The attack on Pearl Harbor could hardly elicit anything but bitter memories.
But for Margaret Wade, who was 6 years old and living in England at the time, Pearl Harbor changed what could have been a different ending to the war that began in Europe.
“I am not saying it was a good thing,” she said, “but it was a good thing for Europe that Pearl Harbor happened because up until that point, we were struggling. If America had not joined us, who knows what would have happened.”
Wade, a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2771 Ladies Auxiliary, and more than a dozen others raised the American flag at the Lenoir County Courthouse on Saturday, the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Her husband, Ervin Wade, VFW 2771 post commander, was 13 years old and playing ball at Lovitt Hines Recreation Center when he heard America had declared war.
He had two friends, now deceased, who survived Pearl Harbor.
“I just think about them all the time,” he said. “Raising and lowering the flag is something that we’ve been doing for many years down there at the courthouse. And I hope I’m still around and able to do it in the future.”
Herman McLawhorn, a member of the VFW Post 2771, had a brother and first cousin who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor.
McLawhorn was 12 years old when he heard about the attack at about 2 p.m. Eastern time.
“Of course having kinfolk there, we were very, very concerned,” he said. “We did not hear from either of them for about a month, and it was just a very short letter saying, ‘I’m all right. Been very busy. See you later.’ So, it’s personal to me.”
McLawhorn visited Hawaii in 2003 and saw the indentation marks on the outside of the Schofield Barracks building from Japanese machine guns fired from aircraft.
“It was very emotional,” he said.
The father of Eric Cantu, another member of VFW Post 2771, served in the South Pacific.
“I think about all those guys that go back to the greatest generation of what caused our country to be so great,” he said, “because at that time of Pearl Harbor, our country united together behind each other and supported the cause for American Freedom.”
Cantu said the World War II generation led to strong patriotism that was lost during Vietnam, but has been renewed for the new generation through the efforts of today’s veteran’s posts.
“I don’t think that our society today,” he said, “would be as capable of dealing with this society’s life if it hadn’t been for the men and the women of the military that preceded me and my generation to give us the hope, to give us the desire, to continue our country on. … We are bringing patriotism back to our children and to our grandchildren so that maybe they can understand the sacrifices that were made before us.”
Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MargaretFishr.
