70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor - and a love story
Published: December 7, 2011
WASHINGTON -- Seventy years ago today, on Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and drew America into WWII. But for one couple, a date of infamy for the country was also a date of love.
From the Facebook page of filmmaker Lee Whitman:
On this date in history my grandfather, Dale Whitman, went on his first date with a beautiful girl named Betty Nelle. He was so taken with her that upon arriving home he woke his mother to inform her that, "he had found the girl he was going to marry."
"That's nice, dear." His mother replied. "The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. We're at war."
Dale and Betty ended up getting married and having seven kids.
Important anniversaries like this one bring about commemoration ceremonies with wreaths and VIP speakers, but personal recollections of "what I was doing that day" shared from one generation to the next are another way to remember.
