infamy". 73 years ago. 1941 to 2014.

Labels: WW II