John & Enid Slinzak Ft. Shafter

Even though I was not in the military, I too am a Pearl Harbor survivor. I lived in Honolulu with my parents, sister and brother.  There I met my husband, John, in 1939.  We dated for almost two years and were married on October 11, 1941, at Ft. Kamehamea, Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, by Father Patrick J. Ryan, who later became Chief of Chaplains in Washington, D.C.  We honeymooned on the big Island of Hawaii at the Kiluea Military Camp for ten days and on returning to Honolulu the end of October 1941, we could not find a place to live.  So, my parents suggested we move in with them until we were able to get a place of our own.  We moved in with my parents on December 6, 1941, and that night the four of us went to downtown Honolulu to do Christmas shopping.  The town was packed with service people.  Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, my husband and I were in bed sleeping.  We could hear gunfire in the distance.  My mother came in and awakened us telling us we were being attacked by the Japanese.  My husband, John, immediately left for Ft. Shafter where he was stationed in the 9th Signal Service Company as a 2nd Lieutenant.  I did not see or hear from John for three full days, and when I did, it was very brief, as he was busy with his men working, moving and installing communications at the Ala Moana Command Post. Civilians were told to stay off the streets and in their houses, unless they had official business, and to keep their radios on full blast.  That night, and throughout the war, we went into total blackout.  Any lights showing would be shot out and those not complying would suffer the consequences.  All headlights on cars were painted blue.  On the radio, we were told there were men in blue suits landing in parachutes.  There was a 10:00 p.m. curfew for everyone on the island unless they were out on official business.  All civilians were issued a gas mask.  People complied and did all they could to help during this time of war. Later, John was transferred to Saipan where he was awarded the Bronze Star medal for setting up communication lines behind enemy lines.  John retired from the US Army on April 30, 1958, after 20 years of service. Our military lineage has continued on over the years with our son, John Philip Slinzak, serving in the US Navy with the underwater demolition team for 2 years; one of our grandsons, Matthew K. Coffey, serving in the US Army for 4 years and two of our other grandsons are currently in the service, Capt. William P. Coffey, US Air Force and Capt. Daniel K. Coffey, US Army. John passed away on September 30, 2000.  His remains are buried at the National Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City, Nevada. In retrospect, it may be of interest to know the complete story on how my husband, John, got into the military and the events leading to December 7, 1941. John was born at home in South Fork, a coal-mining town, in Pennsylvania.  His parents were Polish immigrants.  John was one of six children.  He went to school where a number of grades were taught in the same room at the same time.  It was difficult to be able to stay in school to graduate from high school as boys were expected to help out the family by going to work in the coal mine rather than go to high school.  After John graduated from high school, he went to work in the coal mine with his father.  That did not work out as John soon developed water on the knee (at that time men went down into the ground a mile or two and worked on their knees digging and picking out coal.) John then went to an electric school that his father had bought and never used and he passed it onto John.  John finished the schooling in a matter of weeks with flying colors.  Times were tough and work could not be found, so John went to New York to stay with friends of the family in hope of finding work.  No luck, so John tried to join the Army.  Because he was under age, the Army told John he would have to go back home and get his father's permission and signature to join the Army.  In those days, young men would join the Army and then decide they didn't like it and would get their father's to buy them out of the service.  Finally, after much arguing, John's father signed reluctantly. John went into the Infantry, US Army, as a buck Private making $20.75 a month.  As soon as the Army learned that John had gone to an electric school and passed, they gave John a disassembled teletype machine to put back together in operating form.  This he did, which got him transferred into the Signal Corps. US Army, and they sent him to Hawaii by boat and by way of Panama.  John was on the water for 26 days.  He arrived in Hawaii in 1938 and the Army gave John a job of maintaining and teaching teletype. In those days, military men only worked 3 hours a day and the airlines were badly in need of a teletype man.  John was called upon to do this.  John's commanding officer had no objections as long as John did this on his own time.  It provided John with a handsome sum of money in addition to his $20.75. I met John in 1939, on a blind date, when my family first moved to Honolulu.  After a while John made corporal, then acting sergeant.  At that time, enlisted men were not permitted to marry without their commanding officer's permission.  That's when John decided to become an officer, so he applied, took the courses and schooling, and became a 2nd lieutenant.  I do not recall the exact date when he became an officer.  I believe it was in July or August of 1941, as we were married on October 11, 1941. At that time, enlisted men were not allowed to fraternize with the officers (I think it is still frowned upon?)  But since John had just went from enlisted to officer rank, all our friends were enlisted plus officer friends, and so John was granted permission to invite our enlisted friends along with the ladies and officer friends to our wedding and reception. Our reception was held at the "Round House" officer's club at Ft. Shafter.  We had a 26-piece band from Schofield Barracks.  It was the social event of the year, lasting until 5:00 am, the next morning.  Only 56 days laterDecember 7, 1941.

Information provided by Enid Slinzak