Lecture- PEARL HARBOR

PEARL HARBOR changed the direction of the war and the future of Pacific. On Sunday December 7, 1941, at 8am, WE were attacked by Japan. President Roosevelt declared it a “Date that will Live in Infamy” when he addressed the Nation the next day (81% of Americans listened on the radio). In 1937 Japan had invaded China and the US placed an embargo on Japan and created a situation where Japan’s only choice was to attempt to occupy SE Asia and eventually when they got powerful enough, take on the US. Of course, by 1939 Europe was dealing with and struggling with Nazi Germany, and FDR was very reluctant to get the US involved with anything not domestic so close after WWI. So no one was fighting off the Japanese.

To add to the Japanese advantage, the US decided to move its Pacific fleet from San Diego to Hawaii, we were lining up warships (sounds like an easy, all at once target), and lastly Oahu Harbor was very narrow to get in/out (even though in 1898 US widened and deepened it) for us to use efficiently. Japan’s Admiral Yamamoto had a plan that no one in the US would even consider/imagine (there is no reason why the US underestimated them).

Japan sent 30 ships including 6 aircraft carriers 420 planes to attack Pearl Harbor where we had 130 US war ships anchored. The Japanese arrived within 230 miles of Pearl Harbor and at 6am on December 7, they left to begin the attack. A Japanese submarine was taken out by the US (near the entrance of the harbor) but we had no clue this was just their beginning. To add to the clues we missed, at 7am, 170 miles away a US radioperson sees the attack coming and reports it but when it is analyzed, it is determined to be our ships. WRONG! To add to the problem, its Sunday and a lot of soldiers were on leave, and since Monday was inspection day, many weapons and ammunition were put away to look organized.

At this point 183 aircraft were on their way for the first attack on Pearl Harbor. They hear the battle cry, Tora Tora Tora (TIGER) and attack, and are successful at hitting “battleship row” (see photos). All 8 battleships were attacked and 3 were sunk, with the US Arizona creating the biggest explosion because it hit their fuel tanks and was sunk. All this damage was done in less than an hour. The US only got 6 aircraft up in the air… meager attempt that did not do much help. 1,000’s of crew died or were thrown in water and requiring rescue. At 8:55am, there was a second wave of Japanese attacks all over Oahu creating more damage and the entire attack (thank goodness they decided not to do their third wave) was all over in less than 2 hours.

In this attack, 188 aircraft were destroyed and 159 damaged. Only 29 Japanese were destroyed. The USS Arizona and USS Utah had been sunk and 21 ships were severely damaged (good news is that 18 were quickly restored). We lost 2,403 military (more than half of these on the Arizona). This includes 68 civilians. 1178 were injured.

US anti-Japanese sentiment after the attack put 120,000 US citizens into internment camps in the US. In addition, 1/3 of Hawaii was Japanese Americans at the time that were all put under surveillance but not rounded up (too many).

Japanese fleet was now spread thin across the Pacific. At Midway, in mid-1942, the US cracked the Japanese secret codes and Japan’s plans to attack Midway and this time we were ready! In 3 days, Japan lost 3,000 men and 3 aircraft carriers. We had a decisive win and our “revenge”. More importantly, this battle changed the tide of the war. General Douglas MacArthur returned to the Philippines on October 20, 1944, to fulfill his 1942 vow ("I shall return") to liberate the islands from Japanese occupation. This strategic move aimed to recapture a key Allied territory, fulfill a moral obligation to the Filipino people, and sever Japan's supply lines to the south. In August 1945, the United States dropped 2 atomic bombs on Japan, destroying Hiroshima and 3 days later, Nagasaki. These attacks killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people there. These bombings, along with the Soviet declaration of war against Japan, forced Japan to surrender and the end of WWII. On September 2, 1945, an agreement was signed on USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay Japan. The Missouri is now anchored in Pearl Harbor and you can tour it when you visit.Meer informatie