Julia Harris discusses hearing about the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, when she was hosting a Republican Party event for a special congressional election at her home on the Grand Mesa. She describes finding out about the bombing from the radio and from a local telephone operator who called people in the region to inform them. She talks about younger relatives of hers who joined the Navy after Pearl Harbor, about the general absence...

Mrs. Rose Perry relates her son’s experience on the U.S.S. Helena, a Brooklyn-class light cruiser used by the U.S. Navy in the Pacific theater of World War II. The Helena was one of the cruisers attacked in Pearl Harbor, and was directly torpedoed by the Japanese. The Helena survived the attack and was assigned to assist in the Guadalcanal campaign. It helped to destroy several Japanese aircraft and battleships and contributed to American victories...