By: Matt Scher, matts@977thebolt.com
Humboldt Co., IA – 82 years ago today, the United States was attacked at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii by the Empire of Japan in a bombardment of naval and air forces which took the lives of 2,403 Americans and would give the country no choice, but to submerse itself completely into the throes of the Second World War.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed the nation the next day. “Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives: Yesterday, December 7th, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”
Iowa is approximately 4,000 miles away from Hawaii and even through that distance, there are several connections tying Humboldt County residents to that first Sunday in December of 1941.
Thanks to the Humboldt County Historical Museum through the use of Ancestry.com and historical newspapers, they have found a total of 10 men from the county that had a population of over 13,000 that were directly involved having been in port that day in Pearl Harbor.
- Ed Klein from the Livermore & St. Joseph area – USS Oklahoma
- Mads D. Madsen from Humboldt – in the Army; wounded during the attack
- Arnie Block from Renwick – on USS California
- Arthur Olson from Livermore – served in the Navy and was at Pearl Harbor; he was wounded in the battle of Midway
- Lawrence Frederickson from Bradgate – on USS Helena (Pearl Harbor Survivors Association)
- Lawrence E. Segur/Seger from Livermore – at Pearl Harbor – may have had shore duty and wasn’t assigned to a ship
- Kenneth Thorson from Thor – on USS Phoenix
- Oren Zeman from Livermore – served on USS Tracy
Two of the men serving died in the attack.
- William Sather – USS Arizona
- Edwin Odgard – USS Utah
An additional four men were stationed at Pearl Harbor, but were not in port that day.
- Sigurd Norem of Thor – he was supposed to be on the USS Downes but had been sent to San Diego for further training; he served on the USS Smith and was burned during a naval battle during the fall of 1942.
- James Gilchrist Jr. of Gilmore City – on USS Minneapolis which was at sea near Pearl Harbor for gunnery practice.
- Douglas DeGroote of Rutland – was on USS Indianapolis which was out to sea for gunnery practice that day.
- Paul Berrier of Humboldt – was on the USS Minneapolis which was at sea about 8 miles out for gunnery practice that day.