December 7th 1941 Dad's story

I asked Dad what he was doing on this day December 7, 1941 and he said he was laying in bed it was early Sunday morning and had been working in Philadelphia in a funeral home working towards his degree as a Funeral Director. He had turned the radio on and heard the news- shortly after that terrible day he was drafted within that next year. He did his basic training outside of Philadelphia for six weeks then he was stationed on the docks in Baltimore. Finally, he did get his orders to go to the Philippine Islands where he was setting up telephone wires he worked in the area where people answered the Telephone he was a switchboard operator. Because his eyesight was poor, he was classified as a noncombat Army soldier. He also told a story about the time in Baltimore when he was to be guarding a warehouse unfortunately for him he fell asleep on his watch. For this watch he was given a rifle although he was never trained to shoot a gun. As the night went on, he fell asleep and as a matter of course while his Sergeant was making his rounds he happened upon my Dad and seeing he was asleep he took, his gun. The Sergeant then roused Dad -who was petrified. He should have been in big trouble first for sleeping on duty and then for losing his fire arm but it turned out that the Sergeant was teaching Dad a lesson did not press any charges and they remained friends going on to serve together on the Philippine Islands.