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56 °F 5 Day Forecast Tuesday, December 23, 2003 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | eSouthernOregon | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend December 7, 2003 Pearl Harbor horror relived through the eyes of a child Marlo Lenzi still refers to it as her private little war. "I keep it stuffed away in a closet in my brain," says the White City area resident. "But sometimes stress will make the closet door fall open and it all comes back." What comes back are the sights and sounds of Dec. 7, 1941, in her native Honolulu. That was the day Japanese war planes attacked Pearl Harbor, an early-morning raid that drew the United States into World War II. For adults in uniform, the day was bloody, shocking, terrifying. For a little girl just shy of 5, it was all of that and more. Advertisement Her home on Mountain View Drive in Waikiki wasn’t bombed, but she could see the planes, the smoke from the bombed harbor, the look of fear on adults. "There was genuine chaos, turmoil, screaming," she recalls. "Time stopped for me that day. I didn’t speak for six months. "Fortunately, we weren’t physically harmed but mentally we were," she adds later. "It was horrible." Even now, more than six decades later, she still can’t watch war movies, hates the sound of sirens and suffers panic attacks. "When a plane goes over, I stop whatever I’m doing," says the mother of five, all grown. "I guess it’s something that gets etched in your brain. "I fell apart during the September 11 attack. I couldn’t stop thinking about the children and what they were going through." Born March 6, 1937, she remembers that Sunday morning as bright and sunny, not unlike most of her Hawaiian childhood mornings. She and her mother and two older sisters were en route to early morning Mass at the old St. Augustine Church in Honolulu. Her father was playing golf on the other side of the island. "We heard lots of planes — it’s the sounds you remember," she says. "I remember a man ran up to my mom and said, ‘Peggy, take the children home. We’re being bombed.’ " Her mother raced back to their home on a dead-end street along a big canal. "She tried to call my father," she says. "But he was out on the golf course. He had no concerns. He played his game. "Of course, they were farther away from Pearl Harbor," she adds. "And they probably had a few tipples (drinks) by then." All the little girl knew was that her peaceful paradise had exploded into war. "There were sirens — I’m still afraid of them," she says. "Later, when the sirens went off, we had to wear gas masks. You couldn’t breathe in them. It was horrid." At home, they painted their windows black. And waited. "We were sure we were (going) to be attacked again," she says. Home from the golf course, her father joined other adults in patrolling the streets in their neighborhood. "With the blackouts, we started with the rationing," she says. "We’d stand in line with those little coupons for hours." About four months after the war started, her father sent the family to California’s Bay area to live with an aunt for a while. They traveled aboard what Lenzi believes was a Liberty ship, a vessel built specifically for moving troops and materials during the war. Their ship ran point for the seven-ship fleet with two Navy submarines running alongside. "We had to wear lifejackets all the time," she says. "The ship was hideous. We’d stop at night to be quiet." The crews were apparently listening for enemy submarines, she says. "I was already traumatized for having to leave Hawaii," she says. "That ship made it worse." The family returned to Hawaii about two years later after her father had purchased a larger house with a big back yard. "We’d take in sailors that were far from home," she says. "They would help us by getting butter and sugar. Those items were hard to get back then." She would graduate in 1954 from Punahou High School, a private school in Honolulu, then move to the mainland. "I had some good times in Hawaii," she says. "I learned to swim before I could walk. I loved the ocean and the weather." But those blue skies were always clouded by thoughts of war, she says. "All during the war, I always felt like disaster was going to happen to us again," she says. And those feelings never really faded over the years. "War is so terrible for children," she says. "It carries over into our adult lives and stays forever." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times