Before Pearl Harbor Anger and Awe Ripple Through Iowa
In early December 1941 Iowa residents react to the Pearl Harbor attack. Witnesses include Peggy Early in Traer hearing about Japan, and Navy-bound teens like John Fay in Iowa City. The piece recalls isolationist sentiment, wartime nerves, social life, and early mobilization hints across Cedar Rapids, Solon, and surrounding communities.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dale Kueter
Peggy
Benjamin Schwab
Ripley Congregational Church
Traer
Japan
Ernest
Pearl Harbor
John Fay
St. Patrick’s
Iowa City
Fay
Cosgrove High School
Navy
Shrader Rd
Zula Cacek
Lewis
Robert Quillen
Europe
U.S
England
Johnson County
Solon
New York Yankees
Brooklyn Dodgers
Iowa
Art Jarrett
Cedar Rapids
Greene Square
Robert E. Woodford
Regal Ave
Central City
Army National Guard
Camp Claiborne
Pearl Harbor Day Recalled in Iowa Stories of War Past
Residents recount December 7 1941 the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and its impact. Veterans and locals recall radio updates school reactions and the shift to a wartime mindset as the United States declared war on Japan.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pearl Harbor
Gazette
Verne Marshall
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Hirohito
Japan
Indochina
United States
Dick Feddersen
Locust Ridge Rd
North Liberty
Feddersen
California
Fedderson
Zula Cacek
Zula Oujiri
First St
Cedar Rapids
Collins Radio Co
35Th Street
Collins
Lewis
Hawaii
Harry Boyd
Britain
Fears of war spread before attack in Iowa 1941
The Gazette bannered Jap opposition on December 6 1941 as U S ships faced German submarine threats. Roosevelt urged readiness while Taft condemned escalation. Cedar Rapids led defense bond drives with Kate Smith on national radio and 73000 dollars in bonds sold in one day. Jaroslav Kosina aided bond sales via London broadcasts.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
National Guard
136Th Medical Regiment
Cedar Rapids
Camp Claiborne
The
Gazette
Garland L. Wetzel
Robert J. Abodeely
Dick H. Young
Robert A. Taft
Ohio
Roosevelt
Iowa
Kate Smith
Frank Hahn
George Wilson
Jaroslav Kosina
London
Europe
14 year old paperboy sells Pearl Harbor extra edition
Fourteen year old Ozzie Walker finished his Sunday rounds and listened as Pearl Harbor news broke on the radio. He rushed to The Gazette basement, picked up papers from Alex Fiddler, and sold about 200 extras for three cents each amid a downtown surge.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ozzie Walker
Pearl Harbor
Walker
Ninth Ave
Kiebel
The
Gazette
Alex Fiddler
Also Mentioned on This Page
Lowa
Dorothy Lewis
Ixtraordit
Nurs
Serplanes
Atield
Honolulu
NBC
Glenn Miller
Peggy Early
Peggy van Natta
Ninth St
Marion
Traer Public School
van Natta
Edward R. Morrow
John Ousiin
First Ave
F.D.R
Army
Mngton
Japanone
Bruiigton
INS
Town Inntas
U. S
the United States
Harbor Naval
Becki Banes
Churchill
Teiichi Suzuki
Cabinet Planning Board
Czechoslovakia
Poland
France
Bulgaria
Yugoslavia
Greece
Moscow
Cambodia
Thailand
Hitler
Panama Canal
Central America
America
Congress
Singapore
Philippines
Guam
Burma
British Borneo
Hong Kong
Luzon
Germany
Wake Island
Malaya
Shanghai
Midway
Immaculate Conception Church
Herman Kiebel
Orville Walker
Edwin Romme
North
Africa
Adolf Hitler
Douglas MacArthur
Manila
Bataan
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!