Within a few hours of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Americans began mobilizing for war. And in Texas, Governor Coke Stevenson denounced the ?cowardly Japanese attack? and issued a plea for a united country, calling upon all Texans to rally behind state and national leaders. Support for a united front was widespread. Thousands of Texans rushed to recruiting stations to offer their services in the great struggle. Stevenson had predicted that Texans would respond enthusiastically to defend their country. Young Texans proved him correct. By the end of January 1942, 148,004 Texans were in the armed forces, nearly two-thirds of them volunteers. This is their story.