~ When I was a writer for Yahoo!’s Contributor Network, in 2012, we were asked to write an article based on firsthand family recollections of World War II and Pearl Harbor. This was my contribution. It has been updated and polished since it was first written. ~
World War II & Pearl Harbor as Seen Through the Diary of William A. Darden, Sr.
Between 1938 and 1944, my grandfather, William Allen Darden, Sr., kept a faithful daily diary—brief entries, often just a line or two, yet filled with the weight of world-changing events. In those pages, history unfolds not through sweeping analysis, but through the steady, measured voice of a man recording every day what he witnessed in real time.
Those years spanned the rise of global conflict, the shock of Pearl Harbor, and America’s full entry into World War II. For Allen Sr., war was not an abstraction. He had already buried his youngest brother, Brents, who left for Europe during the Great War and never returned. The first world war was then known simply as The World War or The Great War. Its shadow never fully lifted. When the world descended again into conflict, he wrote it down faithfully—day by day.
The following are the World War II diary entries of William Allen Darden, Sr. The “Allen, Jr.” he refers to is my father, Col. William A. Darden.
- Nov. 11, 1938 — “Armistice Day – first day celebrated as a National Holiday, World War ended Nov. 11, 1918, 11 A.M. 8,538,315 lives lost.”
- Sep. 3, 1939 — “Great Britain and France declare war on Germany, already at war with Poland.”
- Jul. 21, 1940 — “Allen Jr. leaves for ROTC camp.” (son)
- Dec. 7, 1941 –“Japs made surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, 2117 men killed, 960 missing, 876 wounded.”
- Dec. 8, 1941 — “U.S. Declared War on Japan”
- Dec. 11, 1941 —”US declares war on Germany and Italy.”
- Nov. 18, 1942–“William Allen Darden Jr. now a 1st Lieut. US Engineers. Registered for gasoline rationing. 4 gallons per week.”
- Feb. 22,1943 — “Register for War ration book no. 2.”
- Mar. 5 1943 — “Dick Joyner left for Army.” (son in law)
- Mar. 15 1943 — “Allen Jr. stopped by transferring from Camp Forrest to Wright Field.”
- Jul. 29, 1943 — “Gilbert M. Darden Jr. off to Army.” (nephew)
- Oct. 12, 1943 “Gilbert in route to Sea Bee training camp.” (son: Gilbert Walter Darden)
- Feb. 9, 1944 — “WarTime 2 AM” *
- Jun. 16, 1944 — “D-Day, Allies invade France.”
- Aug. 24 of 1944 — “Allen Jr left Washington, DC for New Guinea”
- Aug. 25, 1944 — “Allen Jr in Nashville en route to New Guinea”
- Sep. 22, 1944 — “Packed overseas X-mas boxes.”
- Nov. 7, 1944 — “F.D. Roosevelt elected fourth term as President of U.S. defeating Gov. Dewey 432 to 99 electoral votes. Roosevelt 36 states – 25,610,946. Dewey 12 states – 22,018,177 – Plurality 3,592,769 – Tenn – Dem 308,707. Rep 200,311.”
- Dec. 14, 1944 — “6th Division makes beachhead on Mindoro Island Philippines.”
*”War Time”: This was the official name for a year-round Daylight Saving Time enacted in the U.S. during WWII on Feb. 9, 1944. It required all clocks to be moved forward by one hour to conserve energy, with the additional daylight providing a boost to war industries and civilian production.
These entries were spare. But between the lines, an entire family moved toward war.
The 6th Division was the unit in which Allen Jr.—my father—served. He, too, left behind brief written traces. On January 9, 1945, he recorded: “Landing D-Day, snipers on beach.” The following day, January 10, 1945, he noted reconnaissance work at a bridge site on Blue Beach near Bonuan Boquig in the Philippines.
William Allen Darden, Jr. served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with the 6th Division. His work frequently involved constructing pontoon bridges under active enemy fire—engineering not in theory, but in combat. For his valor and service, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, three Campaign Stars and an Assault Arrowhead, the Presidential Unit Citation, and the Philippine Liberation Medal. His service in the Pacific Theater included combat in the Philippines, followed by later duty in Korea, Greece and India.
The leather photo albums he kept reveal stark reminders of what he witnessed—images that speak quietly of sacrifice, devastation, and duty fulfilled. In later years, his service would also be recognized internationally with the Royal Order of George I (Greece) as well as the Legion of Merit (Legionnaire).
Although my grandfather died in 1955—just months after I was born—it is through his careful, unadorned diary entries that I have come to understand how World War II unfolded within our own family. His steady handwriting preserved what conversation never could. In a few measured words, he recorded the turning of history and the quiet anxieties of a father watching his son march toward war.
When I was young, my father tried to tell me about his experiences in World War II and Korea. He would begin a story—about a bridge built under fire, about nights spent waiting for orders, about men who did not come home. But I was too young to grasp the value of what he carried. I did not yet understand that such stories are not told lightly, nor offered twice without cost.
By the time I was ready to listen, the opportunity had passed. The stories remained, but the storyteller was gone.
What he could no longer tell me in person, I found later in fragments: in a box of notes and yellowed records, in leather-bound photo albums that revealed both duty and devastation, in commendations, commemorative plaques and carefully preserved medals. I found it also in the biography he had written for the Corps of Engineers—a factual account, restrained and modest, yet unmistakably marked by courage and discipline.
In piecing these materials together, I came to know him not only as a decorated officer, but as a young man once noted in his father’s diary simply as “Allen Jr.”—a son leaving home, a soldier traveling home on his way to war, a name written with pride and apprehension in equal measure. It is from those fragments—diary lines, official records, photographs, and memory—that a larger biography has grown. It examines not only rank and recognition, but formation—how discipline, education, faith, family, and national crisis shaped the man he became.
This reflection on a diary offers only a narrow window. The forthcoming biography expands the full account, preserving William A. Darden, Jr.’s record of service, conviction, and endurance for future generations.
This article is part of a larger biographical book I’m writing about my father, Col. William A. Darden, Jr.—a tribute to a man whose footprints I still follow. His narrative traces an extraordinary path from a Nashville childhood on Fatherland Street to the classrooms of Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech, to Sundar Nagar, India. A veteran of WWII, Darden’s life remained deeply rooted in the history of the family home at Tick Hill and his wife’s family legacy at Ransom Place. This project goes beyond the uniform to uncover the man himself, moving from the halls of Central High to the final years in Brentwood. For more info, see William A. Darden: Upcoming Biography and Legacy Project. Join the discussion on Facebook for previews and updates.
Related historical and biographical articles on William A. Darden are collected in the full archive here: William A. Darden – Articles & Legacy Archive.
To be notified when the book is available, please email darden.k(at)gmail(dot)com with the subject ‘Book Interest.’
