Pearl Harbor Attack
Pearl Harbor Pre-Attack
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On January 27, 1941, Ambassador Grew learned about a possible Pearl Harbor attack from The Honorable Richardo Rivera-Schreiber, Peru's Minister to Japan.
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Washington did not take this warning seriously since the information was attributed to a conversation overheard by a cook.
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In a final effort to avoid conflict, President Roosevelt sent a message to Emperor Hirohito of Japan via Ambassador Grew on Dec 5, 1941. Since communications were being
censored, the message wasn't received by Ambassador Grew until 2100 on Dec. 6th.
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Admiral Yamamoto referred to two books written by American authors in devising his offensive strategies. The Great Pacific War, written by Hector Bywater, discussed war strategies in the Pacific including a surprise attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor. Valor of Ignorance, written by Homer Lea, predicted that Japan could assume control of the Pacific by taking the Philippines, Hawaii, and Alaska.
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KGMB, a Hawaii radio station, played music all night as a homing device for aircraft flying into Hawaii.
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The Japanese Consulate in Honolulu did not know about the attack. It believed that maneuvers were in progress.
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Japan's response to proposals by Secretary of State Hull was received via a fourteen-part message by the army command in Washington, D.C. by 0830 EST on Dec. 7, 1941. The last part stated " The Japanese Government regrets to have to notify hereby the American Government that in view of the attitude of the American Government it cannot but consider that it is impossible to reach an agreement through further negotiations." Many officials in Washington, D.C. felt this message was unimportant. Everyone assumed Hawaii was on alert so there was no rush to notify them of the termination of relations with Japan. General Marshall, the Army's Chief of Staff, chose to send the warning via cable to Hawaii rather than use the telephone. The cable should have taken 30 minutes to reach Hawaii, but due to atmospheric conditions, it took much longer.
Pearl Harbor Attack
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The first Japanese submarine was spotted at 0630 outside Pearl harbor. At about 0640, the USS Ward commenced firing and sunk the submarine.
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The first attack wave started at 0753 and lasted for 42 minutes.
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The first torpedo hit the light cruise USS Raleigh at 0755.
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The explosion aboard the USS Arizona took place at 0805.
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145 different vessels were in Pearl Harbor on December 7th. 96 were warships.
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None of the Japanese pilots wore parachutes
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Governor Joseph Poindexter proclaimed a state of emergency at 1130.
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On December 7, 1941, about 40% of the population (160,000 people) were of Japanese ancestry living in the Territory of Hawaii.
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After the attack started, the Americans returned fire within 5 minutes. The return fire was primarily from the ships because the army's anti-craft ammunition was locked up in warehouses miles away. Even the ships took a few minutes before returning fire because the ammunition was locked up.
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During the early stages of the attack, Honolulu residents heard church music on the radio. Most residents believed the attack was target practice and realistic maneuvers.
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Alert 3 "Full Alert" was announced by the army at 0850.
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Second wave began at 0854.
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Within 3 hours of the attack (1600 EST) The White House Press Secretary announced that the President was preparing his declaration of war.
Pearl Harbor Post Attack
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Of the 415 crew members caught inside the USS Oklahoma, 32 were saved.
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After watching his ships being bombed, Admiral Kimmel removed his temporary Four Star shoulder boards and replaced them with his permanent rank, two-stars.
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There were four US submarines in Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack: Narwhal, Dolphin, Cachelot, and
Tautog.
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Of the 1,553 men aboard the Arizona, only 289 survived.
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Japan's aircraft losses: 3 fighters, 1 dive bomber, 5 torpedo planes.
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Losses to the USS West Virginia: 105 of 1,500. Ensign Roland Brooks saved hundreds of lives by ordering fire and rescue parties to help the USS California nearby.
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Losses to the US Nevada: 50 men.
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No Japanese ships were sunk on Dec. 7th, but 4 midget submarines were sunk.
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94 navy and 65 army planes were destroyed in the attack.
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1/3 of the burn cases were fatal because the men weren't fully clothed, so much of their skin was exposed.
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About 400 Japanese were arrested and incarcerated on Dec. 7th.
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Total US casualties: 2,403 dead and 1,178 wounded
- Total Japan casualties: 55 and 9 midget submarine crew.
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Damage to US aircraft: total=162
- Hawaiian Air Force: four B17's, thirty-two P-40's, two A-20's twenty-five other planes.
Other: one B-17, eleven from the carrier Enterprise
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Five of eight ships were sunk or badly damaged. 3/4 of the battle force at Pearl Harbor was lost.
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Messages intercepted on Dec. 3rd and 4th weren't translated until Dec. 10th. The messages showed Tokyo asking for information concerning Pearl Harbor. Japan had no reason to ask for this information, unless it planned to use it to attach ships in the harbor. If translated sooner, these messages would have warned the US of the imminent attack.
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Proclamation 2525 gave authority to the Department of Justice to detain "enemy aliens" by President Roosevelt on Dec. 7th
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Two major changes to the government were made based on lessons learned from the Pearl Harbor attack. The Central Intelligence Agency( CIA), specializing in foreign intelligence, was created. And the military was consolidated under the Department of Defense.
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