Remembering Pearl Harbor

Last month, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Assassination of President Kennedy in 1963, there were a great many individuals who recounted to the television interviewers just where they were when they received the news of the tragedy. Everyone who lived through that time has no trouble recalling the event, still fresh in the mind's eye, even after a half century.

Those memories evoked another time, 72 years ago, when the nation was shocked by an event that those of us still living will never forget -- the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 -- riveted into our memories as is if it happened only yesterday.

On Dec. 7, probably most Americans did not even know where Pearl Harbor was. Then, over night Pearl Harbor became the rallying cry for the American people, our Call to War.

Japanese aggression in the Pacific had begun in earnest some 10 years sooner, when the Japanese invaded Manchuria and turned it into the Japanese State in 1931.

They had already annexed Korea as an Imperial Japanese Protectorate in 1910. They began their submission of China, in 1937. Initially, they were successful, but Gen. Chiang Kai Shek's freedom fighters were a continuing problem for the Japanese dreams of a Pacific Empire.

When the Japanese invaded French Indo-China in 1940, in order to curtail exports to China (including U.S. military supplies), the U.S. put an embargo on oil exports to oil-starved Japan. Japan then invaded the oil rich Dutch East Indies, furthering the Greater East Asia Prosperity Sphere, the showpiece of the Japanese Pacific Ambition.

The Philippine Islands, an American Territory, lay squarely in the path of the Japanese aggression. The Japanese realized that an invasion of the Philippines would bring on a massive U.S. retaliation. Instead, they launched a preventive attack on the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor, believing that it would blunt U.S. interference with plans to consolidate their Pacific Empire.

Plans for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had begun almost a year before, pushed through the Naval High Command by Admiral Yamamoto, who had threatened to resign if his plans for the attack were not approved. Pilots were trained specifically for this one mission, and the Japanese fleet was made ready for the attack. It was believed that Hitler's War in Europe would divert U.S. attention from Japanese activities in the Pacific. All systems for the attack were ready when final approval was granted by Emperor Hirohito in early December.

Back in October 1940 Admiral James Richardson, then Commander of the Pacific Fleet, had incurred the president's displeasure when he warned that the U.S. was making a big mistake in grouping virtually the entire Pacific fleet in one location (Pearl Harbor). But the president, following the counsel of Admiral Stark, Chief of Naval Operations and Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox countered that locating the fleet in one place would have a "restraining effect" on Japan's aggressive tendencies. Roosevelt was not na*ve, and said that the Japanese would sooner or later make a mistaken calculation and then the United States would be drawn into war.

Though Japanese movements in the Pacific became increasingly bolder, there was a general feeling in the United States that our great distance from their activities protected us. Most Americans felt that the Japanese were not that much of a threat. In those days the "Made in Japan" label on Japanese imports was a sure sign of shoddy goods. Could a country that put out such inferior merchandise be a threat to the U.S.?

Meanwhile, diplomatic discussions between the Japanese and the Washington officials continued almost non-stop. Japanese diplomats smilingly reassured American counterparts that Japanese intentions toward the U.S. were totally peaceful. Later, we learned that those diplomats had instructions to keep up those friendly discussions until 30 minutes before the attack was to take place on Pearl Harbor, when they were to break the news.

But back to my own recollections of that day. I was 13 years old, and in the 8th grade at Plainview, Nebraska, Junior High School. Mrs. Chase, the junior high principle, and our history teacher, was very good about keeping us current on world affairs.

We knew about Hitler and his conquests in Europe and we had talked some about the Japanese and their war in China, but like most 13-year-olds, I suppose, I was not much concerned about those faraway troubles.

The scene in Plainview that Dec. 7 was probably much the same as in other small towns in the Midwest. That Sunday afternoon had been warm, even balmy for a December afternoon. With some of my friends, I had just come out of a matinee at the Plains Theater. The picture we saw was "Navy Blues," a light-hearted comedy about life in the peacetime Navy, and starred Jack Oakie and Martha Raye, two of my favorites at the time.

When we emerged from the theater, we were greeted by Kenny Dickinson, one of the fellows from my Boy Scout Troop. He was excited and plied us with the news that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor, and that we would soon be in a war against the Japanese. I remember that there was quite a discussion about just where Pearl Harbor was, and just what the bombing our fleet meant. At home, we were glued to the radio late into the night with news of the attack and interpretation of that news. We learned that, in addition to Pearl Harbor, there were simultaneous attacks on U.S.-held Philippines, and the British Empire properties of Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

The next morning at school we were all herded into the high school gym (grades, junior high, and high schoolers) to hear President Roosevelt's famous "This Day Will Live in Infamy" address to the nation, in which he declared war on the Nazis AND the Japanese. That war lasted a long three and a half years, my entire high school career. America was changed forever.

It has often been called The Battle of Pearl Harbor, but it was hardly that -- more to the point it was an unmitigated disaster as far as the United States was concerned. The attack began at 7:48 Hawaiian time, with the systematic bombardment of Pearl Harbor and other military installations on the Island of Oahu by 353 Japanese fighters, bombers and torpedo planes.

They were launched in two waves from six aircraft carriers. All eight American battleships, clustered together in Pearl Harbor were damaged, four being sunk. (By the end of the war six of those eight were refurbished and took part in battles against the Japanese).

The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was a complete success. The American forces on Oahu were overwhelmed -- unable to mount much, if any defense against the attack. In addition to the damage done to the Navy, 188 US aircraft were destroyed (virtually the entirety of air power on Oahu).

The Americans had lost 2,402 men killed, 1,282 wounded. Amazingly, important base facilities, such as the power station, the ship yard, maintenance and fuel and torpedo storage facilities, headquarters building, and submarine piers were not attacked.

Against these losses, the Japanese losses were very light -- 29 aircraft, shot down by anti-aircraft fire, five midget submarines, and 65 service men. (One Japanese sailor was captured.)

There was plenty of blame to go around regarding our being so caught off guard by the surprise attack. Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, Commander of the Pacific Fleet, and Lt. Gen. Walter C. Short, Military Commander, responsible for military installations in Hawaii, were made the scapegoats, and bore the lion's share of the blame for the disaster.

Both men were demoted in rank and sent home in disgrace. Both were later exonerated. During the attack a bullet crashed through a window and grazed Adm. Kimmel's jacket. Recalling the incident later, Kimmel remarked, "It would have been merciful had it killed me."

Even as the Japanese Naval Commanders were savoring their victory, Admiral Yamamoto, one of the chief architects of the attack had second thoughts. At a meeting of the high command he is reported to have said, "I fear we have awakened a sleeping giant, and filled him with great resolve."

How right he was. Almost overnight the U.S. came together as never before (or since), became the mightiest military power on earth, waged and won the war on two far-flung fronts, and changed from isolation to be the world's policeman and humanitarian.

Let's Remember Pearl Harbor, as we go to fight the foe,

Let's Remember Pearl Harbor, as we did the Alamo,

We will always remember how they died for Liberty,

Let's Remember Pearl Harbor, and go on to Victory. Irving Berlin.

Source: Pearl Harbor -- History.com; Growing Up in Plain View