"A Date That Will Live In Infamy" The Attack on Pearl Harbor

There are few events that changed the U.S. like December 7

"Yesterday, December 7, 1941— a date which will live in infamy— the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." Those words meant the United States would be at war. A conflict that saw over 20 million soldiers die and over 50 million civilians perish.

Yes, that was the famous statement From President Franklin Roosevelt when he was describing the attack on Pearl Harbor to the people of the United States. But thousand of military personnel had to do the same communicating with their families.

Local residents, Vince & Kerri Lucido, shared a letter with our staff back in 2015. It was from from "Uncle RJ" to his niece Mary Eunice with his first-hand account of what happened on this horrible day. As you can tell from reading the letter, RJ was stationed at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

We want to thank the Lucido's for sharing such a personal document and we post it in it entirety so that future generations can read the impact such an event had on families across the Country.

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THE ALABAMA GULF COAST PLAYED A BIG ROLE IN WWII

Barin Field was an auxiliary training center for the Navy’s Pensacola Air Station. The field had a major impact on Foley.

The town had a population of less than 900 in the 1940 census. In Barin Field’s first 24 months of operations, 5,795 students were entered in the field log. By 1945, 1,886 enlisted personnel and 165 officers were assigned to the field.

Barin Field was closed in 1947, but was reactivated as a base during the Korean Conflict and remains in use as a Navy practice site.