December 7 was the wedding anniversary of my Uncle Sid and Aunt Hazel. Uncle Sid was Grandpa Wager's brother, so they were actually my great-uncle and great-aunt. They were also our neighbors, and were more like grandparents to my sister and I. (In fact, they meant so much to us, my sister named her daughter Sydney). Uncle Sid & Aunt Hazel were married December 7, 1940. So their first wedding anniversary was the day Pearl Harbor was attacked. I remember asking them about it as we neared their 50th anniversary. They said it started as a happy day for them, but then as the news came in it just became a very sad, somber day that left the future uncertain. This is a picture of their 50th wedding anniversary in 1990. This is actually the last picture I have of them together, Uncle Sid died a little over two months later.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
A Year of Blogging: December 7, 2011
On December 8, 1941, in an address to Congress, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared that December 7, 1941 was 'a date which will live in infamy'. At dawn on December 7, 1941; the Japanese attacked the US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Shortly after President Roosevelt delivered the Infamy Speech the following day, the United States Congress declared war on Japan. It was the event that drew the United States into World War II.
This year was the 70th anniversary of the attack. Each year, survivors have gathered to commemorate the event. On the news last night, they said the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association was disbanding later this month. The number of survivors continue to dwindle, and for those who are left, traveling is difficult due to their advanced age. Although, even 70 years later, there are some 7,000-8,000 Pearl Harbor Survivors. Wow.
I didn't know anyone who served at Pearl Harbor. Erich's great-uncle actually died in the attack. Erich says his grandfather (who's brother James was the one who died) hated Japan for the rest of his life. I think of what a somber day December 7 is for most Americans, and then how much worse it must be for those who lost a loved one.
December 7 was the wedding anniversary of my Uncle Sid and Aunt Hazel. Uncle Sid was Grandpa Wager's brother, so they were actually my great-uncle and great-aunt. They were also our neighbors, and were more like grandparents to my sister and I. (In fact, they meant so much to us, my sister named her daughter Sydney). Uncle Sid & Aunt Hazel were married December 7, 1940. So their first wedding anniversary was the day Pearl Harbor was attacked. I remember asking them about it as we neared their 50th anniversary. They said it started as a happy day for them, but then as the news came in it just became a very sad, somber day that left the future uncertain. This is a picture of their 50th wedding anniversary in 1990. This is actually the last picture I have of them together, Uncle Sid died a little over two months later.
December 7 was the wedding anniversary of my Uncle Sid and Aunt Hazel. Uncle Sid was Grandpa Wager's brother, so they were actually my great-uncle and great-aunt. They were also our neighbors, and were more like grandparents to my sister and I. (In fact, they meant so much to us, my sister named her daughter Sydney). Uncle Sid & Aunt Hazel were married December 7, 1940. So their first wedding anniversary was the day Pearl Harbor was attacked. I remember asking them about it as we neared their 50th anniversary. They said it started as a happy day for them, but then as the news came in it just became a very sad, somber day that left the future uncertain. This is a picture of their 50th wedding anniversary in 1990. This is actually the last picture I have of them together, Uncle Sid died a little over two months later.
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