Document 2. Military service After the Japanese attack on Pearl harbor admiral Nimitz was sent to Hawaii to analyze the situation. He said the Japanese made three mistakes. #1 they did not destroy our fuel supply . Which one fighter plane could have? #2 they did not destroy our dry docks. Which we needed to use to repair the damaged ships. #3 They attacked on a Sunday morning when many of the crews were ashore on liberty. I think four mistakes as our aircraft carriers were at sea. Soon after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor the United States went into a great transition gearing up for war. The plants and ship yards went from consumer production into war supplies. Air planes, ships ,tanks, jeeps and all else . A draft was also started and all males over 18 years of age had to register as our military was weak compared to Japan and Germany. Early 1942 Clarence was drafted into the army and after training was sent to the Solomon Islands. Soon after Ralph was drafted and sent to the desert in California as a great conflict was raging in North Africia. When Ralph was drafted that left J.B. and I as the bread winners .We went to work in a plant in North Kansas City which was making army tents. Close to slave labor. The tents were about 20 ft. by 20 Ft. A track affair ran the length of the building. We would hoist the tents up to this track with a rope and tie each corner to a post. Several women would then sew steel rings to the flaps into the grommet holes.While the women were doing thiswe would hoist up another tent and the women would start sewing this one while we took the first down and folded and tied it for shipment . This at this went on for 8 hours .Me 16 and J.B. nearing 18. August 1943 J.B not wanting to be drafted into the army joined the Merchant Marine. While working at the tent factory we lived in the upstairs apt. of our Uncle and aunts place . J.B. , Mother and I.This small apartment did have running water and a bath tub. Our first for each of us. When J.B. left mother and I moved back to Waldron in our small home. I left the tent factory and went to work at North American aviation as a riveter building B-25 Billy Mitchell bombers. The ones that were modified to fly off a carrier and 16 did fly off the aircraft carrier Hornet and bombed Japan but did minor damage but gave the United States a morale booster which we needed . After the attack on Pearl Harbor President Roosevelt was heard making plans if Japan should invade and get as far as Chicago. I rode from Waldron to the aircraft plant with a fellow who acted kinda goofy I think hoping to stay out of the Army.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Jul 2013 12:17:00 +0000
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