A Letter Home
Eckford deKay 1942
On Tuesday, December 9, 1941, two days after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Eckford deKay penned the following letter to his parents:
Dear Mother and Dad,
Japan’s attack on the US Sunday came as a sudden shock to all of us here, as it did to everyone throughout the country. The whole school met at 5:30 p.m. in Hard Auditorium. Mr. Lefferts spoke, then Father Hoffman, who had preached that morning in chapel, told some interesting stories. Father Hoffman, a monk, had been the head of a missionary society in Japan, and had returned only about six months ago.
Mr. Lefferts told us we would do nothing abnormal, except add several extra courses like Spherical Trigonometry, Typography (to prepare us for navigation), First Aid, Hygiene, International Relations, and Motors — which involves taking apart old cars that the school is buying. This seems very revolutionary for such a school as this!
Our masters have volunteered to watch for planes, going in two-hour shifts all night long, from the top of the chapel tower. It’s not going to be fun!
We all gathered at 12:15 to listen to President Roosevelt ask for a declaration of war. It was peculiar to read Sunday’s paper and see how obsolete the news had become already.
Your loving son,
Eckford
