Pearl Harbor day

[RBHarter]

Why Pearl Harbor is important to me.
Before I start. God bless the souls,survivors,those that bore witness and all those that stand since and still for this land.

Dec 7
My 2nd Great grandmother's name was Nancy Allison , her aunt shared her name. The elder Nancy married William Mckinley in 1829 her son born in 1843 William Mckinley would become the 25th President of the US. He served in the Union Army for the duration of the Civil War w/the 23rd Ohio Infantry at 1 point w/Major Ruthaford Hays . Elected in 1896 was the CIC for the Spainish American war ''winning'' Guam,the Phillipenes and Puerto Rico. In 1898 he signed annexation papers for those and the Republic of Hawaii.

James Reed served as a CSA scout 1863-64. He married Orvillia Hoover and had 12 children together. James registered as a Cherokee Native American in 1873 . Leora James Reed the 8th or 9th child born April 28 1912 w/her twin sister Elnora. Their survival is wonder enough w/both parents being at least half bloods an a full blood mid-wife. Lee was my Grandmother . She lived a colorful life. She married an Army vet Joseph Hart in Chicago in 1927. They divorced in 39' after my Dads birth. She married again in 40 in Hawthorne Nv. Going to Oakland Ca not long after. She went to work as a welder, after getting a welders certification , in the Port Chicago shipyard until about June or July of 1941.

By know you're thinking AAAANNNNDDD??

Well, Virginia and William Wright were Nancy's great grandchildren and my grandfather and great aunt.

Leora was at least in the shipyard w/ships that were at Pearl 72yr ago.

William was in the USN 1937-39 then signed on w/Civil Service . He married Nora Louise ''Toppy'' Huges in the fall of 1940.
Virginia had gone to school and highered on to Pan Am in 1939 . In those days a flight attendant had to be at least an accredited nurse. She was based in 1940 Honolulu and flew the entire Pacific from LA to Seattle and west to Hong Kong.

William was given a list of assignment choices 1 of which was Public Works for Wheeler and Hickum Fields and the Naval Yard at Pearl Harbor. He left Nashville about the 10th of June 41' Toppy joined him in Pearl City in November.

William was out for the morning walk down to the beach ,about 12 blocks from their apt, he was an avid fisherman and was thinking a day on the beach for them and a few casts w/cut bait might produce some sunfish. He'd paused under a palm to put his shoes on and heard the familiar engine drone thinking ''the Air corps is out early especially on a Sunday''......... It was 5 days before he would know if his sister or wife had survived. During the next 3 days he would ride boats as a survivor recovery man...... mostly he just recovered the dead . On the 10th he was released to his shop to continue pulling new power lines in to pad up the spliced band-aided lines for the Navy Yard and the airfield .
Toppy awake to the 1st explosions and breaking glass. She pulled the bed up against the inside wall closet door. And padded the walls w/pillows and waited ..............11hr later the 1st patrol for survivors hammered the door and gave her directions....more directives to go to the highschool gym. She would spend 10 days there seeing William just twice. ''I was terrified,not knowing who or what was happening . All I could do was to go to an inside corner and pad myself all around as best as I could.''
Virginia would arrive some 22 hours later w/65 fully equipped USAA troops braced for having to possibly pontoon raft from Molokai to Pearl. When they arrived in the sea port ''airfield'' their sea plane was pressed into service and stripped from a luxury trans-Pacific aircraft to cargo/Medevac airplane . She was drafted into Hospital service for 21 days of 18hr days. Imagine the shift ,airsick and altitude sickness to meatball amputation assistant. I would be 16 days before she would stumble onto William and learn that he and Toppy had come out untouched by the attack.

Not 1 of them ever received formal recognition nor have they been eligible for any Pearl Harbor Survivor privileges.
It is also interesting to note the ''unintended'' consequences of 1 man signing a single document , and the potential for those to effect 1's own family for over a century.

William has been gone nearly 20 yrs 12/25/17-12/17/94
Virginia passed in 2008
Toppy lives in assisted living recently taking a 5 generation picture w/1 daughter,her only grandson,3 greats and GG grands.
Leora passed 12/14/2007 out living 3 husbands and 12 siblings including her twin sister by nearly 10yr and her ''baby'' brother by almost 5 yr.
Toppy passed away in November 2014 .

That's my story about today 12/7 has effected my life and who I am.

[daboone]

Incredible piece of family history. Thank you for sharing. I grew up on an have a home on the Big Island of Hawaii so I have a personal interest in your story.

[Ranch Dog]

It is great that you have a record of your family from so far back let alone how it relates to our Country's history today.

[horseman]

That is a great family history. Thank you for sharing that with us.

[jloader]

Thank you for sharing RBHarter.
With the short history of this country, one would think that sharing stories like yours would be pre-emptying the prime time TV on just about all stations... oh wait, the Voice, Kardashians and other crap like that is of more importance today...
And why should I be surprised... our leader visits Hawaii very often to play golf, but he could not find time to honor 75th anniversary of the attack on site....

Just watching live coverage of memorial services in Pearl Harbor... no representation from top US Federal Government... so so so sad!!! There are 2 governors (HI and AZ) then some Retired generals...

[akuser47]

Truly amazing history your family has. Thanks for sharing and a thank you to all who have served and are serving and have lost all by serving. Thank you all.

[RBHarter]

We recently found on the other side of the family a signer of the South Carolina ratification of the Declaration of Independence .
I guess we've been here a minute or two.