December 7, 1941 - 73 years-ago today, news of the Japanese attack in Hawaii reached Missouri & Governor Donnelly and St. Louis Mayor Dee Becker issued an emergency order, recalling over 65,000 soldiers on leave from Fort Leonard Wood, Scott Field, and Jefferson Barracks. Men from Jefferson Barracks were assigned to guard bridges and the 12 largest private industrial plants in the area. Mayor Becker announced that, St. Louis is ready to take up its share of the burden. He said the city would immediately begin to set up agencies to accelerate production, promote civil defense, and prevent sabotage. The following day, hundreds of men crowded into recruiting stations at the Federal Building, & police rounded-up a couple dozen German & Italian aliens thought to present a danger to the city. Three Japanese restaurants; the Oriental Kitchen on S. Grand, and Oriental Food Supply on Delmar, & the Kobe, on Market Street were closed and kept under surveillance. There were nearly 150 St. Louisans at Pearl Harbor during the attack. Most were members of a naval reserve unit called to active duty in 1940. They served mostly on the destroyers Schley, Allen, and Chew, all World-War-One vintage ships. Lieutenant George A. Whiteman of Sedalia became the first American airman killed in World War Two. His plane was strafed as he tried to take off to battle the Japanese pilots attacking Pearl Harbor. Whiteman Air Force Base near Sedalia is named in his honor. There were 54 men from Missouri killed aboard the USS Arizona, including 12 from St Louis. They were: ALLISON, Andrew K. - ALLISON, J. T. - ANDERSON, Robert Adair - ATCHISON, John Calvin - BANDY, Wayne Lynn (Buck) BARNES, Charles Edward - BEGGS, Harold Eugene - BELT, Everett Ray Jr. - BIRDSELL, Rayon Delois - BLAKE, James Monroe BOSLEY, Kenneth Leroy - BRUNE, James William - CALDWELL, Charles Jr. - CLAYTON, Robert Roland - CLIFT, Ray Emerson COWAN, William - CURTIS, Lloyd B. - DAVIS, Virgil Denton - DAVIS, Walter Mindred - DUPREE, Arthur Joseph - EVANS, Mickey Edward FULTON, Robert Wilson - FUNK, Frank Francis - GARRETT, Orville Wilmer - GRANT, Lawrence Everett - GRAY, Lawrence Moore HAAS, Curtis - HARDIN, Charles Eugene - HARRINGTON, Keith Homer - HARRIS, Noble Burnice - HARTSOE, Max June HICKS, Ralph Dueard - HOUSEL, John James - HUIE, Doyne Conley - HYDE, William Hughes - KAISER, Robert Oscar KIRCHHOFF, Wilbur Albert - KIRKPATRICK, Thomas Larcy - KNUBEL, William Jr. - MARLOW, Urban Herschel - MONROE, Donald MYERS, James Gernie - NECESSARY, Charles Raymond - PECKHAM, Howard William - PEDROTTI, Francis James ROBERTS, Walter Scott Jr.- RUSHER, Orville Lester - SKILES, Charley Jackson Jr. - SKILES, Eugene - SMITH, Earl Jr. WELLS, Raymond Virgil Jr. - WELLS, William Bennett - WINDISH, Robert James - ZIMMERMAN,Lloyd McDonald As a young sailor in San Diego, I was given what was known as a dream sheet, giving me my choice of my next duty station. Requesting Hawaii, I received orders to report aboard a destroyer home-ported at Pearl Harbor. But when I arrived, she was at sea, so I was temporarily assigned to Naval Station Pearl. For those unfamiliar, service personnel have their normal daily job, plus four hours duty, the frequency depending on how many are available. Being there a short time, I was given what amounted to busy-work, usually picking up litter. And for duty, I generally stood watch somewhere. But when I reported for duty one night in my typical work dungarees, I was told to change into a dress uniform. I had no idea why until a motor whaleboat put me aboard the USS Arizona Memorial. Still on the Navys roster of active-duty ships, it would be nearly another decade before she was turned over to the National Park Service. I stood watch aboard the Arizona three times, & even though it was over 40 years ago, I still cant describe my thoughts or emotions. But to this day, I consider it the greatest honor of my life.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 06:06:38 +0000
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