Thursday, December 11, 1941
Man In The Street Reaction: Andrew E. Storer, age 45 years old, farmer, Alton, Kansas
“I heard neighbors talking, partyline conversations, meeting friends at the general store…some heard President Roosevelt on the radio as he spoke out about ‘the day of infamy’. Boys will be called up to fight just as I was in 1918. Back then, it was called The Great War…The World To End All Wars. Did the taste of it really end wars? No, now war is in Europe and the Pacific. County boys will respond with loyalty to the freedom of the Stars and Stripes. May God protect them!
Girl In The Street Reaction: Merna Mae Storer, age 17 years old, high school senior, Alton, Kansas
“The school hallways are buzzing with the voices of the boys who are enlisting after graduation. They greet each other with ‘See you in Tokyo!’ As for me, I have been planning on leaving the farm and heading to the state capital in Topeka. As this point, I do not know how war will affect my plans. I might be needed at my parents’ farm. Graduation is six months off so… How can I help? What will I be called to do?”
On this December day, the county citizens’ opinions, thoughts, and prayers varied. They listened to radios at home or at their neighbors hungry for news and reports. They trusted their national and state leaders to guide them forward into the unknown abyss of another war. Little did they know that it would end four years later with many county boys giving their lives for freedom.
Note: Andrew E. Storer is my grandfather who served in World War I. Merna Mae Storer is my mother who after high school worked at the State Capitol Building in Topeka. In that city, she would meet her future husband, Edward J. Slabik, who came for Army training in Topeka.
Once Upon A Lifetime: Tales And Vignettes Of My Ancestors 