Delta Kappa Epsilon - University of Alabama

6 Delta Kappa Epsilon D ecember 7 marks the 75th anniversary of the Japanese surprise attack on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, at dawn on December 7, 1941. World War II had then been underway in Europe for over two years, but American public opinion was as bitterly and evenly divided then as it seems to be today, and America sat on the sidelines as war raged overseas. In the Pacific, an increasingly belligerent and militaristic Japan was determined to supplant the United States as the dominant force in the Pacific Rim. All reluctance on the part of the American public to get directly involved in the war ended on that fateful Sunday morning, as news emerged of the unilateral Japanese attack, in which 19 U. S. Navy ships were sunk or damaged, including seven battleships, and 2,403 Americans were killed. This was the deadliest attack on American soil until the deadly terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Congress declared war on Japan the next day, and literally overnight, the entire nation converted to a war footing. Young men across the country immediately prepared for war, and the men of the Psi Chapter were certainly no exception. The idyllic life they had enjoyed at the "Mansion on the Hill" quickly changed in a big way. Some left the University almost immediately, others later, and some didn't come back alive. We can think of no better way to honor these brave and noble Deke brethren than to do so in their own words. We present to our readers a precious gem from that dark and distant time — a copy of the "War Issue" of Sighs of Psi, dated November 1942, which can be found on our Chapter website, uadke.org, under the "From the Historian" tab. This priceless issue of Sighs of Psi was issued eleven months after war was declared. A thorough reading of the entire "War Issue" is highly recommended. One Psi brother, George W. Yansey Jr., had already been killed in action, and two others, Barry Lyons Jr. and Sam Deighton '40, were missing in action. Be sure to read the "Letter from a Brother," written The 75th Anniversary of the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor and the Psi Dekes of the "Greatest Generation" Sailors stand among wrecked airplanes as they watch the explosion of the USS Shaw in the background in this iconic photo from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Dedication page from the "War Issue" Sighs of Psi, November 1942. FROM THE HISTORIAN

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