Introduction: Establishing
an accurate timeline of December 7-8, 1941 radio news
coverage is problematic. Some broadcasts simply weren't
recorded. Some are crude Memovox recordings, made using
a dictation-type machine. Some of the transcriptions
are incomplete. Some are missing. Some of the history
has been intentionally manipulated by the very corporations
who broadcast the event in the first place. Some of
the audio files that are now in wide digital circulation
first appeared in the 1970s and have either been doctored
(lots of cutting and pasting) or were recorded from
the original transcription discs in the wrong order
(or both). The end result is that it is not possible
to recreate a moment-by-moment audio timeline of what
the major networks broadcast on December 7, 1941. This
is especially true of the notoriously problematic CBS
broadcast. The AHC will attempt to recreate, as much
as possible, the radio news events of December 7-8,
1941. |
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1:23 p.m. EST (7:53 a.m. in Hawaii): The first
Japanese bombs fall on Pearl Harbor.
1:28 p.m.
EST (7:58 a.m. in Hawaii): from Ford Island on
Oahu, this message is relayed to Mare Island Naval
Station in San Francisco Bay: "AIR RAID PEARL
HARBOR. THIS IS NO DRILL."
1:47 p.m.
EST (8:17 a.m. in Hawaii): Navy Secretary Frank
Knox calls and informs President Roosevelt of
the ongoing attack. |
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2:00 p.m.
EST (8:30 a.m. in Hawaii): NBC Blue begins broadcast
of Great Plays. NBC Red begins broadcast
of Sammy Kaye's Sunday Serenade (28:41). CBS begins broadcast of Spirit of '41. The kickoff starts the football game game between
the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers being
broadcast by WOR in New York. |
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2:05 p.m.
EST (8:35 a.m. in Hawaii): President Roosevelt
calls Secretary of State Cordell Hull and tells
him not to say anything about Pearl Harbor when
he receives the Japanese envoys Nomura and Kurusu
(whose audience with Hull, in which they were
to break off diplomatic negotiations, takes place
about an hour later than planned). |
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2:10 p.m.
EST (8:40 a.m. in Hawaii): The second wave of
Japanese attack planes reaches Kahuku Point and
deploys over Oahu.
2:20 p.m.
EST (8:50 a.m. in Hawaii): Admiral Kichisaburo
Nomura, the Japanese Ambassador to the United
States, and special envoy Saburo Kurusu delivery
a letter to Secretary of State Cordell Hull. Nomura and
Kurusu leave Cordell Hull's office.
Although newspapermen had gathered outside the
office, none of them yet knew of the Japanese
attack. Their curiosity had to do with the ongoing
negotiations and President Roosevelt's message to the Emperor. At this moment bombs from the
second wave have begun falling on Pearl Harbor.
This attack will last until 3:15 p.m. Eastern. |
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2:22 p.m.
EST (8:52 a.m. in Hawaii): From his home, Press
Secretary Steve Early calls the three-way press hookup with the Associated
Press, United Press, and International News Service,
and reads a short statement prepared by his wife
moments before: "The Japs have attacked Pearl
Harbor, all military activities on Oahu Island."
2:26 p.m.
EST (8:56 a.m. in Hawaii): WOR
interrupts their coverage of the New
York Giants vs. the Brooklyn Dodgers football
game at approximately this time.
2:29 p.m.
EST (8:59 a.m. in Hawaii): NBC makes their Pearl
harbor announcement. On NBC Red, it came at the
end of Sammy Kaye's Sunday Serenade, just
as the University
of Chicago |
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Roundtable was beginning.
Over on the Blue network, the Great
Plays episode of "Inspector
General" was interrupted.
[ NBC Red interrupted the Roundtable program at
2:38 p.m. to announce that Manila had been bombed
(a false report) and at 2:52 p.m. the program
moderator says that Burma has been bombed.] |
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Famous Broadcast: The World Today [An AHC discussion of the 1948 recreation of John
Daly's initial announcement made for the "I
Can Hear It Now" records, and the NY Philharmonic
controversy is included]
2:31 p.m.
EST (9:01 a.m. in Hawaii): CBS leads off their
regularly scheduled news program The
World Today with the Pearl Harbor
story. The rest of the half hour includes reports
by Albert Warner in Washington, Bob Trout in London,
Ford Wilkins in Manila, analysis by Major George
Fielding Eliot, news and commentary by Elmer Davis,
and more bulletins.
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3:00 p.m.
EST (9:30 a.m. in Hawaii): NBC Red: H.V. Kaltenborn
gives a quick summary of known facts, then Chats
About Dogs airs until 3:15. |
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3:03 p.m. CBS: The New York Philharmonic
Society: This program possibly began a few
minutes late, based on a 1999 report by Bob
Trout, who was involved in the original broadcast
[see The World Today link above]. The
significant part of the broadcast is the news update given
at the intermission at 3:35 p.m., so it is included
below to keep the news chronological. |
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3:15 p.m. NBC Red : H.V.
Kaltenborn: This is a regularly
scheduled news program. Several news bulletins
come in, including one at 3:24 p.m. announcing
that the Japanese have torpedoed an army transport
carrying lumber 1300 miles west of San Francisco.
[The attack on Pearl Harbor ends about the time
this program begins]. |
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3:30 p.m. NBC Red: Listen America. This intensely patriotic and propagandized
program focuses on the importance of nutrition
to national defense. Interruptions for news bulletins
come at 3:36 (report of naval engagement near
Pearl Harbor), 3:49 (Stimson orders army into
uniform), and 3:54 p.m. (Churchill and U.S. Ambassador
to Britain met). |
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Famous Broadcast: The New York Philharmonic Society
3:35 p.m. CBS: The
New York Philharmonic Society.
This program aired in the 3:00 p.m. time slot
but only a clip of the program is presented here. This digital file, widely distributed, has
been tampered with. Someone has spliced in
the 1948 recreation of John Daly's initial PH
announcement, the original of which came at the
beginning of The World Today broadcast
at 2:31 p.m. Nevertheless, one interruption of
the concert for a bulletin about an army lumber
transport that was torpedoed is authentic (that
announcement was made on NBC at 3:24 p.m.). Additionally,
at 3:35 p.m., during the concert intermission,
John Daly gave a news update. That too is included
here. The AHC decided to leave this file intact
so that students of history can see how historical
myths are created. |
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4:00 p.m. NBC Blue: National
Vespers. Dr.
Harry Emerson Fosdick, Professor of Practical
Theology at Union Theological Seminary, begins
a sermon titled "Finding Unfailing Resources".
At 4:05 the program is interrupted for a bulletin
that President Roosevelt will meet with his cabinet
and then congressional leaders later this evening.
At 4:06 there is a live broadcast from KGU Honolulu.
After three minutes he is cut off by the telephone
company because someone is trying to get through
"an emergency call." At 4:09 H.R. Baukhage
gives a seven minute report from the WH news room,
followed by more bulletins from New York. Coverage
returns to National Vespers for about two
minutes, then it's back to Washington for more
from H.R. Baukhage. |
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4:00 p.m. NBC Red: Sylvia Marlowe
and Richard Dyer Bennett: This music
program aired at the same time that NBC Blue aired National Vespers (above). All program interruptions
were made simultaneously and thus are identical. |
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c. 4:00 p.m. News from WCAE Pittsburgh. This is a summary
of the news up to about 4:00 repeating much of
what has been reported earlier. This broadcast
also criticizes Americans for their apathy about
growing war clouds before the attack. |
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c. 4:00 p.m. CBS: News
update. Isolationist Senator Wheeler
says, "This means war." Japanese paratroopers
spotted in Honolulu. |
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4:30 p.m. NBC Red: News [preempting The Olivia Santoro Show].
It features a brief report from London, then an
extended one from Upton Close in San Francisco.
Close speculates on Japan's motives [including
possible German involvement]; reports that the
War Department has invoked the Espionage Act,
and that The Japanese in Los Angeles are being
watched, but have done nothing so far. KGB Honolulu
gives the first new details in the last 45 minutes,
and in the Washington studio senators
Elbert D. Thomas (D-Utah), Walter F. George (D-Georgia),
and Representative Luther A. Johnson (D-Texas)
give interviews about declaring war. |
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5:00 p.m. NBC Red: Metropolitan
Opera Auditions Of The Air:
This program is interrupted at 5:14 p.m. for reports
from San Francisco, Manila, and New York. Japan
has declared war on The United States and Great
Britain. The interruption lasts the rest of the
program. |
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c. 5:00 p.m. BBC: News update
from Great Britain around 5:00 p.m. EST. |
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5:30 p.m. NBC Red: Family of
Five: In this episode about the
Nichols family, sponsored by Vicks Vaporub, Mrs.
Nichols takes an interest in antique dealing.
NBC did not interrupt this program. |
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5:30 p.m. KDKA Pittsburgh: Sabotage
Bulletin. |
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c. 6:00 p.m. CBS: Ford Wilkins from
Manila: Manila has not been bombed. Guam
is in trouble. The Japanese captured the U.S.
Gunboat Wake in Shanghai. |
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6:00 p.m. NBC Blue: The
New Friends of Music: The first
eight minutes of the program were pre-empted for
war bulletins and for a live report by Bert Silan
from Manila. A few minutes later the program is
interrupted for a 4 minute update in Washington
by H.R. Baukhage.
By this time it's becoming clear that Manila had
not been bombed as reported earlier. The Japanese
are attacking British bases and Guam. |
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6:00 p.m. NBC Red: The Catholic
Hour: There is a short update at
the beginning of the program announcing emergency
sessions of the British House of Commons, and
the Japanese cabinet. At the end of the program
is a two minute update announcing that Guam has
been attacked and that citizens in Panama with
Axis nationalities are being arrested. |
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6:30 p.m. NBC Blue: Drew
Pearson and Robert S. Allen:
Pearson and Allen summarize the events up to the
moment and give predictions of what's to come.
They discuss what will happen if Moscow falls,
and predict declarations of war against both Japan
and Germany. |
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6:30 p.m. NBC Red: The Great
Gildersleeve: This episode is interrupted
five times for very short war bulletins. Most
of them have been previously reported. The only
new one is that Panama radio reports that a "Jap
aircraft carrier" was sunk off Honolulu. |
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6:45 p.m. NBC Blue: Eleanor Roosevelt: Mrs. Roosevelt had a regularly scheduled
Sunday evening program. Tonight the first lady
gives her impressions on the day's events during
the first four minutes. She then gives her previously
scheduled talk on army morale via an interview
with Corporal James Cannon from Fort Dix. Leon
Pearson and Mrs. Roosevelt then engage in a scripted
interview about labor and public relations. |
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7:00 p.m. NBC Blue: News Roundup. The broadcast includes reports by Mary
Brock from Turkey, Grant Parr from Cairo, Fred
Bates from London, H.R. Baukhage from Washington,
Bert Silan from Manila, and Upton Close from San
Francisco. |
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7:00 p.m. NBC Red: The
Jack Benny Program: There are
two interruptions to this program. The first one
at 7:10 p.m. is a local California announcement
about civilians reporting for volunteer duty and
a warning about hysteria. The second at 7:21 says
that the Japanese have taken
over the American Shanghai Power and Light Company. |
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7:30 p.m. NBC Blue: Captain
Flagg and Sergeant Quirt: There
are two interruptions to this show. One announces
a preliminary estimate of 104 army personnel killed
in the attack. |
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7:30 p.m. NBC Red: The Fitch
Bandwagon: There are two interruptions,
identical to those from the NBC Blue broadcast
of Captain Flagg and Sergeant Quirt above. |
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8:00 p.m. NBC Blue: Bible Week: A show of "great music, fine
singing, and dramatic elements." It is interrupted
twice to announce declaration of war against Japan
by the Dutch East Indies and Costa Rica. |
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8:00 p.m. NBC Red: The Chase
and Sanborn Hour featuring Edgar
Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, and Bud Abbot and
Lou Costello: Today's guest is Judy Garland. The
show is interrupted once for a bulletin similar
to the one broadcast during Bible Week. |
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c 8:00 p.m. Fiorello LaGuardia,
Mayor of New York City, orders all Japanese subjects
confined to their homes. |
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8:30 p.m. NBC Blue: Inner Sanctum
Mysteries: Today's mystery is preceded
by a very short summary of the latest bulletins.
No new information is given and there are no further
program interruptions. |
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8:30 p.m. NBC Red: One Man's
Family Book 40, chapter 10: This
program is preceded by one bulletin. Fiorello
LaGuardia ordered all Japanese subjects to remain
in their homes. Planes may not carry any Japanese
nationals. |
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9:00 p.m. NBC Blue: The
Jergens Journal: Walter Winchell
brings us the news. The first minute or so is
missing. Winchell repeats mostly the news of the
day, but adds some opinions of his own. |
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9:00 p.m. NBC Red: The Manhattan
Merry-Go-Round: This Sunday evening
program features music and song while dramatizing
an imaginary tour of the night spots of New York
City. There are no interruptions or bulletins
in this show. |
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9:15 p.m. NBC Blue: The Parker
Family: Starring Leon Janney as
teenager Richard Parker. This week, Richard has
a new, sophisticated girlfriend named Crystal.
Richard's family feels Crystal is having a negative
influence on Richard. There are no interruptions
or bulletins in this show. |
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9:30 p.m. NBC Blue: Dear John Book 6, letter 65: This soap opera-type
program features Irene Rich as Faith Chandler.
In today's episode Faith is staying in a Scottish
castle somewhat against her will. There are no
interruptions or bulletins in this show. |
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9:45 p.m. NBC Blue: The Dinah
Shore Show: Dinah sings to the accompaniment
of orchestra music conducted by Paul Laval. The
show was interrupted once at 9:58 p.m. EST to
announce that Canada has declared war on Japan. |
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9:30 p.m. NBC Red: The American
Album of Familiar Music: Frank Martin,
Vivian Villapieza and others present popular classical
songs and music. This show is interrupted at 9:35
and again at 9:57 p.m. to announce that the Netherlands
government-in-exile and Canada have declared war
on Japan. |
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9:56 p.m. KIRO Seattle: Local
News Bulletins: Just a few minutes
before 7:00 local (10:00 pm. EST) KIRO discusses
the radio blackout that will occur at 7:00, and
the total light blackout that will occur along
the entire West Coast, from the Mexican to the
Canadian borders, at 11:00 p.m. local (2:00 a.m.
EST). |
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10:00 p.m. NBC Blue: The
Goodwill Hour: John
J. Anthony, author of Marriage and Family Problems
and How To Solve Them, offers advice to people
who have relationship and family problems. The show is interrupted twice for bulletins, once
at 10:23 to repeat previously announced bulletins
and to report Germany's reaction to the Japanese
attacks, and once at 10:30 p.m. to announce that
President Roosevelt will address a joint session
of Congress tomorrow. |
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10:00 p.m. NBC Red: The Hour
of Charm: Featuring Phil Spitalny
and the All-Girl Orchestra. The three finalists
of a talent contest are announced, and the popular
songs of 1942 are predicted. The program is interrupted
at 10:06 p.m. for nearly three minutes. Many bulletins
are repeats from earlier in the day. The casualty
count from Hawaii is still being reported as 104
dead and more than 300 wounded. Washington is
described as an armed camp, and military recruiting
stations across the country will open earlier
than usual tomorrow. |
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10:30 p.m. NBC Red: Sherlock
Holmes: Basil Rathbone and Nigel
Bruce star in "The Mystery of Mrs. Warren's
Lodger". The program is interrupted at 10:39
p.m. to announce that President Roosevelt will
address a joint session of Congress tomorrow. |
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11:00 p.m. NBC Red: News
Program: This is the first real news
program broadcast since 7:00 p.m. EST. It features
H.R. Baukhage in Washington, Robert St. John,
and John W. Vandercook. There isn't much new information,
and the casualty figures from Hawaii are still
being reported as 104 dead. There is intriguing
commentary however. |
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11:15 p.m. NBC: Special Defense
Message: Lynn Stanbaugh, National Commander
of the American Legion, outlines the Legion's
stand in the ongoing crisis in a speech titled
"The Legion Again Answers The Call."
The program is interrupted once for a bulletin
from an NBC correspondent in Manila that Guam
has been bombed.
11:30 p.m. NBC Red: Roundtable Discussion: The program begins with short reports
from H.V. Kaltenborn, William Hillman and Max
Jordan in New York, Ernest K. Lindsey, Morgan
Beatty, Wilfred Fleischer and H.R. Baukhage in
Washington, Edward Tomlinson in Chicago, and Upton
Close in San Francisco. After 14 minutes of reports,
the roundtable begins. |
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12:00 a.m. CBS: News Program:
CBS reads the headlines and stories that are going
to be in the morning newspapers around the country.
This is followed by analysis by William L. Shirer. |
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c. 2:00 a.m. NBC: News Update: It seems that whomever originally
recorded this file dubbed different discs from
different times of the day. You can also hear
children playing in the background at this person's
home. Some of these were cut out but others were
left because they are not found anywhere else
and are difficult to place in the timeline. Two reports can be placed close to 2:30 a.m. EST
because of time references. |
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9:00 a.m. NBC Blue: The Breakfast
Club: This
is a typical workday morning radio show with lots
of chit chat and music, but nothing of substance.
It is interrupted several times for bulletins,
most notably for a report from London on Britain's
declaration of war against Japan as Churchill
is giving a speech. |
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10:45 a.m. NBC Blue: Music
of Reminiscence: The beginning
of the program is pre-empted by a report from
London of the British declaration of war against
Japan announced earlier in the morning. At 10:50
a.m. there is a flash from the White House that
the casualty figures in Hawaii are now estimated
at 3,000, including 1500 fatalities. |
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11:00 a.m. NBC Red: Mary
Marlin: News begins the program.
The casualty figures are repeated, and the White
House has announced the loss of "one
old battleship and a destroyer, which was blown
up" in Hawaii. The soap opera begins and there are no further interruptions. |
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12:15 p.m. CBS: Coverage of President
Roosevelt's Speech Before a Joint Session of Congress and 15 minutes of the House speeches
that followed (when, according to House rules,
the microphones were to have been turned off).
12:40 p.m. NBC: News coverage following
FDR's speech: Unlike CBS and Mutual,
NBC did stop their coverage when the House debate
began following the President's speech. Coverage
begins as the joint session ends. |
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1:15 p.m. NBC Blue: Let's
Sing and Swing: This music program
is interrupted almost immediately for coverage
of the Senate and House votes on the war resolutions.
Jeannette Rankin is the only dissenting vote,
which is discussed by H.V. Kaltenborn, and then
by Earl Godwin. |
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1:45 p.m. NBC Blue: News: Bert Silan reports from Manila, Upton
Close from San Francisco, followed by war bulletins
from New York. |
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2:03 p.m. NBC Blue: Vincent
Lopez and His Orchestra: From
the Grill Room of the Hotel Taft in New York City.
This program is interrupted once at 2:10 to report
that a German reporter's press credentials have
been revoked. . Then at 2:24 p.m. EST, Bert Silan
reports from Manila that they are under attack
by the Japanese. Coverage continues with Silan,
Don Bell, and Ted Wallace. |
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6:45 p.m. NBC Red: John
W. Vandercook: Vandercook summarizes
the declaration of war on Japan, Earl Godwin reports
from Washington, news reports from London, and
Bert Silan reports from Manila. Representative
Dingell (D-MI) will ask congress to investigate
why we were taken by surprise. |
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9:00 p.m. CBS: Lux
Radio Theater: Episode "The
Doctor Takes a Wife" is interrupted at 9:30
for news bulletins from New York. 50 unidentified
planes are heading toward San Francisco. FDR will
talk to the nation in a fireside chat tomorrow
night. |
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9:30 p.m. NBC Blue: News,
pre-empting For America We Sing: Bert Silan,
Don Bell and Ted Wallace From Manila; Upton Close
from San Francisco; Earl Godwin from Washington;
bulletins from New York. |
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c. 10:15 p.m. Mutual: News: Report on the West Coast blackout. The
FBI in San Diego, with the cooperation of the
Mexican government, tonight checked unconfirmed
reports of armed bands of Japanese in lower California. |
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