SIXTY YEARS AGO ... December 1942 - A Look Back One Year Later

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Sixty Years Ago ...
A Look Back One Year Later
December 1942
by Jennifer King and Timothy Rollins

December 10, 2002

Reflections on World War II

A Special Note to Our Readers: A year ago, TAP launched our “Sixty Years Ago” column, on the 60th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Today, we commemorate what our fellow Americans were thinking and feeling - at the one year anniversary of that “date which shall live in infamy”. - Jennifer and Tim

In 1942, most American families owned only a radio - the latest form of mass communication. TV’s were a newfangled contraption, and unreliable to boot - most families wouldn’t get one for years. The technophobes of the day gathered info from their radios and the newsreels which ran before films in the theaters. There, they were entreated with the various war themes. “Enlist”, if you were male and of age; “Chip In”, if you were female or underage. America‘s unmatched industrial prowess was fired up to full blast. Men, women (Rosie the Riveter) and younger males were pressed into the fray. By early 1943, bomber and fighter planes were being competently manufactured at the rate of 100s per day. Ships, especially the Liberty Ships, were being, likewise, turned out at record rates.

The Allies had suffered many humiliating defeats - throughout Asia, Indonesia and Africa. They had scored a big win at Midway, a modest one in North Africa, and were still slogging through Guadalcanal. Allied troops, raw farm and city boys, were slowly being shaped into crack troops. The great advantage that we had was the same one we have now, the same one we had at Lexington. Our enemies have always misunderstood it, and because of that they have always underestimated us - to their eventual peril. Our people are a free people and we are determined to stay that way. Forever. At any cost.

Americas are a generous and tolerant group, generally slow to anger. But surprise attacks upon our fellow citizens - such as those which occurred at Pearl Harbor and on 9/11 - arouse both our wrath and our determination. Our casualties will be avenged, and our enemies defeated. Whatever it takes, we will accomplish it.

Americans, as a people, also understand the high price - in blood and fortune - that has been paid by previous generations in order to retain our liberties and our uniquely American way of life. That is a serious responsibility, passed from our forebearers to us. We are determined to uphold it, when it is our turn to defend her. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the architect of Pearl Harbor, partially understood this as he had lived and studied in the United States. He worried about the industrial might of America, and the resourcefulness and ingenuity of her free citizens. Japan’s only hope for success, he felt, was a preemptive strike so devastating that it would prompt an immediate clamor from the public to sue for peace . Admiral Yamamoto underestimated us, too.

As 1942 drew to a close, the handwriting was already on the wall. Of course, it is easy to look back and see that now, with the added benefit of historical perspective. To the Marine sweating as he nursed his battered Wildcat F4 onto Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, the outcome was no doubt still highly insecure. With typical American humor, the Marines named their tiny squad the “Cactus Air Force”. They patched the plane as well as possible with their meager supplies, and sent the pilots out again to fight another pitched battle with the vastly superior Zero. Again and again, night after night until, eventually, they prevailed.

As they must. As Americans. As free men fighting - and dying - for a cause worth fighting for. Assuming the mantle, accepting the torch - the one that we, too, must now pick up. And we, too, shall find success - for the men and women serving today know also, as their predecessors did, that the torch must never go out. We will not let it go out, for it serves as a beacon of hope to those oppressed around the world. Someday, freedom. Someday the liberty to achieve, to strive, to be their best. Someday, liberation - brought to them from those who’ve liberated millions around the world - the American armed forces.

TAP’s “60 Years Ago” Series is our tribute to those veterans of World War II. It’s our small way of expressing our appreciation for you and for all the others who’ve served - past, present and future. Thanks, and may God bless you all. ***

Photos of Jennifer King and Timothy Rollins courtesy of staff files