WWII... The Way It Was...
Darke County, Ohio Man Sent first Message of Pearl Harbor Attack 
November 2m, 2011 

Saturday, November 12, 2011, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM: The Garst Museum Greenville, Ohio will host a tribute to WWII veterans and their families with an interactive, reenacted tour through the GI Experience of WWII. 

The Museum has an extensive military collection, one of which tells the story of Darke County’s own Karl Boyer in 1941 when he was on duty at the telegrapher’s station on Wailupe Island Naval Station. 

Telegraph communication was used for intra-island correspondence. Only a few minutes into the start of his duty at 8:00 am on December 7, 1941, the telegraph keys began to click in rapid Morse code. The message from the radioman at the Marine Air Base at Kaneohe, some twenty miles northeast across the island of Oahu from Pearl Harbor was hard to believe. It said, “We’re being bombed and strafed; we’re under attack!” 

Boyer, then 24 years old, thought it was a joke and reacted accordingly. He shot back, “Go back to bed, sober up.” The quick and frantic return message said, “This is no drill! This is for real!” 

Boyer took the message to his chief, who was looking out the observation window down coast toward Pearl Harbor. They could see planes beginning bombing runs. They assumed they were Army planes until they saw the smoke from the trapped ships in the harbor. The chief had just realized what was really happening when Boyer walked up with the message from Kaneohe. “Get on the line to Washington,” the chief snapped, “don’t bother to code it.” 

The message from Boyer to the Washington defense headquarters read, “Air raid on Pearl Harbor. This is no drill!” Over 2,300 American servicemen were killed in the attack and battle at Pearl Harbor. 

Admission to World War II: The Way It Was event is free. However, regular admission will apply to tour the rest of the museum. World War II: The Way It Was will be hosted in the Lowell Thomas Meeting Room at the Garst Museum. 

Any veteran who brings a photo showing them in uniform will receive free admission for themselves and their immediate family to tour the entire museum! 

Support for this event comes from the Stephen’s Foundation.

The Garst Museum is located at:

205 N. Broadway, Greenville, OH 45331

937-548-5250

web site: www.garstmuseum.org

email: information@garstmuseum.org