On the anniversary of the attack that marked the entry of the U.S. into World War II, Michael Von der Porten remembers local sailors who died that day.
Eighty years ago today, December 7, 1941, people in the United States were shocked to hear that Pearl Harbor had been bombed in a surprise attack. Across the nation, families wondered and worried about their “boys” in Hawaii. Communications were delayed. Other needs took priorities.
Here in Sonoma County, three families would learn that their sons had died aboard battleships that morning. Two died in the early explosion of the USS Arizona. They were among the more than 1,000 who died aboard the ship.
Rudolph Theiller Junior was born in Cotati and grew up in Sebastopol. He had graduated from Analy High School just a year earlier.
George Maybee was born in Ukiah and grew up in Santa Rosa. He was the “old man” of the bunch, having graduated from Santa Rosa High School a decade earlier. George worked for his father in the family wood-working business.