This is a big anniversary. Seventy-five years since more than 300 Japanese planes flew over Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and, in less than two hours, dropped the bombs that killed over 2400 Americans, destroyed a large part of the U.S. fleet in the Pacific, and brought the United States into World War II.

(Pearl Harbor, NARA)

American radio stations picked up the story almost immediately, bringing the devastating news into millions of homes. Here’s the WNYC broadcast from that day.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt gave a brief radio address on December 7. Part of it was directed to “the women of the country.” She acknowledged the tough times ahead and encouraged women to take care of themselves, their families, their communities. “Whatever is asked of us,” the First Lady said, “I am sure we can accomplish it. We are the free and unconquerable people of the United States of America.”

(Eleanor Roosevelt, NBC, Getty Images)

It’s unlikely that Peggy Utinsky heard Eleanor Roosevelt’s words that day. Peggy lived in the Philippine Islands, on the other side of the International Dateline, where the news of Pearl Harbor broke on Monday morning. An American nurse who had traveled to the islands in the 1920s for a vacation, Peggy met and fell in love with Jack Utinsky, an engineer working on the fortified island of Corregidor. They married in the 1930s and settled into a comfortable life there.

Jack tried to send Peggy back to the states earlier in 1941, just to be on the safe side, but she refused to go. His work took him more and more to the Bataan peninsula, so Peggy rented an apartment in Manila to be closer to him. She split her days between working at the Red Cross and a soldiers’ canteen.

On December 8, the Japanese began bombing the Philippines. Unlike their attack on Hawaii, this was a prelude to invasion and occupation. Tough times were indeed ahead for Peggy and everyone else in the Philippines. But Peggy didn’t wait until anyone asked anything of her. She simply kept working. Wounded civilians and military personnel crowded into Manila hospitals and emergency medical facilities. There were no more regular shifts. Peggy worked until she couldn’t stand up anymore. Then, nearly sightless in the blacked-out night, she picked her way back to her apartment along bomb-ravaged sidewalks. After a few hours of rest, Peggy made the return trip to the hospital.

(Margaret Utinsky, NARA, Signal Corps photo)

December 7/8, 1941, changed Peggy Utinsky’s life. The rest of her story can be found in Angels of the Underground.

Eight weeks into the semester and I’m up to my…eyeballs in grading. The dining room table is groaning under the weight of various piles of exams and papers. It’s the most visual reminder of how much time and effort goes into my day job.

Then there’s the whole trying-to-be-a-writer thing. I’ve been working on a proposal for a new book, and it’s been kind of bumpy. So it may be longer than I originally thought before I have any news to share about the topic of that book.

But I finished a draft of the proposal, without sample chapters, and sent it off to my agent for her thoughts. I know there will be more work to do on it, but I was at the point where I needed feedback. So now I’m waiting.

And while I wait, I’ll be grading exams.

Which will make me happier to get back to writing. Whenever that will be.