Reflections/On Pearl Harbor

These are a series of reflections on moments in life, shared from time to time, through out the year.

7 December 2005

My sister asked my mother to reflect on Pear Harbor. My mother was living in Wichita, Kansas, where she was working at the Federal Land Bank. My father was serving as Vicar at Immanuel Lutheran Church. Later, after his graduation and ordination (1943) they moved to Los Angeles, California, where he served as an assistant pastor at Grace Church on Vernon Avenue. My mother's memories of rationing, etc., are from that LA period.

I was listening to the radio at the Gehrt home where I had a room. Daddy was at church. It was a Sunday afternoon and we were in Wichita. He came over after his meeting and we all were so shocked. My brothers didn't go in until they were drafted after the war was officially started. Uncle Jiggs really tried hard to get in and after several unsuccessful attempts, they finally took him. Daddy tried to enlist when we were in Los Angeles but they wouldn't take him in either Army or Navy because of his eyesight. Later on in the war, they took my cousin who had only l eye.

When I was pregnant with Mike, I would take the streetcar downtown LA to go to the Service Center to serve any Service men who came in to eat, relax, shower, etc. and from other countries, too. I remember some Cockneys coming and I could barely understand them.

We had food stamps for meat, and sugar. The markets had very little meat and we got mostly lamb but we managed. I remember in Ventura when the stores would get in a supply of Jello, sugar, flour, crisco, etc. we would line up to get what we could. The trouble was tho, that the servicemen overseas were not getting what they should. Some was going to the VIPs and the Black Market. Gas was rationed but Daddy had an A card which was a priority because he was a minister. He didn't abuse his use of it, tho. Those were trying times but it taught us all how to be thrifty and to think about our neighbors and their needs.

Everyone was patriotic and no protestors and not at all like what is going on with the wars that have followed. Uncle Jiggs was stationed in England but Uncle Edgar never got out of the States. Uncle Jiggs was a Staff Sgt. in the Army and Uncle Edgar in the Navy.

When we lived in Ventura, a member had a butcher shop and he always saw to it that we had meat and poultry and butter. Our Ojai members gave us grapes, oranges, avacodes, etc. and that helped our food budget a lot.

Reflections/On Pearl Harbor

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