Fort Worth's 'Pearl Harbor Day baby' hopes we never forget

By Bud Kennedy

bud@star-telegram.com

BURLESON -- Born on the Dec. 7 morning that would "live in infamy," a Burleson man now wants to save the memory.

In the 1940s, Tom Montgomery was the Star-Telegram's "Pearl Harbor Day baby," the little boy whose flag-waving birthday parties became a symbol of life on a day of death.

Today, Montgomery turns 70.

Pearl Harbor has always been part of his life, from his childhood to Navy service in Japan and eight trips to Hawaii and the memorial.

"I don't see people putting out American flags anymore the way they used to," said Montgomery, now an insurance professional in Burleson.

"I know we remember 9-11. But do we still remember Dec. 7?"

His mother, Lou Montgomery, gave birth early that 1941 morning in Nashville.

Before long, father Bob Montgomery had brought his four children to west Fort Worth and a job at the brand-new "bomber plant," now Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.

Tom Montgomery barely remembers the war years. But he remembers workers' temporary housing in White Settlement, called "Liberator Village" for the Convair B-24 Liberator bomber.

In 1949, when he turned 8, the Star-Telegram featured a front-page photo of the "Pearl Harbor Day Baby."

He was standing in front of a U.S. flag. The photo was captioned: "TOMMY MONTGOMERY ... He Knows About War."

In the story, Montgomery was quoted as saying war is a "bad thing. People get killed."

But he was also quoted as saying that he had forgiven Japan for the attack, because "they teach us in Sunday school to love one another. They teach us to forgive."

In a comment particularly insightful for an 8-year-old, he said that he always likes to fly the flag on Dec. 7, because "a lot of mothers lost their sons on the day when God sent me to my mother."

Now, at 70, Montgomery has made Dec. 7 more of a remembrance than a birthday.

As a sailor in the 1960s, his first stop was at Pearl Harbor. For two years, he was stationed at what is now Naval Air Facility Atsugi, where he met Japanese parents who also lost children in the war.

"What amazes me is that we have become such friends with Japan and Germany," he said.

"Nobody ever would have believed it. It makes you wonder whether we can forgive and be friends someday with the people who attacked us on 9-11."

And how long we will remember.

Bud Kennedy's column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 817-390-7538

Twitter: @budkennedy

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