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        Whenever I hear “Pearl Harbor” mentioned, regardless of the reason, my thoughts go back to what happened in this nation’s history on Dec. 7, 1941, and the Japanese sneak attack on that day that launched this nation into World War II.
     When I became editor and publisher of the Decatur Tribune in 1969, local men who had been stationed at Pearl Harbor when the attack happened, and survived, were still relatively young.
Obviously, 1969 was only 28 years after the attack so the local survivors were in their late 40s or early 50s.
     The two survivors I talked with about their experiences at Pearl Harbor on that Day of Infamy, have since passed away, but each year as Dec. 7th approaches I think back to what they told me and how the experience impacted their lives.
     For many years, they were reluctant to talk about what they experienced on that awful day, but, as I talked with them one-on-one in the privacy of my office, memories started being revealed that gave me a glimpse at how life-altering their experiences had been for them.
     They came back home after they had completed their service to our nation, found careers and again became residents of Decatur.
     However, they were more than residents of this community — what they experienced on Dec. 7, 1941, and after, would be with them for the rest of their lives.
     Pearl Harbor survivors Glen Wolf and James T. Slade were the two men I interviewed about their experiences on that day so many years earlier.
     Glen Wolf was more open about what he saw and experienced while James T, Slade was more reserved in our interview — and it appeared to me that it was still something that he was somewhat hesitant to talk about in any great length.
     Several years after I had interviewed him, Slade talked with Decatur Tribune Feature Writer Michael C. Tirpak about his experiences, and some of what Tirpak wrote for the Tribune is on page 5 of this edition.
     Slade passed away in 2003 and Wolf passed away in 2007.
     Since I interviewed both men many decades ago, another attack on our nation took place on Sept. 11, 2001 and Americans remember that day vividly.
     Since James T. Slade and Glen Wolf were both alive when 9/11 happened, I wonder if the attack, and the nation’s response to it, stirred some memories of Dec. 7, 1941.

     • ONE additional note of interest (at least to me) about Pearl Harbor is that my dad, Sam Osborne, served in the navy and his ship, the USS Idaho was stationed at Pearl Harbor for a time.
     Fortunately, dad was there during the 1930s before the attack took place in 1941.
Dad never talked much about his time in the navy except his reaction the first time those big guns on the Idaho were fired.
     He said he was below deck when the guns were fired in a training exercise and it felt like the ship had been picked up and thrown back into the water!
     The USS Idaho, was launched in 1917 and commissioned in 1919. According to published information on the Idaho, “The Idaho spent most of the 1920s and 1930s in the Pacific Fleet, where she conducted routine training exercises. Like her sister ships, she was modernized in the early 1930s. In mid-1941, before the United States entered World War II, Idaho and her sisters were sent to join the Neutrality Patrols that protected American shipping during the Battle of the Atlantic. After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Idaho and her sisters were sent to the Pacific, where she supported amphibious operations in the Pacific. She shelled Japanese forces during the Gilbert and Marshall Islands and the Philippines campaigns and the invasions of Peleliu, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.
     “Idaho was among the ships present in Tokyo Bay when Japan formally surrendered on September 2, 1945. With the war over, the ship was decommissioned in July 1946. She was sold to ship breakers in November 1947 and subsequently dismantled.”
Now, you and I both know about the USS Idaho.

     • THE REGIONAL Chamber of Commerce had an item in its business report newsletter last week that I found interesting:
Here it is:
     “Decatur has been ranked the Most Affordable Place to Live in the U.S. for 2025–2026 by U.S. News & World Report. The ranking is based on a combination of low housing costs, overall cost of living, and how far the median household income goes in each city. Decatur has a median rent of $570 and a median home value below $90,000. Decatur stands out nationwide as a community where residents can enjoy a high quality of life without high expenses. The report highlights Decatur’s heritage with Abraham Lincoln’s residency, the founding of the Chicago Bears and the creation of Lake Decatur.”
     Hmmm. I hadn’t seen the U.S. News & World Report ranking before reading it in the Chamber’s announcement, but we have a lot of people moving out of Decatur, and the State of Illinois, because they can’t afford to live here!
     The number one concern of readers of this newspaper who live in our area, when they contact me, is about the high property taxes!
Everyone knows that I love this community and certainly like to promote it, but I know from personal experience, taxation at all levels impacting Decatur is very concerning.
     I’m thankful that the Decatur City Council recently made the decision not to increase its portion of the property tax, but the council’s share of the tax is one of many public bodies who are recipients.

     • BRRR. I don’t know about you but I wasn’t ready for the snowstorm that hit us over the weekend which brought a lot of events to a halt!
Wasn’t this too early to have a snowstorm in Decatur?
     I wasn’t ready — especially when Thanksgiving Day was so nice,
     That was more like January weather!!!

     • BIG THANKS to all of the road crews who cleared our roads following the snowstorm.
They deserve a big pat on the back for the work they do.

     • I HOPE the weather is better on Saturday (Dec. 6) when the Decatur Earthmover Credit Union will present the annual Downtown Decatur Lighted Christmas Parade which steps off at 4:00 p.m.
     Before the parade steps off there will be the Fleet Feet Santa Shuffle Run.
     The parade route will start at the intersection of Franklin and Macon Streets, proceeding north on Franklin Street, then west on North Street, and south on Main Street, ending at Main and Macon Streets.

     • EVERY YEAR, the U.S. Labor Department quietly updates its list of professions that have officially vanished — those too small to even count in the nation’s monthly jobs report. Their survey of 3,014 people (45+) paints a nostalgic picture of the roles that once gave everyday life its quirks – the small interactions, the smells, the sounds – before everything went digital, self-serve, or algorithm-driven.
Check out page 13 of this week’s print and online editions for a list of the lost jobs Illinoisans have most nostalgia for.

   • I JOIN Brian Byers on WSOY’s Byers & Co. every Thursday morning at 7:00 for the “City Hall Insider”.

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