My dad was born on December 7, 1913, in Berkeley, California. The family lived on Burnett Street in a home his father built. Several years later, they moved south to Long Beach, where William Grace Lind built another small house. My grandmother lived there until her death in 1982.
Meanwhile, my dad moved to Hawaii, arriving on May 1, 1939.
Here in Hawaii, December 7 is mostly remembered as the day Pearl Harbor was attacked, drawing Hawaii and the U.S. into WWII. It was a Sunday morning, and my parents had been out the night before at a University of Hawaii football game, and parties that followed. They were awakened by a call from my mom’s parents, who lived in Waipahu quite near to Pearl Harbor. My grandmother was initially exclaiming about the ultra realistic maneuvers, but when my grandfather ventured out and had his car strafed, they knew this was the real thing.
This year I’ll share a holiday letter sent out a year later, in December 1942. It was written by UH Professor Carey D. Miller, who had become my mother’s mentor at the university and remained a lifelong friend. In the letter, Miller describes the shock of December 7, and the changes in everyday life over the year that followed. It makes for very interesting reading.
Here’s an excerpt:
To read the whole letter, just click here (link updated/corrected).
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Interesting letter. Thank you for sharing.
Makes you wonder if Americans today would have the resilience and fortitude to go through what I read on the pages you attached.
With all the selfish anti masker and “my rights and freedom…to Hell with you” crowds we’ve seen this year, I truly wonder what would happen in this country should another big war or emergency break out? Well wait…we DO have the emergency and are failing miserably. I can’t wait to see the ANTI vaxxers get on their soap boxes once a vaccine is released for general consumption.
Ian, you’re a good son remembering your late father’s birthday. Thank you for sharing this letter from Hawaii’s past with us. It reminds us what our (babyboomer’s) parents sacrificed during WW II. Maybe during the holiday season it could be reprinted in an internet paper like the Guardian or Huffington Post to remind the world how the greatest generation step up to times of strife rather than complaining or laying blame. Aloha