Tell Me a Story, Dad

Most of us can recall being read stories by our parents or siblings. I grew up in a family of story tellers. While there was the occasional book reading sessions, most of the stories were true-to-life accounts of family and memories. My father recounted so many stories from his life that I often feel as though I were alive when it happened. His stories became my stories.

I read in the newspaper that the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor was seeking to speak with individuals who could vividly remember where they were on the day that Pearl Harbor was bombed. The recounted memories will be videotaped and used during an upcoming event. An audio recording will also be made and given to the Oral History Program that is recording oral history for future generations.

I knew that my father had a story to tell. The stories that are going to be used for a presentation on December 7^th for the 70^th Anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor will be held at the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor and you can visit their website here.

Seventy years ago in the small town of Newburgh, New York, my father was sitting in the living room of his girlfriend's home (my mom). The two were engaged to be married and my father was just visiting and waiting for my mother to finish her dinner with the family. In the living room he turned on the radio and began listening to Glen Miller's band when the program announcer broke in to say, "We interrupt this program to bring you an important message….Japanese have just bombed Pearl Harbor…"

My father said he ran into the dining room and shouted, "Pearl Harbor has just been bombed!"

According to military archives, "Aircraft losses were 188 destroyed and 159 damaged, the majority hit before they had a chance to take off. There were a total of 2,403 American casualties, including 68 civilians, most of them killed by improperly fused anti-aircraft shells landing in Honolulu. There were 1,178 military and civilian wounded."

My father enlisted in the Navy shortly thereafter along with his two brothers who also joined the Navy. Dad became a Pharmacist Mate and later, the "Doc" on board who tended to the sailor's needs.

I will be taking my dad this Friday to finally tell his story so that future generations may hear history from the mouths of those who lived to tell it.

Encourage family and friends who have served and search for the closest place for you. In New York, you can visit this website here.

Become the story teller for the future generations.

Sources:

http://www.thepurpleheart.com/

http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/veterans/vindex.htm

http://www.vmi.edu/archives.aspx?id=3727

http://www.navymemorial.org/