Stanley C. Parks: Remember Pearl Harbor!

By Stanley C. Parks

Dec. 7, 1941, was the day our country was brutally attacked by Japan, catapulting us into a war that engulfed our entire nation. We are still at war today and have fought other wars but none affected our nation to the extent of World War II.

I was a senior in high school leaving a Chicago Cardinal football game when I heard the newsboys shouting the headline, “Pearl Harbor Attacked.” The next day, President Roosevelt gave his famous “Day of Infamy” speech and Congress declared war on Japan and subsequently Germany and Italy after they declared and consummated war on us.

We were now forced into a world war. It changed our country into one of patriotism and complete dedication to the war effort and it changed my life. I went to school the next day and saw one of my friends totally distraught. His brother was on the battleship USS Arizona which was sunk in Pearl Harbor. In the following weeks, several of my classmates joined the armed forces. Our country went to full mobilization.

Industries went on a wartime footing. Rationing was instituted on many commodities. Gasoline, clothing and foods were rationed so that there would be enough for the armed forces. Where there was an empty lot space on our block, victory gardens were planted to supply extra food for the table. Our Navy was very seriously crippled and Pearl Harbor damaged with a loss life to civilians as well as military. The draft was put into high gear and Army training accelerated.

All this happened almost overnight. We were truly worried we might be invaded and a Civilian Defense went into existence. We listened on the radio for news of what was happening day by day. The Japanese invaded the Philippines, which made us more apprehensive because of our military presence in those Islands.

We were worried about our future and at the same time there was a total effort by all Americans. Every family had some member going off to war and flags with blue stars appeared in windows of homes. My brother left his family of four children and a medical practice to take his spot in the Army Medical Corps.

At school, students were encouraged to finish their education so we would be better prepared to take our place in the armed forces. Everything went into high gear. The news from the fronts was not good. At first, it was very bad as we had to assume a defensive posture until our armaments were built up. Women who were housewives found their way into factories to take over building ships, planes and tanks for the men who were entering the armed forces.

I knew I faced conscription but started my college education before my graduation day to better educate myself. Many of my friends were already in the armed forces and I started to learn of their deployment to the various battle areas. It wasn’t too long afterwards I joined the Navy. My mother who had been a housewife all her life took a job in a factory that supplied battlefield rations. She felt it was important to help and such was the case all over the country.

The men in the field knew that Americans were united in the war effort. The news from the fronts was not always good. Our casualties mounted and some of those flags in the windows with blue stars became gold stars. The American fighting men were magnificent and slowly the tide turned and victory followed victory. It wasn’t easy and we suffered many casualties but the indomitable American spirit held fast as we fought for unconditional surrender and total victory. Over 407,000 Americans died and 672,000 were wounded in World War II.

Every once in a while I hear someone flippantly ask: “Was it worth it?” Our country as it is today is the result of the sacrifice of those men and women who left our shores to fight a tyranny that had no bounds. You can be certain that had the war been unsuccessful, civilization would have gone through a dark age that one cannot imagine.

Those brave men and women who came back from WWII built a United States of greatness and freedom that you and I have greatly benefited from. They were also responsible for saving Europe, much of Asia, as well as the enemy we fought (Japan), for their better life today. I, for one, am grateful to have served with my fellow countrymen and women and keep the United States the greatest country in the history of mankind.

Dec. 7, 1941 must never be forgotten.

Stanley C. Parks Lt. USNR ret., DDS, WWII Navy Officer LST Spokane