[Mldxcc] December 7 1941

[Jettie Hill]

HI:

Yesterday I was thinking back on December 7, 65 years ago, and how propagation of radio signals can have an effect on all of us and our safety.

In those days I was working as a high speed radio operator for the Army (20 year old civilian).  For a week or so before the 7th we had been trying to send traffic to Hawaii, but they were unable to copy us (WVY) very well, so we had several hundred message punched out on tape, to send to them at 100 to 300 WPM.  That Sunday, the 7th, I received a phone call about 11 am, from the Presidio of San Francisco, to come to work as Pearl Harbor had been bombed, by Japan.  For some reason the frequencies cleared up and we were able to send the traffic at 200 wpm or better.  Whether conditions improved that fast or they decided they better copy the traffic, we didn't know.  Hawaii was always know as the Country Club, and we thought they were probably sunning on the beach instead of copying our traffic.  All of our operators at WVY were civilians and at WVH in Hawaii they were all military.  Anyway it will be one of the days that will stick in my memory.  

The minimum job requirements were 30 wpm by ear and 60 wpm by sight tape.  And I still like CW. hi  73,

Jettie B. Hill, W6RFF

American Radio Relay League
306  St. Charles Ct. Roseville, CA 95661-5008
916-783-0383