Pearl Harbor

To anyone who was around in 1941 the name of Pearl Harbor brings forth indelible images in the mind, the same as does the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1962. People remember just where they were when they first heard the news that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor, to jump start World War II. It's true that at that time most people had never heard of Pearl Harbor and had no idea just where it was, but over the next days, weeks and years of World War II, the name, Pearl Harbor, became a rallying cry for the American people.

For some time prior to 1941, the world, and the United States particularly, had kept a nervous eye on the Japanese in the Pacific. After the Japanese invasion of China in 1937 it was quite apparent that the Japanese sought to expand into most of East and Southeast Asia. Since they had no oil sources of their own to fuel their war machine, they relied on oil, mainly from the Netherlands East Indies, for their supply. They only thing preventing their confiscating that oil supply was the United States Pacific Naval Fleet. By 1941 the Japanese had already drawn up secret plans for the assault against the Malay Peninsula, the Philippines, the Netherlands East Indies, and the U.S. Pacific Fleet, headquartered at Pearl Harbor, on Oahu, in the Hawaiian Islands.

In spite of strong suspicions of Japanese motives, the United States Diplomatic team continued to hold meetings with their Japanese counterparts, up to the very day that the surprise attack was launched on December 7, 1941.

In Hawaii the Japanese attack came as a complete surprise. A quiet Sunday morning was broken at 7:55 a.m. when unidentified planes began to bomb and strafe Pearl Harbor, Schofield Barracks, Hickam, and other airfields, and Oahu generally.

There were two waves of attack. In the first assault the Japanese planes were virtually unopposed. Only during the second attack was there much defense put up by the Americans, and that came mainly from anti-aircraft fire. The devastation by the first Japanese attack was so complete that only a few American planes were able to get into the air to do battle.

By 10 a.m. it was all over. There had been some 96 ships in port at the time, mostly American vessels. Of eight battleships, the Japanese attacks had sunk three, caused another to capsize, and severely damaged the other four that were in port at the time. All together, the Japanese attacks had sunk or severely damaged 18 ships, including the eight battleships, three light cruisers, and three destroyers.

At Hickam Field and other airfields, 154 Army planes and 118 Navy planes had been destroyed. Human casualties were devastating. Navy and Marine casualties numbered 2,896 (2,117 dead). Army casualties numbered 228 killed, 113 seriously wounded, 346 slightly wounded. At least 57 civilians were killed and many more were severely wounded.

Japanese losses were amazingly light. Of some 350 Japanese planes involved in the attacks, only 29 were brought down. One large submarine, and five midget submarines were destroyed. The Japanese Carrier Force, consisting of six aircraft carriers, sailed away undetected and unscathed.

United States Pacific Fleet was badly crippled, but not knocked out completely, as the Japanese had planned and hoped. Perhaps it is good to note the things that were not destroyed at Pearl Harbor that day. Three aircraft carriers, stationed at Pearl Harbor were at sea at the time. They were undetected and undamaged -- indeed, they played no part in the battle of Pearl Harbor at all. The Navy oil tank farms were untouched, as were the Navy Yard, with its machine shops, and the Navy Headquarters Building, the home of the Navy's intelligence unit. These provided the basis for the Pacific Fleet's campaign in the Pacific for the rest of the war.

The next day, Dec. 8, President Roosevelt delivered his "This Day Will Live In Infamy" speech to the combined houses of Congress, after which Congress, without a dissenting vote, declared war on the Japanese, Germany and Italy. They also amended the Selective Service Law (which limited American troops to the Western Hemisphere) so that American Armed Forces could fight anywhere in the world.

There were a great many heroes that day at Pearl Harbor. We know the stories of many of these men and women, but it is certain that many more of their stories are lost forever. Fortunately, until recently, we still had with us John William Finn, the oldest living Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient, and the last of the Medal of Honor Recipients from Pearl Harbor. (Note: John Finn passed away in 1910 at the age of 100)

Finn enlisted in the Navy in 1926. On December 7, 1941 he was a Chief Petty Officer stationed at the Naval Air Station at Oahu. Later he received a battlefield promotion to Ensign, and retired from the Navy in 1956 as Lieutenant. John lived by himself in California (his wife died in 1998) until his death in 2010 at the age of 100. He was an active participant at Navy Reunions. He had strong feelings about what is right and wrong about our country, and spoke his mind freely to seamen, admirals, and presidents. He has had buildings and naval facilities named after him. He has appeared as the guest of honor at innumerable festivities, ceremonies and parades. He was the darling of the Association of Aviation Ordnance Men. He went to the Pearl Harbor ceremonies every five years. His memory was "fantastic" to the end. He was regarded as "the very nicest sort of gentleman, friendly to everyone." The Hancock Association took pride to count him as a member of their group.

From the Medal of Honor Citation: "For extraordinary heroism, distinguished service, and devotion above and beyond the call of duty. During the first attack by Japanese airplanes on the Naval Air Station, Kanoehe Bay, on 7 December 1941, Lt. Finn promptly secured and manned a 50-caliber machine gun mounted on an instruction stand in a completely exposed section of the parking ramp, which was under heavy enemy machine-gun strafing fire. Although painfully wounded many times, he continued to man this gun and to return the enemy's fire vigorously and with telling effect throughout the enemy strafing and bombing attacks, and with complete disregard for his own personal safety. It was only by specific orders that he was persuaded to leave his post to seek medical attention. Following first-aid treatment, although obviously suffering much pain and moving with great difficulty, he returned to the squadron area and actively supervised the rearming of returning planes. His extraordinary heroism and conduct in this action were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service".

Source: Pearl Harbor Survivors Project, Wikipedia