On December 7, 1941, my father was 15 and my two uncles were 13 and 11 respectively. Like so many other Jesuit School boys growing up in Sagua La Grande, Cuba, they went to mass that Sunday and came home to eat Abuela Senda’s lunch. We’ve heard that her lunches were always delicious. They probably included some of that seafood that abuelo Silvio used to buy at the fish market. They got the news of the attack on the radio. It was one of those “breaking news” flashes that interrupted routine programming.
Cuba eventually declared war too. In fact, Cuba became a target of U-2 Subs because of the supply line to the US. Therefore, some Cuban merchants like “Santiago de Cuba” and “Libertad” were hit by German submarines! Our parents and grandparents lived through WW2, too! A
Ask your Cuban “abuelos” or “padres” about that day. They will tell you a story or two!
We discussed Pearl Harbor 1941 with military historian Barry Jacobsen.