I interviewed Earl Harris. He is the grandfather to my girlfriend Miranda Zender. When I asked Earl what he did during the war years, he said, “Well I graduated from Mount Baker High School on the 28th of May, and seven days later I was drafted into the Army.” He tried to join the Marines, but he had one more year left of school so they simply said no.
When I asked Earl about his reaction to the bombing on Pearl Harbor, he said well most likely the same as a lot of people shock and awe. He said “when that happened right then and their, I knew that I was going to be drafted into the war.
When I asked Earl how the war affected him? The only thing that he said was “We just lived, that was all you could do.” Earl’s opinion is that the dropping of the atom bomb was actually a good thing. The reason why is because it shortened the war for a lot of people who were scared for their lives. In 1942 Earl said that "there were people who were digging foxholes down their in Wickersham."
When I asked Earl if he had a lasting memory from the war? He said well I had many of them but I have a good one for you. He told me that whenever someone messed up when they were in Korea, Earl said “they had to dig a 6 by 6ft hole and when they were done their staff sergeant would throw the butt of the cigarette he was smoking into the hole. Then tell the soldier to back fill all the dirt back into the hole, and then ask him what brand was my cigarette butt? If the soldier said I don’t know the sergeant would make him dig the hole again and find out. Earl’s Quote “it did not make you a better man.”
Then we were just sitting there talking, and he told me about Wickersham (where he lives) in the church there was a booth for someone to sit and look out for planes. There would be a book with nothing but all the planes that were around at that time. The reason why is because if they heard a plane go by they would have to look in the book for the type of the plane, and look for what direction it was going, and how high the plane was (if they could tell). Once they had all the information they would call down to headquarters (Bellingham).
By: RoGeR uLrIcH