Remembering Pearl Harbor Day

Somehow we all seem to remember a particular day however long ago, if the day links with some vital event. My memory of Dec. 7, 1941, is crystal-clear in my mind because of the following:

On Dec. 1, 1941, my unit, Battery E of the 65th Coast Artillery Regiment left Camp Haan, Calif. Our mission--defend Santa Monica’s aircraft factories.

The brass concealed our battery command post in the Santa Monica city dump amid smelly burning rubbish. You would never recognize it today. A neat tract of homes now occupy our former hide-out.

That’s where I stood on the fateful day. And that’s where I heard the evening news. “A day of infamy” said President Franklin D. Roosevelt. So the tiny squeaky radio announced the surprise Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor.

I still recall the tall weeds and the burning garbage and the President’s voice. I also remember vividly the words of 1st Sgt. Joseph J. Budinsky: “Watch out for them (Japanese) paratroopers!” (In January, 1945, Capt. Budinsky died in the Battle of the Bulge.)

Yes, I remember Dec. 7, 1941, and the appalling irony of all war . . . during the first two weeks we didn’t have enough ammunition for more than two minutes of firing. May Los Angeles never again be exposed.

MARK DeSTEFANO

Los Alamitos