James F. Lee > Quotes

“Patricia saw the Arizona explode, sending dozens of sailors’ bodies through the air.  The 14-year-old helped terribly burned seamen as they crawled from the water onto her sloped lawn into the shelter of the basement of her house, despite Japanese planes flying overhead.[175]  The house was built over an old gun emplacement, and the basement was affectionately known as the dungeon.”
― James F. Lee, SAFE PASSAGE: The Civilian Evacuation from Hawaii after Pearl Harbor

“The Chronicle published passenger lists of the returnees, while The Examiner did not shrink from describing the casualties of war: They came back to the mainland yesterday, the maimed and the blinded – the first war casualties to arrive from Hawaii.  Convoyed transports brought them.  And brought to San Francisco and the Nation, the horror and full impact of Japan’s treacherous Pearl Harbor attack. They jammed the ship (sic) hospitals, overflowed into staterooms.              There were men hideously burned by explosions.  There were fracture cases.”
― James F. Lee, SAFE PASSAGE: The Civilian Evacuation from Hawaii after Pearl Harbor

“Would appreciate your convoying (sic) the following to Joe DiMaggio in the event the Yankees don’t pay more than $37,000: ‘We cordially invite you to try out with the 143rd Infantry, 36th Division.  The pay is only $21 a month but that’s better than nothing.  Please advise.  P.S. Why settle for yesterday’s salary?”
― James F. Lee, SAFE PASSAGE: The Civilian Evacuation from Hawaii after Pearl Harbor