Seventy five years ago, as locals continued to cope with the sudden advent of war on Dec. 16, 1941, the city issued a list of “supplies that each person in Berkeley should have in his house in order to combat incendiary bombs.”

The list the Berkeley Daily Gazette published on page one included “a garden hose with a nozzle that will cast either a spray or a hard stream,” inside faucet connections suitable for garden hoses to fight fire indoors, “a supply of dry sand,” a water bucket, “a long handled shovel, a light ax of hatchet” and a flashlight.

The city manager warned residents that a single bomber could drop “a thousand or more incendiary bombs,” overwhelming the resources of the fire department. This advice was offered against the backdrop of headlines proclaiming that Japanese vessels had shelled the Hawaiian Islands.

Full news was not yet in from Hawaii. In the Dec. 15 Gazette, the Secretary of the Navy was reporting that “the battleship Arizona, three destroyers, and two lesser craft” had been destroyed at Pearl Harbor. In reality the Navy saw two battleships destroyed and six damaged, and 10 other vessels damaged. No destroyers were sunk.

First casualty

The Dec. 15 Gazette also reported Berkeley’s first known casualty, Nicholas Ganas of 1915 Woosley St. The 18-year-old was a seaman second class, stationed at Pearl Harbor. His parents had been informed “he was lost in action in the Battle of the Pacific and his body had not been recovered.” He was survived by his parents and six siblings, age 1-1/2 to 20.

I looked him up in an official online database of Pearl Harbor casualties. It spells his first name as Nickolas and gives the site of his death as the seaplane tender USS Curtiss. The Curtiss got underway during the Pearl Harbor attack and fought back against Japanese planes and submarines. Damaged by bombs and a plane that crashed into the ship, the Curtiss survived and served in the Pacific throughout the war. Nineteen of her crew died at Pearl Harbor.

Hospital prep

“Plans are being rushed to completion this week for emergency preparedness of Berkeley, Alta Bates and Albany Hospital to handle patients in case of an air raid” the Gazette reported Dec. 16 1941. “All injured parties would be given emergency first aid treatment at local hospitals, and then they would be taken to the Alameda County emergency hospital for further treatment.”

Authorities estimated that the three hospitals could handle nearly 250 emergency cases.

Isn’t it ironic that in 1941 Berkeley and Albany had no less than three hospitals between them, plus the complete student Cowell Hospital on the UC campus, while today there’s only one and closure is threatened?

Mail routes

The entry of the United States into the World War affected the mails. On Dec. 16 the Post Office advised that service to Japan and Japanese-controlled territories in the Pacific and East Asia would be suspended. Mail could still be sent to some parts of Europe including “Gibraltar, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, USSR, and unoccupied France.”

Christmas cancellation

“Outdoor Christmas tree contests, conducted annually by Junior Chambers of Commerce throughout California have been canceled, due to the national emergency and possible blackouts during the holiday season,” the Gazette reported Dec. 17, 1941.

But “Christmas parties and social gatherings contribute to morale so don’t cancel them unless they interfere with civilian defense measures” the Office of Civilian Defense advised. However, celebrants were asked to be sure to blackout the rooms in which the gatherings would be held.