Howard on 8th birthday, Hazard, Ky

Howard on 8th birthday, Hazard, Ky
Originally uploaded by Howard33

Howard on 8th birthday, Hazard, Ky
I turned 8 years-old in the summer of 1941. We lived in Hazard, a town of about 8,000 people in the mountains of eastern Kentucky. I was never one to worry about the funture, which was about to change. Less than four months after this picture was made, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.

My two sisters and I were in the living room with the Sunday funnies, and our mother was listening to the radio in the kitchen. She eased into the room and said "Japan has bombed Pearl Harbor. I think we are in another war."

My first question was to ask where Pearl Harbor was. She dragged out a world map from somewhere and pointed out the Hawaiian Islands. She said that Pearl Harbor was a Navy base near Honolulu. She and our father spent the rest of the day in the kitchen listening to the radio. I caught a few facts about the sinking of several of our large ships, and the bombing of a nearby airfield, but when President Roosevelt began to speak, we all sat around the table and listened to every word.

The news has caused this scene to flash through my mind a number of times since then, and I can almost hear my mother's voice saying, "I think we are in another war."

Uploaded by Howard33 on 31 Dec 06, 7.33AM PST.
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Interesting material. Born in early 42, I don't recall too much about the war until the fighting men came home. I thought they looked mighty neat in their uniforms. I remember one incident while at a grocery store. There were two soldier in front of us. They ordered a pack of cigarettes. The storekeeper, Mr Peden, said something like, "boys, there's no charge for the smokes, you have been fighting a war--this is the least I can do."

I asked my aunt how come they didn't have to pay. She explained. There were no TVs then, and we didn't go to movies, so it was all info gained through pictures in the newspapers. The radio was important back then too. As time past, I understood more clearly why they got free cigarettes.

Sometime in the 40s, probaby 47, I recall the sky being full of planes of all kinds heading west. I learned later that they were headed toward a storage area on the desert. I asked my aunt that what would happen if we needed them again.......