Broadcast commemorates Pearl Harbor attack

Two locally produced radio programs recounting the attack on Pearl Harbor air Friday on Wisconsin Public Radio stations.

“Radio Superior” airs episodes from Dec. 6 and 7, 1941, re-creating the news and music of the day. The Dec. 7 broadcast includes an actual NBC News shortwave report from Pearl Harbor three hours after the attack.

These shows are hosted by broadcast veterans Jack McKenna, Lew Martin and Ray Paulsen, with actors from local theaters playing the parts of people in the news during that time. Also playing roles are former Douglas County Sheriff Richard Pukema as then-Superior Police Chief Arthur Buchanan, and an actor from Honolulu community theater giving a telephone report from Oahu, Hawaii.

Martin worked as an on-air announcer at WDSM Radio in Duluth the day Pearl Harbor was attacked.

“Radio Superior” uses actual news stories from that date, along with original music and advertising from that era. It airs every Friday at 5:30 pm on KUWS 91.3 FM in Superior and WUWS 90.9 FM in Ashland.

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