Dr. Peg Watanabe offered to share a letter her Great Aunt Edna Reese wrote on December, 8, 1941. Edna had been sent to Hawaii to start a branch of the Girl Scouts. The letter was written to her father.
Arthur Reese. A unique aspect to this letter is the simplicity and honesty she deals with the “Fifth Column” fears and race relations in Hawaii. Edna Reese’s writing style is poetics, but her details are grounded in day-to-day activities.
Dear Dad,
“This is the real McCoy and no simulated battle. Oahu has been attacked.” These were the startling words heard over the radio this morning after a house two doors below me was hit by a bomb.
I slept late this morning, having been out until midnight and was getting up when I heard airplanes which seemed to be rumbling and tumbling overhead. There had been many practice and problems by the air service, so the noise was not terrifying until I heard a crash. My first thoughts were of course, that the plane had crashed nearby. No one was around and I continued with the preparations for breakfast. In about five minutes people began running about and of course I went also. The house mentioned earlier is the home of an energetic young man and woman and their ten-year-old son. The bomb, or perhaps it was a shell, hit the house diagonally as all three members of the family were in bed, but not asleep. The house and grounds were a mass of broken glass and splintered wood, and yet no one was hurt. Fire trucks soon arrived but I believe the house never did catch fire.
Then I walked farther down the hill to a vantage point where I could see much smoke at Pearl Harbor and Hickam Field, presumably where bombs had been dropped by enemy planes, yet with all this to be seen we thought it another “rehearsal”. It was only about twenty minutes later that I heard the radio news and of course it was all very realistic. Later the news came that enemy planes had been shot down, on the wings of which was the rising sun emblem which meant only one thing—that the long threatened war between the United States and Japan had actually started.
“Keep your radio tuned on to this station. We will be back with more news from time to time,” was heard all day long. Meager news was given as one can imagine, that if the enemy was near enough to attack the islands they were near enough to receive radio news. The radio was used for calling out different groups of people and giving full instructions as to how to get to their destinations. Civilians were urged to stay off the streets. No automobiles were parked or allowed to be parked on streets and for once those without garages or whose garages were at a distance were told to park their cars on lawns. Lists of names of doctors were read and told where to report for duty. Trucks and motorcycles, men working in hardware departments, those dealing in medical supplies, were told where to report. A call came for all employees of the engineering group and men working for the Hawaiian Dredging Company were informed to stand-by. One could not help but feel what a wonderful piece of organizational work had been done among volunteers while the army and navy were making their gigantic plans for defense. It was a very exciting day as well as an interesting one but what a surprise.
Inasmuch as this started early in the morning I was at home. My apartment as you may know is on one of the heights and out of the evacuation area and commands a wide view of the city and the harbor. Dropping bombs and subsequent fires could be plainly seen as I watched during the day. My nearest neighbors are of Japanese ancestry and it is in their garden that my apartment is located. These people are Americans, having been born here, and own an enormous amount of property all over the city, including the Pleasanton Hotel and the Makiki Hotel. Where I am they own twenty-five places renting from $40 to $123. I say this for you to know they have their money tied up here.
Anyway, I spent much of my day on my lanai as did many other people in the neighborhood. They were very much concerned about us all and I know now they will be good neighbors in time of need as well as excellent landlords. During the day, as we could hear and see the unusual happenings, I was reminded of how as children we used to go outside to watch the thunder and lightning during electric storms. Just that fearless we were as we stood on the open lanai and saw smoke and fire from dropping bombs. During the afternoon a radio announcement came that there would be a territory wide blackout from sundown to sunrise. Well from then on, we thought of plans for the night. A maid next door, Japanese, told me she thought we should each pack a little bag and, in addition to extra clothing, put in some first-aid supplies. I followed her suggestion and packed a warm kimono, my only woolen coat such as it is, and a flashlight. We felt ready for an emergency as these items were placed near an outside door. I then had an early dinner in almost complete darkness, another unusual experience. The next morning, I came to my own place and since everything was ready and there were no lights, it did not take me long to crawl into bed.
. . . This morning I have heard no news. . . and the irony of fate—my radio has refused to work, although it was in excellent condition late last night. You no doubt know more about what has happened here than I do. The people who have radios capable of getting mainland reception picked up interesting bits of news that were not given over to our stations. The reasons for this was no doubt that our stations were needed for getting instructions to volunteer groups and the population as a whole.
I hope when you heard the news you were not upset or too worried for often times when one is on the scene, it is not as bad as it seems to those hearing or reading about it. There is a wonderful organization set up and everybody will certainly be taken care of if at all possible. The governor issued a statement declaring martial law and congratulating people for their calmness. I felt last night as I looked over the city that Americans can certainly meet an emergency, for the city was in absolute darkness---not a light to be seen anyplace. We might as well have been in wilderness as far as the blackness of the night and the noises of the night—falling leaves, wind through the trees, and chirping of insects. . . Overhead the stars were shining brightly and the clouds were lighted by rays from the moon. As I looked through a window I could see a tree, only on the top of which seemed to be a star, and it looked like a Christmas tree. Yesterday, upon looking over the city and harbor, everything was beautifully green, with here and there flamboyant colors from tall poinsettias, hibiscus, cups of gold alamandas, and Christmas berries and my prayer was, “Dear God, let this beauty not be destroyed by man.”
Affectionately,
Edna
You can hear the KTU live radio broadcast to NBC in New York at http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5167
NOTE: The Pleasanton Hotel was located on the corner of Wilder and Punahou. It was on four acres, and hosted 200 guests. The Makiki Hotel listed as its residents many University of Hawaii faculty, including William Gabrielson, "Lecturer in Political Science."
NOTE: There is a “controversy” about the first Girl Scout Troop in Hawaii. In 1917, Miss Florence Lowe, a Kamehameha School for Girls is credited with the completing their organization and paper work reaching the Girl Scout Headquarters in New York City first. Troop Two was founded in Kakaako. Queen Liliuokalani gave that troop, known as the Hibiscus Troop, her own personal Hawaiian flag.
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