Scituate man discovers newspaper printed day after attack on Pearl Harbor
SCITUATE - A stunning find turned into an unusual but impactful way to remember the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Joe Sammartino's son Chris was helping a neighbor clean out his house, when they found a stack of old papers. The neighbor offered them up, and Chris brought them home. Joe found several papers dated December 8, 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
"To me it's history, it's probably better than history books," Sammartino said.
It's a snapshot in time, preserved and passed down through generations.
The paper has yellowed, and the ink has faded, but the New York Times from the day after the attack is just as stark and impactful as the day it was printed.
"Leaders of congress shocked and angry by the Japanese attacks were talking of declaration of war on not only Japan but on the entire Axis," Sammartino said, reading from the paper.
Sammartino has 10 grandchildren. He says he wants to keep the papers so they can read the account for themselves. He notes it's not only a part of American history, but family history. Joe's dad was a sailor in World War II.
"My dad was in the Navy during World War II so it's kind of a way of feeling what they felt like back then," Sammartino said.