Monday December 8, 1941

Honolulu is a complete disaster. The destruction is everywhere- the photos we have seen of Battleship Row are devastating. And to think that we had no idea this attack was going to happen. We thought we were safe from the war that was so far away. But that is no longer the case- the war has come to us.

Yesterday and today have been incredibly exhausting and the tragedy of the situation is almost unbearable. A total of 546 battle casualties and 313 dead were brought to the hospital. The total number of casualties- 1500- is unfathomable but it is the awful truth. We all work non-stop. There are such limited supplies it is becoming incredibly frustrating and we are lucky to get electricity or light for a few minutes throughout the day.


You wouldn't believe how hard it has been to identify all of the soldiers being brought in. Accurate records for the patients admitted to the hospital were not able to be kept. Not until yesterday afternoon was it possible to begin recording admission data. Even then the necessary information for each soldier could not always be found. None of the patients wore metal identification tags; and the service, health, and pay records of men were frequently missing.
I cannot stop thinking at Barney and hoping that he is not one of the hurt soldiers that is brought in. There is no way to find him but I just keep praying that he is safe and he will let me know soon enough. I hope he was one of the lucky ones.

I am still in shock about what happened. It doesn't feel real even though I am right in the middle of everything. I haven't been able to talk to my family back in Texas but I know they must be thinking the same thing that all of us are here. How could the greatest country in the world be attacked by Japan? But this is not the time to be afraid. We cannot back away and let the Japanese take victory.


President Roosevelt gave a national address today that I think was spectacular. I have written out his speech because I know that his words will be with a lot of us forever. In the speech, he declared war on Japan. It is frightening to think that we are entering another war but the President sounded so brave and reassuring at the same time that I know the entire country is behind his choice. I just hope that Honolulu, Pearl Harbor and the rest of the nation will be able to pick up the pieces of this horrible disaster and bond together in the face of tragedy.

Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, members of the Senate and the House of Representatives:

Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.

Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And, while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.

It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.

Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam.
Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.
Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island.
And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.

Japan has therefore undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.

As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense, that always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us.

No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people, in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory.

I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.

With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph. So help us God.

I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.

Franklin D. Roosevelt - December 8, 1941

God Bless America.

Yours truly,
Pam

Sunday December 7, 1941

I don't even know how to begin this. I am in shock. I am in disbelief. But somehow, I am not scared. The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor this morning and it has been pure chaos ever since. It is now 5 p.m. This has been my first break since the first attacks began at around 8 this morning and I am exhausted- but I must write.

I should start at the beginning. Sunday mornings are usually routine in the orthopedic ward- my assignment was to push the beds of patients who were in traction, out onto the hospital's wrap-around porch where they could watch the inter-regimental football game.

As the other nurse,Mildred, and I were in the process of moving the patients, we heard a loud noise- it was a lot of planes approaching. We didn't really know what was going on so we stayed out on the porch. We thought it was one of the U.S. units on maneuvers so we all were waving to the pilots. But then suddenly, we began to see the red circles on the planes- it was the Japanese! We then noticed that the hospital was strafed. All of the patients on the porch were yelling for us to get them back inside.

I have no emergency medical training, and neither does Mildred, but it must have been the adrenaline that made us act quickly. We rushed the patients that were outside back into the ward. We then began to take the patients out of their beds, put them on the floor and surrounded them with mattresses. Once most of the patients were safe on the floor, I went back out to see what was going on. But as a I began to run out, someone yelled to me "Look out!" and I was pushed out of the doorway. A bullet hit right where I had been standing!

Battleship Row

We were then instructed to move the patients down to the basement but the electricity was out and the elevators were not running. Blasts from torpedoes, bombs, machine guns and anti-aircraft fire was everywhere around the hospital. Almost ten minutes after the first attack, causalities began to be carried in on chairs, doors, whatever people could find. Other hospital personnel began to arrive- we needed all of the help we could get. A few civilian women came to assist all of us as well. But then, there was a second attack- a bomb fell very close to the hospital. EVERYTHING was shaking. Supplies were falling from the shelves and plaster began to fall off of the walls.

I had no time to be afraid. A station for minor injuries was established in a vacant building formerly used as nurses' quarters. Patients in the brig and the locked ward were released. To make more room for casualties, ambulatory patients were transferred to two old frame buildings and five hospital tents in the rear of the hospital. Convalescent patients who "requested that they be returned to duty" were permitted to return as best they could to their commands.

We heard that the destruction done the battleships was imaginable but pushed it back in our minds- we could only focus on the bedlam that was in front of us.

I must go back to the chaos now- I don't know when I will have the chance to stop again.

Yours truly,
Pam

The hospital

Saturday December 6, 1941

It's absolutely crazy to think of how long I have been away from home but while I miss Dallas with all of my heart, being a nurse here in Honolulu has been the experience of my lifetime. The "Uncle Sam Needs Nurses" program has given me both of the things I've wanted since the day I joined the Army Nurse Corps- travel and excitement. I have had the chance to enjoy all that Honolulu has to offer. The weather is always beautiful- even in December, there is sun and clear skies. The other nurses and I often times go to the beach on our days off. It's nice to have some girlfriends to help to pass the often uneventful days here.


I am stationed at Schofield Hospital at Pearl Harbor and often times I am assigned to the orthopedic ward. December is football season here in Honolulu and I usually treat soldiers who have been hurt from sports injuries and other minor accidents. It isn't anything too intense but I do enjoy it. Often times, it's easy to forget that we are even stationed at a naval base. The soldiers are all just normal guys in uniforms and all of us nurses are doing the same tasks we did at our hospitals back on the mainland.



One of the perks of being a nurse here in Honolulu is the opportunity to meet so many nice men!
There is a ratio of 20 male officers to every nurse. Tonight, I went to the Pearl Harbor Club with Lt. Barney Benning. It was a delightful evening full of music and dancing. All of our friends were there and we had a absolutely swell time. Barne y is certainly a gentleman- he drove me back to my quarters tonight and we made plans to go Waikiki tomorrow after my shift is over.

It is getting late. More tomorrow!




Yours truly,
Pam Bradbury