Kenneth and his family were in Gull Lake vacationing when the call from Washington came in. The person was inquiring about Kenneth's knowledge of Souteast Asia and the Japanese intentions for Thailand. The caller ended by promising to send Kenneth a telegram about his coming to Washington to help the government. Kenneth wasn't very enthusiastic about it; he loved his job at Earlham College and was preoccupied with philosophy. It never occurred to either Kenneth or Margaret that the call from Washington was one of life's pivotal moments, that life would never be the same again. Margaret fully expected him to come back to Richmond after the three weeks. Sunday night, August 10, Kenneth took the train, arriving in Washington the morning of August 11, 1941, and that was that. (Length 7:38)