Pearl Harbor Day- do you recall where you were?

excerpted from the draft biography of my dad, John Fallon.

It was a typical winter day in Syracuse New York. The cold air and overcast sky held promise of snow for later in the evening. – Students transferring to Syracuse from other regions had to acclimate themselves to the primary color of winter, gray. The green grass along the sidewalks traveled by the students was now winter brown, a light dusting of snow, created by the moisture of Lake Ontario blanketed the campus. Onondaga Lake, whose shores were home to Syracuse manufacturing plants, was considered unswimable, her waters being terribly polluted. It was a setting in which one might find it easy to feel gloomy, even more so if you weren’t doing well in your freshman classes. Many of those students who enjoyed the long central New York winter climate would occupy their free time with skiing or other winter sports. Unless one sought out something bright, something cheerful, you might find yourself in a rather down mood most of the time.
Nineteen year old Jack found himself in just such a down mood. Maybe varying the routine would help. As part of their scholarship responsibilities, both young men worked serving and cleaning up after the “pay their own way” students in Sims Hall. When they were done working in the kitchen, washing and drying other student’s dishes and silverware, it was customary for Jack and Shimmy to sit together and eat their free meal.
It was Friday; classes were done for the weekend, so Jack’s friend,
“Shimmy” Maynard Schermerhorn, and he decided to grab a late afternoon bus downtown for dinner. Shimmy was a football guard from western New York, near Binghamton NY. A brisk walk down off the hill and dinner in a real restaurant would make the day more pleasant. Their dining destination was a Schrafts restaurant on Salina Street, eight or ten blocks east of the Syracuse University complex. "Schrafts" was the moniker for a chain of restaurants run by the Schrafts Candy Company. It wasn’t the fanciest place to dine, but it was warm and welcoming and the Jack and Shimmy had an enjoyable meal and conversations about school and football.
They provided themselves with a break from their dining hall routine and a chance to get away from the tensions of studying. Adding to their pleasure was the enjoyable dinner music that was piped in over the restaurant’s sound system. They were relaxing at the table after completing their meal, especially enjoying a musical piece played by Freddie Martin and his orchestra. It was one of Jack’s favorites. He knew the song from its Americanized title, “Tonight We Love; and could sing, in his Irish tenor voice, its English lyrics. The melody was from a classical concerto called Piano Concerto in B Flat.
Abruptly, the music stopped. Jack and Shimmy paused, wondering why the music suddenly went quiet, the song not yet at its conclusion. After some static, a man’s voice apologized for the interruption and the announcer stated that it was felt that the patrons should be told the news that Japan had attached the United States fleet at Pearl Harbor on this day, December 7, 1941.
Shimmy and Jack looked at each other in disbelief. They were both wondering how this event would affect their futures. Shimmy was already a cadet in the Reserve Officers Training Corps. (R. O. T. C.) He let Jack borrow his uniform one time to dress up and clown around for a snapshot. Though it didn’t fit right the effect was fun. Jack wasn’t in R. O. T. C. but he was aware that he would be faced with making a decision about his status under the Selective Service Systems draft provisions.