Eighty-two years ago today, the United States was thrust into WWII when Japanese pilots attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
The so-called “date that will live in infamy” caused the deaths of 2,403 servicemen and women and injured 1,178 more.
169 aircraft and 3 ships were destroyed, and 159 aircraft and 16 more ships were damaged.
Lucy Redo of Two Rivers lived in California in 1941 and was on a plane with her husband when the attack happened.
“We were supposed to be up for an hour or something, and then they called us all in,” she recalled. “No longer could anybody do that because of the fear of what might happen.”
Redo, who celebrated her 100th birthday last month, recalled going out to dinner that night, but it was much darker than usual.
“There was a guy up on a light standard trying to turn the light off,” she explained. “We went into this restaurant, and they closed the curtains so no lights could be seen out there.”
This was being done out of fear of a follow-up attack on one of the nation’s most populous states.
Lucy Redo and her family celebrating her 100th birthday.
After the war was over and the U.S. declared victory, Redo said the lights were turned back on.
“It was so wonderful to see all the lights come on again,” she said with a smile. “It was like the Fourth of July because all the lights were gleaming.”
Redo was not just a spectator in the war effort.
She worked at a hospital in the Philippines, where she was able to see Bob Hope perform one of his many USO shows for the troops.
Click here to read more about Redo’s incredible life.
