The LuLac Edition #3083, December 7th, 2015

PEARL HARBOR @ 74

(Photo: wikipedia.com)

Today marks the 74th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
At 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time, a Japanese dive bomber bearing the red symbol of the Rising Sun of Japan on its wings appears out of the clouds above the island of Oahu. A swarm of 360 Japanese warplanes followed, descending on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in a ferocious assault. The surprise attack struck a critical blow against the U.S. Pacific fleet and drew the United States irrevocably into World War II.
The attack came as a profound shock to the American people and led directly to the American entry into World War II in both the Pacific and European theaters. The following day, December 8, the United States declared war on Japan.] Domestic support for non-interventionism, which had been fading since the fall of France in 1940, disappeared. Clandestine support of the United Kingdom (e.g., the Neutrality Patrol) was replaced by active alliance. Subsequent operations by the U.S. prompted Germany and Italy to declare war on the U.S. on December 11, which was reciprocated by the U.S. the same day.
The lack of any formal warning, particularly while negotiations were still apparently ongoing, led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to proclaim December 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy". Because the attack happened without a declaration of war and without explicit warning, the attack on Pearl Harbor was judged by the Tokyo Trials to be a war crime. (History.com, wikipedia)

SINATRA @ 100 COUNT DOWN

Sinatra being interviewed during the war. (Photo: Armed Services Radio Network).

Frank Sinatra did not serve in the Military during World War II.
During World War II, Frank Sinatra was being investigated by the FBI.
He had been rejected by the military, listed 4-F, because of his ear drum injury, which was a result of the forceps that pulled his 13 + pound body (by the head) out of his tiny mother. Mother and baby almost lost their lives that day.
He tried to enlist twice. When he was again rejected, he asked if he could have permission from the powers that be, to help in the war effort as an entertainer for the USO. Because of the FBI file, he was refused the special visa required.
The file was begun when Frank openly campaigned for President Franklin Roosevelt. The Right Wing press, strongly represented by the William Randolph Hearst Syndicate, (the man who's life is allegedly portrayed in Orson Welles' film, "Citizen Kane"), launched a bitter battle, in their massive forum, to discredit Frank. They were afraid of him because he seemed to wield a certain amount of power over young voters, and because he was capable of achieving an enormous amount of attention from the wire and radio services throughout the world.
Sinatra contributed to the war effort by selling bonds and entertaining the troops. In the 1940s Sinatra embarked on a solo career and became the idol of so-called bobby-soxers, teenage girls who swooned over his crooning, soft-voiced singing.
Here is one of his popular songs released during the war. (Sinatra family.com)