This image is the cover for the book World War II Arroyo Grande, Military

World War II Arroyo Grande, Military

On December 7, 1941, war came to Arroyo Grande when two local sailors were killed on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor. People from the small town were thrust into great circumstances and quickly answered the call for action. A local storekeeper's son won the Silver Star after he brought his flaming B-17 safely back to base. A valley farmworker served with the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team, largely composed of soldiers of Japanese descent. Chinese guerrillas commanded by Mao Zedong--the future Chairman Mao--threw a birthday party for an Arroyo Grande soldier. At home, community groups like the Arroyo Grande Women's Club brought packed lunches for their Japanese American neighbors on the morning they were forced to leave for the internment camps. Local author Jim Gregory brings to life the sorrows and triumphs of a dramatic period in local history.

Jim Gregory

Jim Gregory has been a teacher of literature, anthropology and history for over thirty years in Arroyo Grande and San Luis Obispo. He was Lucia Mar Unified School District's Teacher of the Year in 2010-11, and has led several student trips to WWII sites in Europe. His interest in history of the '30s and '40s was fueled by studying with Pulitzer Prize-winning Stanford professor David Kennedy, as the recipient of a Gilder-Lehrman Fellowship in 2004. He lives in Arroyo Grande with his wife and sons.

The History Press