SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2016
5 A
M ILITARY H ERITAGE C HRONICLES —
The ‘Day of Infamy’ that reached Oregon
B Y C AL A PPLEBEE
Special to the Siuslaw News
M
ost people probably
know the basic story
and significance of
the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941: The
United States was still in a
mood of isolationism after
enduring the horrors of WWI
as well as the Great
Depression.
Most Americans didn’t want
to get embroiled in another
war which they felt, at that
moment in time, was only
Europe’s problem. But the
unprovoked attack on Japan
that day termed by President
Franklin Deleanor Roosevelt
as “The Day of Infamy”
changed that attitude — and
brought the United States into
the war.
Most Americans are also
well aware of the impact the
attack had on Hawaii specifi-
cally, and the United States as
a whole, but may not be aware
of its impact on the State of
Oregon — and the coast par-
ticularly as the war touched
the continental United States.
On the day of the attack in
Hawaii, more than 2,400
Americans were killed and
nearly 1,200 Americans were
wounded. On the USS
Arizona alone, 1,177 men
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were lost and remain interred
there.
In addition, 188 American
planes were destroyed, 159
American planes were dam-
aged and 18 ships were either
sunk or damaged.
Oregon suffered nearly 20
casualties that day. One of
those injured was Delmore
Sederstrom, a graduate of
Salem High School and
University of Oregon, who
was a U.S. Navy Ensign on
board the Oklahoma.
In 1943, the U.S. Navy hon-
ored Sederstrom by naming a
vessel after him — a destroyer
escort, the USS Sederstrom,
which served and survived the
balance of the war.
At the time of the attack, the
Willamette University football
team was in Hawaii for the
Shrine Bowl. While they were
anticipating a tour of the island
that morning following the
game, they ended up being
pressed into service stringing
barbed wire on Waikiki beach,
and eventually sentry duty.
Oregonians experienced
other events as a result of the
attack on Pearl Harbor in days
and years to come. With fears
of a West Coast invasion,
blackout practices and beach
patrols became daily routine
up and down the coast.
Eventually, the Japanese did
in fact attack the Oregon coast
in two locations, as well as
touch the interior of Oregon.
In June of 1942, a Japanese
submarine off the coast by
Astoria fired 17 rounds
towards Ft. Stevens. On-land
reports say that only some-
where between nine and 14 of
these shots reached shore.
While the attack caused
some damage to the base and
some minor injuries, there
were no deaths.
Later in the summer, in
September 1942, that same
Japanese submarine twice
launched seaplanes from a cat-
apult, hoping to drop incendi-
ary bombs in the lush Oregon
forest and create catastrophic
forest fires. While at least one
bomb was in fact dropped and
exploded on Mt. Emily near
Brookings, it caused little
damage due to the unusually
damp forest that year.
Towards the end of the war,
the Japanese employed a dif-
ferent tactic and started
launching high-altitude bal-
loons, hoping they would ride
the jet stream clear to the
United States.
Numerous balloons did so
and landed around the western
United States, with 45 reach-
ing Oregon.
On May 5, 1945, one bal-
loon landed east of Bly near
Klamath Falls, and exploded
after being discovered by a
church picnic group. The
explosion killed six
Oregonians, five of of whom
were children.
While the dastardly attack
on Pearl Harbor on that
December morning was nearly
2,600 miles away from the
Oregon coast line, it managed
to have numerous impacts on
Oregonians both then and in
the years to follow.
It also changed the land-
scape for Oregon as it geared
up for war-time production,
relocated Japanese nationals to
internment camps and strug-
gled with life on the home
front while many of its native
sons were off fighting the war
in the various theaters.
War-time funding became a
major effort in the United
States following America’s
entry into the war, and the
government’s “Build a Jeep”
campaign for schools demon-
strated how individual schools
could fundraise $733 — the
average price of a jeep — for
purchase and be delivered to a
military unit.
Over the years, the Oregon
Coast Military Heritage
Museum in Florence has
become home to multiple
WWII artifacts that are now on
display throughout the muse-
um.
As we remember a “Day
that lives in infamy, the public
is invited to visit the museum
Thursday through Saturday,
between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.,
on Kingwood Street, next to
the Florence Municipal
Airport.
To learn more about mili-
tary heritage in general, visit
the Oregon Coast Military
Heritage Museum online at
www.ocmhm.com.
KCST’s ‘Our Town’ to discuss Pearl Harbor, CASA
This week marks the obser-
vance of the 75th anniversary
of the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor that led directly to U.S.
involvement in World War II.
That crucial event has done
more, says historian and author
Craig Nelson, to shape modern
America than any other single
event. He calls the actions
taken by U.S. leaders as the
“defining moment of what
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75 years later
Pearl Harbor:
From Infamy to
Greatness
Featuring
Author and historian
historia n
Craig Nelson
Sponsored by:
Andy Baber, Edward Jones Investments
Holloway and Associates, CPAs
PeaceHealth, LCC Florence
The Archives, Photo Restoration Specialists
Siuslaw Public Library
Natalie Nagrone - Broker
Cell: 541-991-0531
Offi ce: 541-997-4842
natalienagrone@gmail.com
Florence, OR 97439
Keeping the Vision
America is today,” even, he
adds, “much more than July
Fourth.”
Nelson has written a book
about the events before the
attack, as well as the attack
itself and the aftermath, called
“Pearl Harbor: From Infamy to
Greatness.”
He will visit with Our Town
host Bob Sneddon this week to
talk about the three phases of
that defining time.
Our Town for December will
also feature a variety of other
conversations about things that
have an impact on our area.
Beginning the program will be
a brief conversation with Meg
Spencer. By day, she’s the
director of Siuslaw Public
Library, but she is also a
“vision keeper,” active in the
Siuslaw Pathways project that
is giving local residents a very
loud voice in how the area
grows and prospers.
Spencer will talk about what
she and the other Vision
Keepers are doing.
Also in the studio will be
Kathy Murphy, the manager of
Peace Harbor Home Care
Services. She will talk about
preparations for this weekend’s
Hospice Light Up a Life
remembrance and fund raiser
It’s a
set for Saturday afternoon at
the Florence Events Center.
Heather Murphy (no relation
to Kathy) is the executive
director of CASA of Lane
County. CASA is the acronym
for Court Appointed Special
Advocates, a group of individ-
uals who volunteer their time
to work with the court system
on behalf of children who
become involved with “the sys-
tem.”
Murphy said they may be
victims of abuse or crime, or
simply become wards of the
court because a caregiver or
guardian has been arrested or
charged with a crime.
The other segment on Our
Town this week will feature
Florence Area Chamber of
Commerce president Jenna
Bartlett and executive director
Bettina Hannigan.
Bartlett will talk about the
expansion of paid staff at the
Chamber in the past year to
include not only the executive
director, but also an “events
coordinator.”
Hannigan was hired five
months ago to fill part of the
role played by former execu-
tive Cal Applebee.
This edition of Our Town
airs today on KCST, FM 106.9,
between 4 and 6 p.m., then
again Thursday morning on
KCFM, AM1250-FM 104.1
from 10 a.m. to noon.
Siuslaw Vision Keeper
Meg Spencer
Court Appointed Special
Advocates
In Lane County
Executive Director
Heather Murphy
Peace Harbor Hospice
Light up a Life
Kathy Murphy
Florence Area Chamber
of Commerce
Executive Dir.
Bettina Hannigan
President Jenna Bartlett
Wednesday,
December 7
4-6 PM on
KCST, 106.9
and
Thursday,
December 8
10 - Noon on
KCFM
AM1250/FM 104.1
With Host
Bob Sneddon
Kind of
Christmas
Join us
Friday
December 9
7:00 pm to
9:00 pm
Merry Christmas
from:
Denyse, Shelby,
Trudie, Lalitha,
Melissa
Prize Drawings, Food,
Beverages, Live Dj,
Catering by Pop’s Smokehouse
and Good Times!
ENTRY FEE:
Bring a pair of warm
socks, underwear or
jammies to donate to
children in need.
Clothing sizes from
size 5 kids to
teen age sizes.
351 Laurel l
541-997-3160
97-3160
Tsunami
Conference
begins today at
FEC
Florence will be host to the
annual Oregon Tsunami
Conference, which opens
today at the Florence Events
Center. Preparations leaders
will discuss what is needed
for what would likely be a
devastating tsunami and
earthquake at some point
along the Oregon coastal
region.
The conference will con-
tinue Thursday.
The goal is to coordinate
state, county and local gov-
ernment agencies that would
be the first to respond in the
aftermath of an earthquake
along
the
Cascadia
Subduction Zone off the
Oregon Coast.
Speakers will include
retired geologist Dr. George
Priest, who identifyed the
risks posed by the 600-mile
long fault line that spans the
Oregon and Washington
coastlines.