Students hear of fateful day firsthand

By James Gonser
Advertiser Staff Writer

The first Sunday in December 1941 began quietly for newlyweds Bill and Ruth Cope. The couple — married just 10 days — were sitting in bed reading the newspaper in their new quarters at Hickam Field.

Ruth and Bill Cope used video teleconferencing equipment to tell an American history class at Hoover High School in North Canton, Ohio, what it was like to witness the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor as newlyweds. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

The Copes had been married only 10 days when they heard the attack on Pearl Harbor outside their apartment at Hickam Field on Dec. 7, 1941. They are shown here the following month. Bill and Ruth Cope photo

"From the second story of our apartment, we could look down over the harbor, and we heard all these explosions going on," said Bill Cope, now 90.

"I said to Ruth, 'The Navy is sure practicing in close today.' Then I looked down and could see all the ships being blown up and burning, but I still didn't know who, what, where or why.

"Then one of the enemy planes came up over our quarters, and there is the rising sun on the fuselage," said Cope. At that moment, he realized they were under attack by the Japanese.

Yesterday, the couple — now married for 62 years — brought that day to life via video teleconference for students in an Ohio classroom thousands of miles away.

As part of their studies on World War II, history students from Hoover High School in North Canton, Ohio, listened to Cope's story about Dec. 7, 1941, as part of a new project linking Pearl Harbor survivors with students across the country.

"Witness to History" was developed by the Arizona Memorial Museum Association, the National Park Service and the Navy. Only two video conferences have been held so far, but expectations for the fledgling program are running high.

"Many of our young students may never have the opportunity to visit the USS Arizona Memorial in person, nor will they have the chance to speak with a Pearl Harbor attack survivor to gain a better understanding of the tragic and courageous events that took place Dec. 7, 1941," said Tom Shaw, executive director of the Arizona Memorial Museum Association.

"As our survivors get older and many pass on each year, it's become imperative that we share their oral histories with as many students as possible."

The museum association hopes to link survivors with 150 students a week by next year, and museum officials say interest is growing from survivors who want to speak to students from their hometowns, or schools their grandchildren or other family attend.

Michelle Bradley, video conferencing coordinator for the program, said the short-term goal is to reach one school a week until the program can be fully functioning next summer.

The association has launched a $12 million capital campaign to build a new Arizona Memorial visitors center, she said, to replace the current center, which is slowly sinking into the harbor. The new building will include an education center that will permanently house the program.

"The demand is out there for this type of distance-learning program," Bradley said.

After the teleconference, Ted Hall, coordinator of media service at Hoover High, said the effort had been a success and he hoped to expand it to include middle and elementary school students.

"It works very well," Hall said. "It makes history come alive."

Students asked the Copes how long it took for things to get back to normal after the attack, what they thought about films portraying the historic events, and the role that women played in the war.

Ruth, 87, said communications were cut off after the attack, and it took about a week to let family members know they had survived.

Bill said he liked the 1970 film "Tora! Tora! Tora!" better than the recent "Pearl Harbor" because it was more realistic.

After the attack, Ruth joined the Women's Air Raid Defense, an organization of young women and military wives who volunteered to staff the aircraft warning radar system in place of soldiers needed for duty on other Pacific islands.

Through her work, Ruth was able discreetly to keep track of the location and safety of Bill, who served as a bomber pilot.

Pete Hall, 17, a junior at Hoover High, said talking to the couple made what he had learned about the war much more real.

"It drew us closer to them," he said. "I have an interest in history, especially World War II. Sometime I would like to come there — it would be something nice to see Pearl Harbor."

Robert Kinzler, 81, a radio operator during the war, spoke to Hoover students yesterday before the Copes.

"They brought up one question which I am inevitably asked, which is, how do you compare Dec. 7 with Sept. 11?" Kinzler said.

"Both were a total surprise, unexpected and we were not prepared. But in 1941, you knew who your enemy was. September 11 you know it's terrorists, but from where?"

Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.