Aftermath: December 8

december 7th 1941 might be the date that lives in infamy but those words were actually used by president franklin roosevelt 80 years ago today on december 8th before a joint session of congress that was broadcast live to the nation at around 12 30 in the afternoon despite all the theories about forewarning of the attack and the extent to which the united states had already involved itself in the world conflict the japanese attack on pearl harbor shocked the nation left behind confusion fear and a deep sense of purpose but nowhere was the weight of history more obvious after the attack on december 7th than in the territory of hawaii where the attack occurred residents of that territory woke up the next day to look at the newspaper and see a world forever changed the immediate impact of the japanese attack on pearl harbor on the territory of hawaii deserves to be remembered the december 8 1941 edition of the honolulu advertiser represents the shock and confusion of the japanese attack front page stories report the experience of the paper's reporters the day before the streets were lined from one end of the city to the other with men and women and children some still in their pajamas and night shirts all were looking westward most of them with a somewhat perplexed expression on their faces another headline reads civilian toll 37 dead many hurt but the paper also includes incongruities page three has a sizable article called merit parade listing area youth someday jovial and fun florence will have a doctor's degree one of the most outstanding girls in the mamoa valley school is doris a senior and honor student alberto alfonso wants to be a musician charles potts a journalist another article talks about the december birthstone column reviews plays on broadway and an ad shows a yank in the raf starring tyrone power and betty grables playing at the waikiki theater a comic has little abner excited about poke chops for dinner these mundane stories that would be recognized in any local paper of the time are almost surreal next to lists of civilian casualties portuguese girl unidentified age 10 addressing known puncture wood left temple and stories about reporters on their way to the naval base seeing red sparks bouncing up in the pavement in front of us as a plane we don't know whose flew close of our head from the rear and we could hear the now familiar rat it's hard to wrap your mind around people being told to boil their water because tests haven't yet determined whether it is contaminated and that the navy to shoot all ships not identified also needed a story about how dressley's were long and notably full that season even in honolulu on december 8th 1941 immediately after the attack people did not seem to realize how much the world had changed or how little the length of dress sleeves would matter in the coming years but there is much in that december 8th edition to foreshadow the dramatic changes that would be affecting the us territory following the attack the headline reads saboteurs land here warning that a party of saboteurs had been landed on northern oahu was given early sunday morning by the army the saboteurs were distinguished by red discs on their shoulders renewed japanese bombing attacks on oahu reported the morning of the 8th a report from the united press says that a naval engagement was in progress off honolulu going so far as to say that nbc radio heard from a panama report that a japanese aircraft carrier was sunk these stories show how confused information was the website history on the net notes neither the naval battle off honolulu nor the repeated radio reports about the japanese paratroopers on the ground in honolulu were true but there was no immediate clarification in the days following speculation fed a bonfire of anxiety that would rage beyond control the severity of the immediate damage is obvious in the paper a box on page one proclaims blood donors urgently needed request that was repeated on december 10th while most histories of the attack on pearl harbor focus on the strategic effects the ships that were sunk and damaged immediate impacts like shutting down radio stations for fear that the japanese could navigate by them and the delay of local newspapers means that the the true story of what the people in hawaii were experiencing was relatively muted military reports from the day are surprisingly incomplete and the nation was distracted by the united states entry into the war but the immediate situation was terrible professor johnny bowen of the university of hawaii manoa wrote a history of the response by the honolulu fire department it was about a 12-minute response for engine 6 taken field so fireman richard young harry tuck lee pang and bill tam writing the wagons for step had plenty of time to contemplate what they were getting into young said as we responded over wanting moanalua road and puloa road we saw towering columns of black smoke with flames leaking hundreds of feet into the sky firehouse a website for fire rescue professionals described the experience of the men of honolulu fire department's engine number six reaching the main gate the men of engine 6 were relieved that the bombing strafing into aircraft returned fire had stopped but were awed by what they saw an underground gas made had been hit and was spewing flames dozens of feet into the air right near the front gate as they passed the column of flame the bigger picture began to come into focus dead dying and wounded military personnel lay everywhere a large barrack struck by a bomb was burning fiercely across the road several hangars and a quarter mile long line of park plains was also blazing himfield's own firefighting equipment had been hit in the initial attack bowen writes one engine had been driven about 20 feet out onto the ramp apparently trying to respond before it was strafed by the low flying japanese planes the driver was slumped over the steering wheel dead the other engine never got out of the station firehouse goes on now joined by engine number four they found that they were the only firefighting force available to handle the multiple fires rescue efforts and body recoveries surrounding them the airfield's water main had been severed and the hydrants were out of service fire crews pumped water from a bomb crater as honolulu indians started to arrive the second wave of japanese attackers came for the next 15 minutes all hell rained down on the honolulu firemen and the remaining military scattered across the airfield bombs whistled in shaking the ground as they detonated one after another streams of machine gun bullets screaming through the sky stitching death across the smoke-filled fire ground shrapnel ripped through the air tearing off those huddled on the ground trying to make themselves invisible to the pilots and machine gunners above equipment was damaged damaging the attacks bowen writes their apparatus so manufactured by the seed grave corporation of much of it 10 years old and chain driven have been repeatedly strafed and hit by bomb fragments the chemical tank of engine one's wagon was pierced by shrapnel and ninja's pumper had too many bullet holes to count wagon six was a fire the pumpers of engines one and four had been severely damaged by a hail of shrapnel all six tires were punctured on engine one's pumper radiators of several units were spewing miniature geysers of water through their bullet holes but that didn't keep them from their job he continues they got their damage to apparatus functioning by using brown soap and toilet paper to plug the holes in the radiators no one remembers exactly where these supplies came from seemingly they just materialized most logically from the toilets and the burning barracks but the fires weren't limited to military facilities bowen writes the bombs had barely stopped falling when the hfd alarm bureau became deluge with calls from assistance ranging from reports of live electrical wires to bomb strikes to serious building fires lopez said that there were so many alarm boxes being pulled that one round was coming in on top of another alexander beck a hoseman at engine number four was operating a reserve pumper that was dispatched to the honolulu gas company in iwilei for a gas storage tank fire bowen quoted back one of their two huge tanks was burning i really wondered how we were ever going to get that fire out a bomb or maybe an unexploded anti-aircraft shell had blasted a hole in the top of the tank gas was shooting up through this hole and was burning spectacularly three members of the honolulu fire department captain john carrera captain thomas macy and hosemann harry t l pang were killed in the attacks three others were injured and awarded purple hearts an award that is usually reserved for members of the military bowen notes the hfd had earned the distinction of being the only civilian fire department in the united states to fight fires caused by enemy action under combat conditions as fires raged the community faced the problem of dealing with the wounded the website of pearlharbor.org writes dead bodies were everywhere in the water streets and the islands many would never be recovered and today they remain in the waters or immersed in the soil there's no doubt the devastation of that event caused a lot of heartache both physically and psychologically the us military suffered more than 1100 wounded in the attack hospital facilities were relatively robust in hawaii pearl harbor hospital become overcrowded in 1940 and so the naval history and heritage command reports every effort had been made to add to the bed capacity equipment supplies and personnel the hawaiian area but of course nothing could have prepared them for the scope of the attack some facilities were damaged the hospital tents that housed the sick bay and dispensary were set on fire by incendiary ammunition at the marine corps station at eva casualties at the naval air station on the island of kaneohe overwhelmed the small dispensary there the evacuation to honolulu not immediately possible several casualties were sent to the kaneohe territorial hospital for the insane while the efforts of the navy medical department were commended after the attack still facilities were overwhelmed the naval history and heritage command rights ashore immediately after the attack first aid stations were set up quickly in the receiving barracks recreation center yard dispensary officers club submarine base dispensary naval air station dispensary and marine barracks the section base dispensary at bishop's point helped the army to care for men from hickam field still they continue because of lack of time and insufficient medical personnel surgical operations could not always be performed upon men within six hours after they were wounded boa encoded the experience of lieutenant kia loha of the honolulu fire department injured in the attack i was thrown into an army truck and taken to the hospital at fort shafter i was kept outside on the grass all night my wet clothes dried right on me the large u.s naval hospital at pearl harbor required help from the community the naval history and heritage command continues a doctor of the medical corps who was convalescing after a major operation voluntarily retuned to duty and worked until he became exhausted at the end of the third day a large number of civilian women who had nursing or first aid training volunteered to assist the 29 navy nurses a total of 114 registered nurses were supplied through the local red cross with as many as 26 of these on duty at one time about 8 or 10 nurses who were wives of enlisted men were of valuable assistance the injuries were not limited to the military facilities boeing notes and so it went throughout the morning reports of explosions and injured persons were coming into the hfd alarm bureau from all over honolulu one occurred on the grounds of lolani palace another killed a man at washington place poor civilian employees at pearl harbor died when their car was hit on judd street they've been trying to get to work a woman died from shrapnel wounds in upper nuanu valley eight miles from the military target several amateur boxers were wounded or killed while eating at a salmon stand at nuanu and kukui streets the total of civilian casualties rose rapidly most of the people being victims of bizarre accidents as they sought to protect their families and property some of the survivors had very frightening stories to relate about their harrowing experiences one person tells about shrapnel shearing off a telephone pole six inches above his head another of walls falling where she had stood seconds before a third speaks of shrapnel breaking a window in front of her just as she stumbled over a curb and fell head long to the ground the very last page of the advertiser's december 8th edition makes a brief mention a state of emergency now exists in hawaii under provisions of the in-day bill following a proclamation by the governor that proclamation would come to be much in the following days and years this referred to a provision of the 1900 hawaiian organic act which established the territory of hawaii one provision read that the governor shall be responsible for the faithful execution of the laws of the united states and the territory for hawaii within the said territory and whenever it becomes necessary he may call upon the commanders of the military and naval forces of the united states in the territory of hawaii or summon the posse committatus or call out the militia of the territory to prevent or suppress lawless violence invasion insurrection or rebellion in said territory and he may in case of rebellion or invasion or imminent danger thereof when the public safety requires it suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the territory or any part thereof under martial law until communication can be had with the president and his decision thereon made known the one sentence on the back page of the december 8th edition of the honolulu advertiser seems to miss the significance of the governor's proclamation hawaii was now under martial law and would be for the next three years the website of the history channel explains in the wake of japan's surprise attack on pearl harbor hawaiian civilians struggled to understand what had just happened and to make sense of the announcement that their island was now under martial law the military enforced a strict curfew took control of labor including wages working conditions and allocation of laborers they censored the press radio transmissions long-distance phone calls and outgoing mail hospitals food and liquor stores and even prostitution were under the direct control of the military all civilians except small children were registered fingerprinted and required to carry identification at all times rights of habeas corpus and trial by jury were suspended because nearly one third of the population was of japanese heritage hawaii could not afford internment is done on the mainland but the activities of japanese americans were specifically curtailed and people could be arrested without warrant or trial some 2 000 were arrested in the first 48 hours after the attack and 10 000 eventually arrested with some 2000 interred or transferred to detention on the mainland some civil authority was returned in march 1943 but martial law in hawaii did not end until october 1944. in the end none of these detainees was found guilty of any overt acts against u.s law none were accused of sabotage only a few were accused of espionage and only one a german citizen living in hawaii was found guilty of spying on behalf of the japanese he was sentenced to 50 years hard labor and deported to germany after the war the 1946 united states supreme court case duncan versus kaharamaku avoided the issue of military rule but did rule that supplanting of trial by jury with military courts was unconstitutional december 7 1941 changed the nation and the world but no place was more changed by the japanese attack on pearl harbor than the territory of hawaii waking up on december 8th still under the threat of japanese attack told that saboteurs were in their miss in facing the uncertain future under military rule the islands were forever changed the thousands and thousands of military personnel that came through the islands during the war transformed the hawaiian culture and landscape and helped to give rise to the tourist culture that would then propel the territory towards statehood in 1949 i hope you enjoyed this episode of the history guide short snippets of forgotten history and if you did enjoy feed the algorithm by making a comment or clicking that like button if you have suggestions for future episodes please send those to our suggestions email box check out our webpage at thehistoryguy.net and of course we're on facebook instagram and 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Channel: The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered

Views: 123,132

Keywords: history, history guy, the history guy, hawaii, wwii, pearl harbor

Id: hmzCN8ETXlE

Length: 15min 39sec (939 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 08 2021