My grandmother showed me a scrapbook last night, one assembled by her father during the early days of America's involvement in World War II. It begins the day after Pearl Harbor, and continues to Dec. 23, 1941. I couldn't put it down, fascinated both as a journalist and as an American living during wartime.
Historically, of course, this is a gem, for several reasons. It gives an interesting picture of how the attack was dealt with in the newspapers, and roughly where people's heads were at. Along with the main headlines describing the attack and its immediate military meanings, the scrapbook is peppered with smaller headlines and two- or three-paragraph stories: "Isolation Sentiment Fades in Capital" "Soldiers Urged to Learn Flying", "Pacific Coast Girds For War", "736 Japanese Nationals Arrested Throughout U.S." etc.
Read More