"The rumors were flying thick and fast, and you didnt know what to believe " (Audio interview, 24:27)
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Frank Thomas Oravecz
War: World War, 1939-1945 Branch: Army Unit: Battery E, 64th Coast Anti-aircraft Artillery (AAA) Service Location: Central Pacific; Pearl Harbor and Fort Shafter, Hawaii; Puget Sound, Washington Rank: Sergeant Place of Birth: WV
For Thomas Oravecz, enlisting in the Army provided a way out of the coal mines of West Virginia; serving in Hawaii offered the promise of balmy conditions and a chance to play baseball. Even as he saw Japanese planes flying overhead, it was unbelievable that his home for two years was under attack. The days turmoil didnt end there: reports circulated that the Japanese would return for another attack or invasion. Come nightfall, soldiers shot at anything that moved--including the mongooses rustling in the bushes.