For thousands of young American men, the bombing of Pearl Harbor was a call to action and adventure. Answering the nation's need for servicemen, they flooded into recruitment offices across the country to "join up."
So keen were they to defend their country, many underage boys lied about their age to meet the minimum age qualification of 18 years old, while others got parental consent to enlist at 17. Other hopeful enlistees admitted to memorizing the eye chart while waiting in line during the physical examination so that weak eyesight would not keep them out of the military. All felt a deep sense of duty and pride in answering America's call to arms.
Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society
Date: 1943
Identifer: location E448.21 p13
