Legacies of the Silver State

At 2:31p p.m. Eastern time on CBS radio, newscaster John Daly interrupted  programming to announce a castatrophic attack near Oahu... "We interrupt this program to bring you this special announcement. "The Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, by air, President Roosevelt has just announced. The attack also was made on all naval and military activities on the principal island of Oahu". When news broke that planes from a Japenese carrier group has bomb part of the Hawaian Is land of Oahu and the U.S. Navy fleet at Pearl Harbor, Nellie Nelson, whomformerly lived in Sacramento in the early 1940's with her two toddlers, leaned closer to her radio to listen to the ominous news of the attack. "I was stunned, you bet," said Nelson. Then, the 25-year old mother was veryn frightned, especially after learning armour-piercing, bombs destroyed many U.S. Navy warships. Then volunteers walked house to house, telling occupants to darken their houses by turning off outside, lights and pulling drapes where no light shined through any cracks. Concern grew if the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, then a fleet of ships and planes could sail east and bomb along the coastline from Washington State to California and into the inland communties. America swung into action. From lowering the ramps of the landing ship's at Normandy on June 6, 1944, to crawling on the snow on their bellies and enduring extremely harsh weather during the Batle of the Buldge, to providing medical care on the remote island in the Pacific, American men and women showed intrepidness and bravery when facing the enemy. POWs, survivors of the Nazi concentration camps and veterans told in detail where they were and what they did.