Remembering Pearl Harbor

By: Chloe Snow

“A Date Which Will Live In Infamy” (Library of Congress)

On Dec. 7, 1941, the front page of The Daily Tar Heel featured a jolting headline that neither North Carolinans nor the rest of the country expected (Daily Tar Heel). Beginning at 7:55 a.m. local time, the first Japanese dive-bomber appeared over Pearl Harbor, and the attacks persisted until after 9:00 a.m. when the Japanese withdrew (Britannica). 

Mrs. A.F. Hobbs of 323 Pearl St. and Mrs. Nannie H. Bobbit of Route 1, both of Rocky Mount, North Carolina may have listened intently to their radios on Dec. 8, 1941, as Pres. Franklin Roosevelt addressed the nation. Then, they may have thought about their sons, both stationed at Pearl Harbor, agonizing over the what ifs. What if their sons did not come home? 

Across the country, a young wife, Mrs. Ingling, and her baby daughter were stationed at Pearl Harbor along with Mrs. Ingling’s husband. As the bombs fell, she may have clung to her baby as she ran and as she watched her husband leap into action. She would not hear from him for days. We can say that the Christmas season of 1941 was one of grief, of waiting, and of uncertainty. 

However, on Dec. 26, 1941, The Rocky Mount Telegram featured a brief note with the headline “Kornegay Bobbitt Safe at Pearl Harbor.” Mrs. Bobbitt received a letter from her son, according to the report, saying that he was alive and well, yet this 19 days after the attack, 19 days that Mrs. Bobbitt had to wait. 

On Dec. 29, 1941, The Rocky Mount Telegram reported that another son had written home. “Robert Hobbs Well at Pearl Harbor.” Mrs. A.F. Hobbs reported that her son was well and in fine spirits. The note proceeds to say that the letter was the first word she had heard from Robert since the bombing. 

As for Mrs. Ingling and Betsy Jane, their experience was more personal. On April 2, 1942, The Elkin Tribune featured Mrs. Ingling and her daughter on the first page. The headline “Mother, Daughter See Pearl Harbor Attack”  Mrs. Ingling had traveled from Honolulu to Elkin, North Carolina to visit her sister, and while in Elking, The Tribune received this very interesting story. Mrs. Ingling says that at first, she thought the noise of the bombs was U.S. Naval guns, and when both she and her husband realized the peril, they ran through a hail of death and destruction, according to the account, to ship. She did not hear from him until the following Wednesday (The Elkin Tribune).  

On Dec. 7, 2024, we mark 83 years since that infamous day. Most were not as lucky as Kornegay Bobbitt, Robert Hobbs, Lieutenant Ingling or Mrs. Ingling and Betsy Jane. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, more than 3,500 American soldiers and civilians lost their lives (Department of Defense). 

May the enduring relevance of Pearl Harbor, and one of the greatest war efforts of our time, be remembered throughout the holiday season as we wait patiently for the coming year and as we stay present with our loved ones. As these women show, we just never know when it will be the last time we hear from those we love.

Photo Credit: Waikiki Adventures