Complete Broadcast Day - Pearl Harbor

Few events in World War II were as defining as the Japanese sudden and unexpected assault on Pearl Harbor, which prompted our entry into the war.

It began on the morning of December 7th 1941, at 7:55am local time.

It's not quite a complete broadcast day, like I added for D-Day, but I have added to RUSC today news of the Pearl Harbor attack, as it happened throughout the day - the actual breaking news, and eyewitness accounts. 

The bulletins are both moving and reflective, with each broadcast unfolding history. And for those at home, waiting for news of loved ones stationed at Pearl Harbor, the day was filled with terror and fear, and an overwhelming anticipation from not knowing what was happening - or what the outcome would be.

These recordings are an incredible archive, intensely moving and poignant, and as the day progressed, moved on from the shock of what had happened, to the country's steely determination of resilience and never giving up. One bulletin announces that "all recruiting stations will be open tomorrow morning at 8am" as young men swarmed military recruitment stations looking for ways to serve their country.

This first clip begins with a dramatic on-the-spot eyewitness report from a rooftop in Honolulu to NBC, in which the KGU newsman describes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, damage suffered, and the fighting still in progress. 

Click here to read personal recollections, and listen to the remaining bulletins, which I will be adding to today and tomorrow. 

Many of us have elderly family or friends who were involved in the attack on Pearl Harbor, or who enlisted in the immediate aftermath, and on the anniversary of the tragedy at Pearl Harbor, this week we honor the courage and sacrifice of those men and women.