11.+Reactions+to+Pearl+Harbo

http://www-tc.pbs.org/thewar/images/objects/large/S3325.jpg I was sitting on my back porch with a friend, we were just talking and drinking our tea when we heard the distant exlosion. We were both shocked, and confused. Was the Navy running drills? Then in a burst of fear and excitement my friend Frank called out "look out there!" My jaw dropped as I saw the planes heading towards Pearl Harbor. Was this really an attack? Did the Navy have any chance to defend themselves? All these questions fluttered through my mind at once that i almost didnt hear Frank yell to me to get in teh car. We drove as fast as we could towards the harbor, the whole time we could hear bombs exploding in the distance. As we reached a cliffside over looking the harbor, I was horrified. The Japanese planes were destroying the ships, many were already sunk and others were getting hit every second. Frank and I watched the whole attack which only lasted about two hours. We drove home angry, and upset. The following day President Roosevelt got congress to declare war on Japan. It was a surprise how everybody who wanted to stay out of the war all of a sudden were supporting the war and wanted to bring Japan down. Everyone was so angry, people began to deny Japanese-Americans the rights to enter their facilities just because they were Japanese. Others were sent away to camp. It was a complete change of mind in America. Just as isolationist senator Burton Wheeler stated "The only thing now to do is to lick the hell out of them."(__The Americans__ pg557) I was upset and angry as well, looking back, I think that my attitude towards the Japanese was innexcusable.

Monk, Linda R. Ordinary Americans, Close Up Foundation, 1997. Danzer, Gerald A. et. al. __The Americans__. Illinois: McDougal Littell inc. 2003