|
|
|
December 7, 1941
We were deluged in a cloud of dust and had to run around closing all the windows. I
got back to the front door just in time to see pop calmly walking back to the house through
it all. He said we could leave if a lull came. Also that a Mrs. B was coming down to our
house and to wait for her. Then he left again. In the meantime a bunch of soldiers had come
into our garage to hide. They were entirely taken by surprise and most of them didn't even
have a gun or anything. One of them asked for a drink of water saying he was sick. He had just
been so close to where a bomb fell that he had been showered with debree. He said he was scared,
and I was to, so I couldn't say that I blamed him. I saw an officer out in the front yard, so
Mom said to ask him if he thought it would be wise for us to try to leave. He said, "I would
hate to say because we don't know whether they are bombing in town or not, and besides this is
your home." I no sooner got back into the house then a terrible barrage came down just over by
the Post Exchange. That's just a block kitty corner from us, so the noise and concussion was
terrific. Mom and I were still standing in the doorway and we saw the PX get hit. I was
getting more worried by the minute about this time as they seemed to be closing in the circle
they had been making around us. (The Japs were flying around in a circle bombing us,
Pearl Harbor, and machine gunning Fort Kam.) A second terrific bunch of explosions
followed the first by a few minutes only.
I found out later these had landed in the baseball
diamond just a second after Dad had walked across it. He ran back to see if the men in a radio
truck there had been hit. All but one had and they were carted off in an ambulance. I went
dashing into my room to look and saw that the barracks was on fire, also the big depot hanger.
I hated to go into my room because the planes kept machine-gunning the street just outside my
window and I kept expecting to see a string of bullets come through my roof any minute. We
had all gotten dressed in the meantime and had packed a suitcase and were ready to leave
any time.
Finally, after two and a half hours, the planes went away and we left. I gave the
soldiers in the garage two and a half packages of my chewing gum before I left and they nearly
died of joy at sight of it. Poor guys!!
As we left the Post, we looked around to see what damage had been done to the place.
The barracks was all on fire, the big depot was on fire, the theater was burned to the
ground already, the PX was wrecked, the whole hanger line was blown up on the far side
of Operations, a couple of the non-coms houses were very badly blown out, there was debris
all over everywhere, and Pearl Harbor was just a solid wall of smoke which we found out
later was burning oil from the boats that had been hit. Reports are that nothing was hit
there except boats.
As we drove into town we found the highway blocked solid in all three lanes coming out to the
Post as the radio had been calling for all personel of the Army or Navy to return to their
posts at once. We were forced to drive out in the gutter, and every now and then we had to
move aside from there to let an ambulance go by. The people in town were standing along the
street watching it all with very dazed looks. Of course, they didn't know what was going on
as the radio hadn't said a thing about it. (We turned it on at home before we left and there
amidst all the concussion and noise all we could get was church music.) We ran into Bill on
the way into town and made him come back with us. (He had been at the University practicing
shooting and had missed it all.) He was mad because he wanted to go and see the fireworks.
Ha! Lowyd was with us so we dumped him at the U. where he had a room. Left Jack with him, and
Mom and I went up to the M's in Moana Valley. Decided to stay there until further notice so
we went back and got Jack. Bill stayed at the U. on duty in the ROTC.
