In the last post we saw a turn of events for John Edward.
"The greatest compliment of my career was given me," he wrote on the 25th of November.
Division officers (not the Regimental or Company officers directly above John Edward)
recommended him for a remarkable promotion that jumped multiple ranks.
John Edward continued, "As I said -- a great trust,
a magnificent compliment, a hard decision" (25 Nov).
The next letter from Camp Bowie was written on the 8th of December. It followed
what has come to be known as a day "which will live in infamy."
Just before 8am on Sunday, December 7, 1941,
Japan -- an ally of Germany -- attacked the Pearl Harbor
Naval base on Oahu, Hawaii.
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| USS Arizona sinks in Pearl Harbor after being hit by Japanese bombs, December 7, 1941, National Archives |
The next day, on a live radio broadcast at 12:30 p.m., President Franklin Roosevelt
addressed a joint session of Congress. He began:
"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."
Congress took a vote after the speech and approved
President Roosevelt's request to declare war.
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| President Roosevelt's live broadcast as he addressed a joint session of Congress December 8, 1941, National Archives |
We hear from Camp Bowie later that day. The letter was sent
from Cousin Jim (Col. Jim Caviness) to John Edward's
mother, Johnnie. A career Army officer, Jim had supported and
encouraged John Edward from the beginning of his military service, but
for some unknown reason had refrained from or was unable to step in
and secure a promotion for him. Toward the end of this letter he wrote:
"Well I guess some people feel a little peculiar today after
talking so long about how nobody would ever bother us and that
we were too powerful and etc. I think you have know for some
time what my sentiments were along that line."
But the purpose of this letter was to convey news about John Edward:
he had been in the hospital for over a week, and
did not sail from San Francisco on December 5 under promotion.
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| Col. Jim Caviness to Johnnie Binnion, December 8, 1941, family scan |
By this time Camp Bowie had grown considerably. There were
213 mess halls -- one per several barracks -- as well as
27 post exchange (military store) branches, 22 recreation centers,
14 chapels, and a hospital with over 2000 beds.
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| Enlisted men in Mess Hall, Italy, 1944, Army photo |
With mess halls arranged by way of barracks, enlisted troops regularly ate with
bunk-mates and company colleagues. They collected food and
milk cafeteria-style and then ate together at long tables.
When John Edward was finally able to write, he had
been in the hospital for three weeks.
He explained that the incident had been investigated and
found to be an "accident."
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| John Edward letter to family, December 20-23, 1941, family scan |
ten days of minimal eyesight, it was quite the injury -- much as
he tried to play it down here and later in the letter.
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| John Edward letter to family, continued, December 20-23, 1941, family scan |
took several days to finish. This brought additional headaches and neck-aches.
of aspirin a day and 1 gram of codeine."
Which "did not cure the pain" (20 Dec).
And, even though this was the 21st day on his back, and he was
not yet allowed to sit, much less stand, John Edward insisted:
"I'm O.K."
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| John Edward letter to family continued, December 20-23, 1941, family scan |
who lived in a town near her. Writing to soldiers, as we have seen his mother did,
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| Uncle Sam WWI and WWII poster, National Archives |
was a common way for
people to support the troops.
"He's a swell guy, and we have
had some good 'bull sessions'
since I've been here.
He was a student at USC
[University of Southern California]
when Uncle Sam got him."
John Edward asked
his parents not to send
anything and reminded them
of the military's strict uniform protocol:
"What we can wear is at a minimum
and the government
furnishes most of that."
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| John Edward letter to family continued, December 20-23, 1941, family scan |
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| John Edward letter continued, December 20-23, 1941, family scan |
a few witty remarks regarding the ongoing problems with his mother's teeth.
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| John Edward letter continued, December 20-23, 1941, family scan |
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| John Edward letter continued, December 20-23, 1941, family scan |
It would be another eight days before the doctor gave permission to
get out of bed. In his January 2nd letter he added:
"Of course, I have been up (unofficially) a couple of times, but
no one knew about it. So having official sanction made it a happy occasion."
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| John Edward letter home, page 1, January 2, 1942, family scan |
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| John Edward letter home, page 2, January 2, 1942, family scan |
will not be sent until February, surgery may well have been performed.
Join us in the next post where the regiment
returns to Camp Blanding in Florida.
