USS Shaw at Pearl Harbor. Defense Department Photo.
Today marks the 74th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. A total of 2403 Americans were killed and 1178 were wounded. Eighteen ships, including five battleships, were sunk or run aground. Most Americans learned of the attack by radio. The first announcement was made by CBS’s John Charles Daly, at about 2:35 PM Eastern Time. That first announcement was never recorded.
The following recording, from Minneapolis station WCCO, apparently starts at about 2:30 Central Time, 3:30 Eastern Time with an announcement of the attack at the conclusion of the New York Philharmonic concert. The concert had started at 3:00 Eastern Time.
You’ve probably heard an announcement breaking into a symphony mid-note, with the words: “We interrupt this program to bring you a special news bulletin. The Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by air.” This was actually from a record produced by CBS in 1948. The first sentence of the announcement was apparently recorded in 1948. The second sentence came from an actual broadcast later in the day. You can hear the original at this link. You can hear the 1948 recording at 26:50 of this video:
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