On Saturday evening, December 6, 1941, the Galesburg firefighters held their seventeenth annual Fireman's Ball in the National Guard Armory on North Broad Street. The men had decorated the large hall with paper streamers in shades of blue which covered the walls and ceiling. A cluster of  balloons in shades of blue hung from the center of the ceiling.

The dance had attracted a large crowd because Joe Sanders and his Nighthawks provided the music.

The Fire Chief, Earl E. Cratty, had ordered all fire equipment to be parked in front of the Armory. If an emergency call had been received, the men would have lost no time in answering. Engines of some of the machines were kept running so a quick response could be made.

A few hours after the dance had ended, planes of the Japanese Imperial Navy struck Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands. It was the home of the United States Pacific Fleet, as well as a number of army bases. The attack was a surprise and the destruction was massive. The first wave of aircraft included 51 bombers, 89 torpedo planes and 43 fighters. The second wave consisted of 78 bombers, 54 torpedo planes and 35 fighters. The planes had been brought within flying distance by six aircraft carriers.

By Monday morning, December 8^th, the Armory had been closed to the public. Mrs. C.P. Rossberg announced the Red Cross would be allowed to continue its work in the building. She explained that workers should rattle the north door if they wanted to see her.

The Daily Register-Mail also reported the Galesburg Airport on North Henderson Street had been closed and all airplanes grounded. Some seventy cadets had been trained as pilots at the airport through a program conducted by Knox College. Captain F.W. Lovely of Company C, Illinois National Guard was asking for volunteers to fill its ranks.

On page two of the newspaper it was reported that Dean Cebert, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Cebert, 144 North Chambers Street, had been killed by a bullet “in the Nipponese air raid on Sunday morning.” He had been transferred to the Hawaiian Islands only two weeks earlier.

Several readers had reported to the newspaper they had relatives living or working in the Islands. It is amazing how the people of Galesburg have always been ready to go almost any place in the world.

The editorial in the Register-Mail was titled “America at War.” One sentence seems to sum up the feeling of the time. “The manner of attack was such as must provoke a spirit of universal American indignation, and a general cry for reprisal of the most severe character possible.”

On Tuesday, December 9^th, it was reported Corporal Robert R. Garrett, 240 West Main Street, had been killed in action at Hickam Field, Honolulu, during the attack on Sunday. He had enlisted in 1933 after graduating from Abingdon High School. He was a cockpit gunner in the 42^nd Bomb Squadron. His brother, Darwin, had gone to Hawaii to enlist there. His whereabouts were unknown

Ensign Frederick Walsh, son of Mr. and Mrs. M.R. Walsh, was reported to have been aboard the aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Enterprise. The Japanese had reported the ship sunk. Fortunately, all of the aircraft carriers had left Pearl Harbor for naval exercises prior to the attack.

Mr. and Mrs. W.P. Sommers of Knoxville, had received a telephone message from their daughter-in-law in San Francisco. Their son, Edward, was a lieutenant in the United States Naval Reserve. He had been first officer on a Pan-American Clipper, which had landed safely in Hawaii later on Sunday.

Two men, Lyle R. Forsyth and Robert Young, were believed to have been aboard the U.S.S. Oklahoma.  Unknown to the readers of the Register-Mail, the battleship had been sunk.

The American losses at Pearl Harbor and other military bases in the Hawaiian Islands included nineteen ships, six of which were battleships; 150 airplanes were destroyed on the ground and more than 2,400 soldiers, sailors and civilian had been killed. Almost 1200 persons had been wounded.

News of the attack was first made public through radio broadcasts. Many people listened to various radio programs on Sunday afternoon as a pleasant pastime. Some listeners complained that their favorite programs were being preempted by news bulletins.

On December 8^th, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed a joint session of Congress. The seven minute, twelve second speech has become known as the “Infamy Speech.” It is regarded as one of the important documents of American history. He began by saying  “Yesterday,  December 7^th, 1941,  a  which date will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”

He continued by saying that the Japanese forces had traveled a great distance to conduct the raid making it obvious the attack was deliberately planned and required a great deal of preparation. Attacks had been launched against other Asian-Pacific countries as well.

He said, “Always will we 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.”

Less than an hour after the speech had been delivered, Congress, with but one dissenting vote, passed a formal decoration of war against Japan.

The headline on the first page of the Register-Mail on December 10^th  carried this title “U.S. Faces Long War But Ultimate Victory Ours, President Says.” The article was an analysis of Roosevelt's “Fireside Chat” delivered on the evening of December 9^th. His remarks made clear that the threat of war with Germany and Italy was a greater danger than that of Japan.

Almost unnoticed, the weather had turned unseasonably cold. The temperature on the morning of December 9^th was thirteen degrees. It was expected that the cold weather would continue for several more days with the possibility of below-zero temperatures.

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[NOTE: Barbara Schock recently presented the above address to her local Galesburg chapter of the DAR.  While this goes well beyond the time period usually covered in her Sandburg's Hometown articles, she thought our readers might find it interesting (and timely), nonetheless.]