DAY OF INFAMY, THE: WQXR DOCUMENTARY (RADIO)
Summary
This documentary presents a retrospective look at December 7, 1941. The program begins with a clip of President Franklin D. Roosevelt from the 1940 Presidential campaign announcing his intention to keep America out of war. A chronological look at the events leading up to Pearl Harbor is then recounted, including clips of both Wendell Wilkie and Roosevelt speaking out against war. The argument about war continued with clips of Roosevelt following his election and a clip of Charles Lindbergh arguing against intervention. The last few months before Pearl Harbor are then recounted, as tensions escalated on both sides of the Pacific. Then clips of the actual bombing are replayed, interrupting a football game. Other flashes and bulletins from December 7, 1941 are heard, including a clip from a reporter in Manila during an actual attack. The narrator then reviews the reactions to the attack from around the world, including the reaction of Eleanor Roosevelt in her Sunday night (December 7, 1941) program. She interviewed Corporal Jimmy Cannon (who later became a famous sports writer) about his feelings about America's preparation to fight. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is then heard in a clip about his pledge to declare war upon Japan as soon as Japan attacked the United States. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia of New York is heard giving a civilian defense lesson in a clip from December 8, 1941, and the full recording of President Roosevelt's declaration of war speech before congress is then played. The program concludes with a clip of General Douglas MacArthur accepting the Japanese surrender aboard the USS Missouri.
Details
- NETWORK: WQXR / NPR National Public Radio
- DATE: November 30, 1999
- RUNNING TIME: 0:37:42
- COLOR/B&W: N/A
- CATALOG ID: R:8400
- GENRE: Radio - Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Wendell Wilkie
- Charles A. Lindbergh
- Winston S. Churchill
- Eleanor Roosevelt
- Jimmy Cannon
- Fiorello LaGuardia
- Douglas MacArthur