When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, going to war was the last thing on South Williamsport resident Ernest Eakin’s mind. “We had gone out to my cousin’s farm in Cascade (Township) looking for a Christmas tree. We didn’t know it had happened ’til we got home and heard it on the radio,” Eakin said. “It was a big surprise because the Japanese envoys were in Washington talking peace. We were totally unprepared for it.” Eakin said he doubts theories that the U.S. government knew about the attack ahead of time and allowed it to happen to draw the nation into the war. “Nobody in their right mind would have put all the battleships together at one time if they knew they were going to attack,” he said. “There were easier ways to get into the war than that.” Eakin did not get into the war until 1944. He was married to his wife Marion, had a son and worked at Avco. Finally, he decided to enlist. “My friends had gone, so I decided to volunteer into the Army,” he said.