On December 17th 1941 it was 10 days after Pearl Harbor and the country was gearing up for what would become the long haul. Fighting was going on all over the Pacific region and news reports on this day try to keep track of what was happening with varying degrees of results. Heads were rolling in Washington over who was "asleep at the switch" in Pearl Harbor and the Pacific Command was revamped and replaced quickly with heads lined up on the chopping block before any investigation got underway. Despite everything the universal feeling was to keep Christmas going and even the Mayor of San Francisco declared all celebrations would go on as planned. Not even a war was going to stop people from jamming local department stores, even if they were blacked out.

A day with more questions than answers and a December 17th more confusing than most.