The U.S.S. Arizona destroyed during the bombing of Pearl Harbor
Today is the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and local World War II veterans took the time to reflect on a day that changed the world and their lives forever. Famously coined by Franklin Roosevelt as “a day that will live in infamy,” December 7th, 1941 was the day Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, which spurred the United States into the conflict. Navy veteran, and former mayor of Washington, Harvey Holden said the bombing was the tipping point for something a lot of them saw coming, saying, “I think our thoughts were that that was the beginning of something. Because we’d been involved with thinking about it, and reading about it beforehand. We knew that the draft was on and everything, so we knew that there was trouble brewing and that sort of set it off.”
Air Force veteran Marion Turnipseed enlisted after Pearl Harbor, mostly because he wanted to make sure he got into his desired branch. He flew 35 bombing missions over Germany and France, and took part in D-Day, flying four miles above Omaha Beach. Turnipseed said some memories, like D-Day and Pearl Harbor, will always stay with him. He still recalls President Roosevelt’s speech the next day, hearing the “live in infamy” line, and being informed war had broken out against Japan and Germany.
Navy veteran Birch Holden remembers being drafted, but then being rejected. He recalls that everyone in his high school was heading off to war, but he wasn’t allowed. While he doesn’t understand it fully now, he said he was very upset that he had failed while everyone else was going in. However, six months later, he was able to try again and made it into the Navy. The three men say they spend every Pearl Harbor Day remembering it and those who were lost throughout the war. They take time to reflect on something that was thought to be unheard of at the time, and how it changed everything in their lives. To hear more from the three veterans, listen to the In Touch with Southeast Iowa interview with them at KCIIRadio.com.