In October, President Obama declared that a major chapter in American military history was about to come to a close... PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: I can report that, as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year. After nearly nine years, America’s war in Iraq will be over. As the year comes to its end, it’s a time to reflect on what America’s involvement in Iraq has meant to this country and to the Middle East. And, today – December 7 – brings us an opportunity to consider another military milestone: the attack on Pearl Harbor. You might think, after so many years, that we know everything there is to know about the events that unfolded after the Pearl Harbor bombing. But one group whose story has rarely been told is university students. For most of them, the biggest concern on December 6, 1941, was preparing for final exams. Two days later, the nation was at war. Many left school to join the fight. Others stayed on, working at wartime factories to pay their expense. Sam Redman a cultural historian with UC Berkeley’s Regional Oral History Office joins me to talk about how the attack on Pearl Harbor affected Bay Area colleges.

In October, President Obama declared that a major chapter in American military history was about to come to a close... PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: I can report that, as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year. After nearly nine years, America’s war in Iraq will be over. As the year comes to its end, it’s a time to reflect on what America’s involvement in Iraq has meant to this country and to the Middle East. And, today – December 7 – brings us an opportunity to consider another military milestone: the attack on Pearl Harbor. You might think, after so many years, that we know everything there is to know about the events that unfolded after the Pearl Harbor bombing. But one group whose story has rarely been told is university students. For most of them, the biggest concern on December 6, 1941, was preparing for final exams. Two days later, the nation was at war. Many left school to join the fight. Others stayed on, working at wartime factories to pay their expense. Sam Redman a cultural historian with UC Berkeley’s Regional Oral History Office joins me to talk about how the attack on Pearl Harbor affected Bay Area colleges.