World War II – Page 2 – WWII Interviews

The Japanese Spy Who Predestined the Fate of Pearl Harbor

by Denise FrisinoAir Force, Armed Forces, Army, Navy, Pearl Harbor, World War II January 10, 2024January 9, 20242 Comments

As the 353 Japanese aircraft rained death and destruction across the Island of Oahu, Takeo Yoshikawa, using his alias of vice-counsel Tadashi Morimura, was hurriedly burning his implicating files inside the Japanese Consulate on Nuuanu Avenue. The 13,400-square-foot grounds of the Japanese consulate, in a well-to-do neighborhood, displayed a gold imperial chrysanthemum crest outside the …

December 7th 1941

by Denise FrisinoArmed Forces, Pearl Harbor, World War II December 5, 2023December 5, 2023Comments are Disabled

“I don’t talk about it much.” Dr. Dan Raleigh spoke softly, his voice mellowed by his 97 years, when I first interviewed him in 2015. “Not many people are alive anymore when it happened.” The “it” Raleigh refers to so humbly was Pearl Harbor Day. On the morning of December 7, 1941, he had just …

Where Is Pearl Harbor?

by Denise FrisinoPearl Harbor, World War II November 28, 2023November 28, 2023Comments are Disabled

Across the nation that unforgettable Sunday, as the news of the Japanese early morning attack blared from the radios, and later some of the photos appeared in newspapers, the grim reality of the devastating death and destruction came to be realized. But where was this Pearl Harbor? Over the years, when interviewing WWII veterans, one …

Veteran’s Day – A Time To Give Thanks

by Denise FrisinoAir Force, Armed Forces, Army, Marines, Military, Navy, U.S. Army Nurse Corps, USCG, Veterans Day, World War II November 9, 2023November 7, 2023No Comments

Veteran’s Day – A Time To Give Thanks You might not recognize them walking the street, sitting beside them in at a church service, or quietly reading in a retirement home. A veteran’s response to duty is their own story, sometimes shared, other times very private. Yet, their sacrifices provided us our freedom.Veteran’s Day is …

The Ni’ihau Incident – A Small Battle with a Big Impact that Continued in Hawaii for 7 days after Pearl Harbor

by Denise FrisinoArmed Forces, Pearl Harbor, World War II October 17, 2023October 10, 2023No Comments

The Ni’ihau Incident – A Small Battle with a Big Impact that Continued in Hawaii for 7 days after Pearl Harbor While America pushed for isolationism after WWI, Japan pushed for their imperial expansionism under their goal of creating a Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. These ideals would collide when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor …

DON’T BE A SPARE – BE A SPAR

by Denise FrisinoArmed Forces, USCG, World War II August 3, 2023August 1, 2023No Comments

During World War II, when women stepped forward to serve, a new branch of the military was born, the SPAR. The motto for the U.S. Coast Guard, Semper Paratus, is the Latin term for always ready. The ingenious Dorothy C. Stratton, who took leave from the faculty at Purdue University to first serve as a …

Victory Mail

by Denise FrisinoAir Force, Armed Forces, Army, Marines, Military, Navy, U.S. Army Nurse Corps, USCG, World War II July 3, 2023June 29, 2023No Comments

Victory Mail Keeping Loved Ones Connected During WWII In this modern day of instant connectivity via email, text, twitter, Tik Tok, Facebook, Facetime, etc. it is hard to envision what it would have been like to wait weeks, even months, to hear from your loved ones or to receive news from back home. WWII had …

Rationing – a Fair Share for All of Us

by Denise FrisinoArmed Forces, World War II June 20, 2023June 15, 20233 Comments

Memorial Day

by Denise FrisinoAir Force, Armed Forces, Army, Marines, Memorial Day, Military, Navy, U.S. Army Nurse Corps, USCG, World War II May 24, 2023May 23, 2023No Comments

While the debate on when and where the first Decoration Day/Memorial Day was held in America still rages, one fact remains–the day set aside to honor and remember those fallen in battle, those who bravely fought for our freedom, was originally the concept of women. The custom of decorating the graves of soldiers harkens back …