My great grandfather Wyatt Paul Gillespie died on February 19, 1941.

The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941.

Gilbert Gillespie was 27; his wife was 24.

They had a 4 year old daughter and a 1 year old son.  What were the thoughts that ran through their heads on that morning when they heard the news?  What was it like to live through those days when the outcome was not known?  What did you think when you picked up the paper or listened to the radio?

My dad who was almost 5 by the end of the war had memories of black outs.  And his first memory was standing at a meat counter listening to his Dad talk to the butcher and saying that they shouldn’t change horses in midstream, talking about reelecting FDR.

Gilbert and Judy sitting on the porch, possibly their rented home on 532 Taylor Street in Lexington, Virginia. They year is 1942, and looks to be summer.

They look happy enough.  But what was life like that summer of 42?