It happened on a Sunday.
Seventy-five years ago on Sunday, Dec. 7, Japan dropped bombs onto Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. America lost 2,403 lives because of it. The event marked a profound moment in our country's history, and in Denver's.
The Rocky Mountain News had already printed and delivered the Sunday paper. At the bottom of the front page is a headline in smaller print. It reads, "Japs Hint They're Ready to Abandon Peace Efforts." You'll find it next to to the "Overalls to Replace Skirts" and "Should D.U. Quit Big Seven?" articles, and a reminder that there are 15 shopping days until Christmas.
Rocky Mountain News: Dec 7, 1941 by Erin Powell on Scribd
And on a Monday, in large bold letters across the page, "U.S. Congress Meets Today To Enter Second World War."
The paper cost 3 cents extra that day - five cents, if you lived outside of the Denver area.
Under the headline are bullet points: "United States Congress today may take the full plunge into World War No. 2 by declaring war on Japan and her Axis allies," it says, and, "Germany expected to declare war on U.S. within hours."
Readers also found an alert for anyone watching TV in Denver. All of your stations would be airing President Roosevelt's speech tomorrow.
Not until page 3 of that paper is "Denver" mentioned in a headline. The men of the local FBI office were on standby, waiting to hear if they would have to "round up Japanese aliens" like other cities. Agents were on 24-hour standby to tighten security at local factories and transportation facilities.
Rocky Mountain News: December 8, 1941 by Erin Powell on Scribd
Researchers at History Colorado say they noticed something looking at these papers. Prior to Pearl Harbor, the first page or two of the Rocky Mountain news would be mostly filled by war news. The rest was local news, ads and public interest stories.
After Pearl Harbor, world and national headlines took up the first five to six pages, and public interest stories tended to include something about the war. Perhaps about a family who has loved ones in a war zone, or FDR pushing to expand the workweek.
Papers courtesy of History Colorado
