December 7, 1941, 7:54 am: one minute
before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Petty Officer First Class Joseph Leon George
is aboard the USS Vestal. He is staring at the hull of the USS Arizona. George is part of
the repair crew who is checking the battleship to ensure it is ready to deploy with the rest of
the Pacific Sea Fleet. He is talking to the other sailors aboard the Vestal about upcoming repairs
when they hear the buzzing of plane engines. “What’s that?” one of the sailors asks.
Suddenly, a whistling sound from above starts to grow louder and louder. “Take
cover!” George yells. At that very moment, a Japanese bomb strikes the Arizona and
detonates. Fire erupts on the ship’s deck. Debris flies everywhere. George’s ears ring. He
stands up and squints hard to focus his sight. He sways from side to side, trying to get his
balance. George looks next to him and sees a member of his crewmates trying to stand.
He reaches down and helps the sailor up. “Are you okay?” George screams, but he can
barely hear his own voice. A moment later, another bomb detonates atop the deck of
the USS Arizona. “It’s the Japanese!” someone yells. “Get to the guns!” George
is about to run to the armory when he sees six men trapped in the control tower
aboard the Arizona. Flames slowly creep toward them from all sides. “Help us!”
George hears one of the sailors yell. The Arizona has begun to sink. “Cut the line!” a
commander shouts to George. The Vestal is still moored to the sinking battleship. George looks
at the rope and then at the men trapped in the control tower. As the Arizona continues to be
struck by bombs, the tower is slowly listing towards the deck of the Vestal. “I said cut the
line, sailor!” the commander yells again. George looks at the knife in his hand for a moment and
then sheaths it. He runs to the side of the ship, and instead of cutting the line, he grabs
more rope that is lying on the deck. The sailors aboard the Arizona are screaming
as the flames engulf the command tower. George doesn’t think; he just acts. He waits for the
right moment and throws the rope toward the men. One of them catches it. George shouts
at the sailors to secure their end and climb across to the Vestal. He prays that they can
make it aboard before the flames consume them and they are lost like the thousands of other
soldiers who will perish at Pearl Harbor.
July 1940: one year and five months
before the attack on Pearl Harbor. “We cannot allow Japan to continue their expansion
in the Pacific. They continue to wage their brutal war in China and have now expanded into Cambodia,
Laos, and Vietnam,” a high-ranking general says to the gathered U.S. leadership. “Their brutal war
in China has emboldened them. The country has modernized at an astonishing rate, and their Navy
has become a formidable force. We must act now.” President Franklin Delano Roosevelt nods his
head. The conflict in Europe is not going well. It seems that authoritarian rule will be
the way of the future if the United States does not aid the Allies in Europe and stop Japanese
Imperialism in the Pacific. But the nation as a whole has decided to stay out of the war after the
horrors that were experienced in The Great War. “Very well,” the President says. “Impose
trade sanctions and implement an oil embargo on Japan. We need to slow
their economic growth to disrupt their military expansion.” The President
pushes his wheelchair back from the table. His advisors rise from their seats as
the Commander in Chief exits the room. Early January 1941: 11 months
before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto meets with
other Japanese officials about how to deal with the United States
and the sanctions it has placed on Japan. These sanctions have in
effect crippled the Japanese Empire, cutting it off from badly needed industrial
products. If they do nothing, the Empire of the Rising Sun will wither and die on the vine.
There is only one choice, and he knows it. He is not sure that a war with the U.S. is wise,
but something needs to be done. Yamamoto has quickly risen through the ranks for his strategic
prowess and dedication to the Imperial cause. “I am not sure if we can defeat
the American’s Pacific Sea Fleet, especially with their bases in the
Philippines and throughout Pacific waters,” Yamamoto warns. Discontent grumbles
rise from the other military officers at the meeting. Japanese Nationalism is in full
swing. Their progress throughout the Pacific and East Asia has strengthened their
fortitude. Many dream of a Japanese Empire. “It is not optional,” Prime Minister Tojo
Hideki hisses. “We will defeat the Americans, so figure out how to make it possible.”
Yamamoto sighs and places his hand on a manila folder in front of him. “There may
be a way,” Yamamoto says. “There is a U.S. Naval base in Hawaii. They keep most of
the Pacific Sea Fleet there. It could be our only shot.” Prime Minister Hideki’s
eyes seem to reflect the fires of burning warships. As he reads the proposal, his
lips curl up into a shark-like smile. January 27, 1941: less than 11 months
before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Joseph Grew dashes through a Tokyo alleyway.
He hides behind a pile of garbage and pants heavily. He has stumbled onto something that
the Japanese would kill to keep quiet. He glances around the corner to make sure he
isn’t being followed. Grew sprints towards a building across the street. It is where he
has been staying throughout his negotiations with the Japanese government. They are upset
about the sanctions and embargos, but Grew has been trying to find a diplomatic way to maintain
peace while also moderating Japanese ambitions. Now he fears for his life as the information
he has uncovered will almost certainly lead to war. He bursts through the front doors of
the building that acts as the United States intelligence base of operations. “I need to send
a wire to the President!” he screams at the staff who are monitoring different communications
in the area. Everyone stares at him in shock. The Ambassador’s shirt is untucked; his face is
covered in dirt. If they didn’t know any better, the staff would have thought this was just
some crazy man who wandered in off the street. But they quickly recognize the Ambassador and
escort him to the back of the room. There he writes a message that will be wired back
to the United States. When it is finished, he looks at the other Americans in the
room. “Pack your stuff,” he says. “When the President gets this wire, we need to be
ready to leave Japan at a moment's notice.” An intelligence officer runs through the halls
of the Whitehouse. The President is meeting with his senior military staff about the escalating
tensions in the Pacific. The officer enters the room; everyone turns to look at him. In his hand
he clutches a piece of paper. He just received a communication from the Ambassador to Japan.
The intelligence officer cautiously walks up to the President. “This just came over the wire
for you, sir; you need to read it immediately.” The President takes the message and scans it. “The
communication is from Joseph Grew,” Roosevelt says out loud. “He says he’s discovered plans that
Japan will launch a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.” There is silence in the room. The
Chief of Naval Operations speaks first. “That can’t possibly be true. There is no way that
the Japanese would attack the Pacific Fleet without first declaring war, and there is no
indication that they are prepared to do so.” The rest of the military leaders in the room
agree. “It is far more likely the Japanese will attack Manila in the Philippines if they
ever dare to start a war with us,” the Naval officer concludes. The President reads the
message one more time. He crumples it up and gives it back to the intelligence officer.
“It is agreed then,” Roosevelt responds. “An attack on Pearl Harbor is not plausible.
We will operate under the assumption that if Japan does become aggressive, we will need
to mount a defense in the Philippines.” The intelligence officer is dismissed;
the meeting between his military leaders and the President continues. There is
no warning sent to Pearl Harbor or any other military installation in Hawaii about the
communication that Ambassador Joseph Grew sent. February 1941: 10 months before
the attack on Pearl Harbor. “I am happy to announce the new
admiral of the Pacific Fleet, Husband E. Kimmel”. The roar of applause fills the
warm Hawaiian air. There is a lot to do now that Admiral Kimmel is in command. A celebratory
dinner was planned in his honor, but first, he must talk to Lieutenant General Walter C.
Short about the defense of the islands. Using the intel that has been sent to them, they devise
a plan to protect the islands from any threat. Both Kimmel and Short are not privy to
the communication sent by Ambassador Grew, so they do not know the true extent of a
Japanese threat on their forces. However, both men decide without having all the
information that the island’s defenses are lacking and ask Washington for additional
men and equipment. Washington says they’ll consider it. For now, Kimmel and Short
must do their best with what they have. May 1941: 7 months before
the attack on Pearl Harbor. Admiral Kichisaburō Nomura of the Imperial
Japanese Navy explains the situation. “They have broken our codes!” he shouts. “The Americans
know everything we’ve been planning!” The rest of the Japanese leadership, except for a select few,
disregard Nomura’s warning. There is no way that the United States could have broken their codes.
And if they had, surely there would have been some sort of repercussions for the planning of a
secret attack at one of their naval installations. Nomura pleads with Japanese leadership to
change their plans or, at the very least, use new codes. His requests fall on deaf ears. An SIS intelligence officer waits until the room
is clear. He sneaks into the Japanese office and quickly takes pictures of documents lying
on a desk. The pictures are brought back to analysts working for the United States Army's
Signals Intelligence Service and the Navy's Communication Special Unit, both of which are
part of the MAGIC Program to decrypt Japanese communications. These coded documents, along with
intercepted encrypted morse code messages sent between diplomats and the Japanese military,
begin to paint a clearer picture of what they have planned in the Pacific. All intercepted
communications are sent back to Washington. However, much of the intel is never
forwarded to Kimmel and Short in Hawaii.
July 1941: 5 months before
the attack on Pearl Harbor. Admiral Yamamoto stares through the lenses of his
binoculars, watching his fleet carry out a series of maneuvers. For now, he and the highest-ranking
military officers are the only ones who know about what they are training for. Every day
relations between Japan and the United States become more and more tense. Every day Yamamoto
advocates for another solution besides war. But the leadership of Japan and Prime Minister
Tojo Hideki, in particular, doesn’t want to hear words of doubt. They will declare war on the
United States with or without Yamamoto’s help. Admiral Yamamoto gives in and advises that the
only hope Japan has is to attack the Naval base at Pearl Harbor and crush the U.S. Pacific
Fleet before they can be sent further West. Now, every day is a new Naval exercise.
Sailors are drilled and pushed to their limit. The ships sail through rough waters
to ready their crews for the journey to come. Pilots regularly practice their maneuvers
after launching from the decks of carriers. This will be the largest and most important modern
assault in Japanese Naval history. Yamamoto just prays that it is enough to cripple the
U.S. Fleet; otherwise, all will be lost. September 24, 1941: less than 3 months
before the attack on Pearl Harbor. “Sir, we have to let Kimmel and Short know
about this,” the intelligence officer says. They just intercepted a coded transmission
from Japanese naval intelligence to Japan's consul general in Honolulu, asking for
a grid of the exact locations of ships in Pearl Harbor. The message is called the
“bomb plot,” and it is a clear indication that the Japanese have an interest
in the U.S. forces stationed there. The culmination of all the deciphered messages and
communications clearly reveals that the Japanese are planning something. Yet, Washington seems
to have its own agenda. “We will consider what this means for our forces in the Pacific,” the
General says, taking the “bomb plot” message from the intelligence officer. “Thank you for
your hard work; you can return to your post.” “But sir,” the intelligence officer
tries to protest. “I said you are dismissed.” The conversation is
over. The “bomb plot” message is filed away. It is never sent to
Admiral Kimmel or General Short. November 16, 1941: 21 days before
the attack on Pearl Harbor. Sirens wail throughout the Japanese
I-400-class submarine as it prepares to dive. Sailors make final preparations
before the sub descends into the dark depths of the Pacific. On board,
they carry Type A midget submarines, which will be launched into the waters
of Pearl Harbor on the day of the attack. November 26, 1941: 11 days before
the attack on Pearl Harbor. Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo stands
aboard the bridge of the attack fleet’s flagship. He has received the
command for all vessels to begin their journey to Hawaii. The fleet consists of
over 60 ships, six of which are aircraft carriers and more than a dozen warships.
The rest of the vessels are for support, but it is more than enough to annihilate
the U.S. forces stationed at Pearl Harbor. November 27, 1941: 10 days before
the attack on Pearl Harbor. “Did you see the communication from Washington?”
Admiral Kimmel asks General Short. “Yeah, it said there could be a possible
Japanese attack on an American target in the Pacific. They didn’t seem too
concerned about us, though,” Short replies. The admiral nods his head. “We should still
keep a close eye on things,” Kimmel notes. They file the communication away and continue
to conduct routine defensive measures. Their request for more men and equipment still
hasn’t been approved. It seems as if the government sees no serious threat to the
ships and men stationed at Pearl Harbor. November 28, 1941: 9 days before
the attack on Pearl Harbor. A horn blast cuts through the salty Hawaiian
air. Military personnel wave to Task Force 8 as it leaves Pearl Harbor for Wake Island
in the middle of the Pacific. There is a U.S. military base there, but the mission
itself is classified. The USS Enterprise, one of the three aircraft
carriers in the Pacific Fleet, and 12 other ships leave the blue waters of
Pearl Harbor and embark on their journey. December 5, 1941: 2 days before
the attack on Pearl Harbor. Rear Admiral John H. Newton salutes
from the deck of the USS Lexington as the aircraft carrier leaves
Pearl Harbor to deliver 18 Vought SB2U-3 Vindicators of the Marine Scout
Bombing Squadron 231 to Midway Island At the same time, the USS Saratoga, which
was also normally stationed at Pearl Harbor, has just completed repairs and modifications
at the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton, Washington. It is sailing to Naval Air Station
North Island near San Diego before it is scheduled to return to Pearl Harbor and regroup with the
rest of the Pacific Fleet. At this point in time, none of the aircraft carriers are docked at
Pearl Harbor, but there is no way for Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto to know this as his attack force
gets closer and closer to the Hawaiian islands. December 6, 1941, late in the evening: less
than 12 hours before the attack on Pearl Harbor. U.S. intelligence is buzzing. A newly
deciphered message indicates there is a deadline for Japanese action scheduled for
the following morning. It is not clear from the message exactly what the action will
be, but it can’t be good. The President of the United States and his advisors don’t
believe Japan will launch an attack until a declaration of war has been announced. Analysts
scramble to try and uncover more information. Half a world away, Ambassador Joseph Grew sits
in his office. There is shouting outside his door and the sound of something hitting the ground.
He stares at the entryway as several shadows materialize on the other side of the frosted glass
door window. The door is forced open, and several Japanese soldiers swarm the office. They take
Grew captive in preparation for what is to come. December 7, 1941, 3:42 am: 4 hours
before the attack on Pearl Harbor. A sailor aboard the USS Condor spots something in
the water. “Sir! I think you should take a look at this.” The captain walks over to his station.
“What is that?” the captain asks. He looks around the bridge. All eyes are on him. The captain
of the Condor runs the side of the ship. “Get me binoculars!” he shouts. The captain stares
through the lenses. The moon illuminates the entrance to Pearl Harbor. Something is cutting
through the water; it looks like a periscope. He can’t be sure it was a
submarine that was spotted, so the minesweeper is ordered to continue its
patrol to get a better handle on the situation. December 7, 1941, 6:10 am: 1 hour and 45
minutes before the attack on Pearl Harbor. The men stationed at Pearl Harbor begin to
awake and start their morning routines. The horizon becomes red as the sun prepares to rise.
It is peaceful and serene. Sailors play tennis before their duties begin; others are already
at the mess hall to have breakfast. A soldier steps out of his barracks and looks at the
sunrise. He stretches and says the old adage, not knowing how true it will be this day. “Red sky
at night, sailor’s delight; red sky in morning, sailor’s take warning.” There is no
indication that in the coming hours, the island will be swarmed by Japanese aircraft,
and the waters will run crimson with blood. 275 miles north of the island of Oahu,
the Japanese fleet has come to a stop. The sailors prepare for the attack. Planes
are checked and rechecked. The position of every ship is precisely coordinated. The
engines of the aircraft roar to life. Vice Admiral Nagumo gives the order to launch.
Planes scream across the decks of the six aircraft carriers and take flight. They get into
formation and begin heading toward Pearl Harbor. December 7, 1941, 6:45 am: 75 minutes
before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Cannons fire and depth charges drop from
the USS Ward. The Condor had been right. There was a Japanese sub in Pearl Harbor’s
waters. The crew of the Ward maneuvers the ship to get a better shot. The cannon
fire can be heard from the shores. Some stop what they’re doing to see what the
commotion is; others just chalk it up to a training exercise. The Ward stops firing
to confirm if they’ve sunk the Japanese sub. December 7, 1941, 6:53 am: 62 minutes
before the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Captain of the Ward radios the
headquarters of the Fourteenth Naval District, which is responsible for defending the
Hawaiian Islands. “We have attacked, fired upon, and dropped depth charges
upon a submarine operating in the defensive perimeter,” the Captain says. The
district commandant makes an assumption that will have drastic consequences. He assumes
that the Japanese submarine is an isolated incident. The USS Ward is more than capable
of dispatching a single sub. The commandant takes no further action. The commander of the
Pacific Fleet is notified of the incident but waits for confirmation that the sub has been
destroyed before taking any further actions. December 7, 1941, 7:02 am: 53 minutes
before the attack on Pearl Harbor. A soldier manning a radar station on Oahu
squints at his screen. “What the hell is that?” he asks himself. A large formation
of aircraft has appeared off the coast of the island. He informs his superior,
who looks at the radar readings. He walks over to the manifest hanging on the
wall. The lieutenant flips through the pages. He walks back to the radar station
and looks at the readings again. “Must be the B-17 bombers scheduled to arrive today,”
he says to the technician. “Must have just gotten here early.” He alerts no one of
what has been picked up on the radar. December 7, 1941, 7:40 am: 15 minutes
before the attack on Pearl Harbor. The sound of plane engines breaks the
peaceful serenity on Oahu. Soldiers on the north side of the island look up at the
sky. They can’t believe what they see. 183 Japanese aircraft fly overhead. They are armed
with bombs, torpedoes, and heavy machine guns. December 7, 1941, 7:49 am: 6 minutes
before the attack on Pearl Harbor. A group of Japanese planes detaches from the main
attack force. They head inland towards Wheeler Field. Aircraft sit on the tarmac awaiting
inspection. This is the largest airfield on the island. Gino Gasparelli walks toward the
mess hall, looking at the fighter planes as he passes. He moves at a much more leisurely
pace than he has for the last several days. The airfield had been on high alert for almost a
week, but yesterday the alert had been called off. The 48 planes Gino passes are lined up in a
row, wing tip to wing tip, on the tarmac in front of their hangars. He strides towards the
barracks to get changed and enjoy some R&R off base. Gino enters the barracks and begins
a conversation with some of the men who are getting ready for the day. They laugh as they
talk about their plans. The lightheartedness of the discussion is shattered when the drone
of engines is heard outside the barracks. Gino looks around. “There are no
scheduled exercises today,” he says to the other soldiers. Their eyes open wide
as the sound of plane engines gets louder and louder. “Move!” Gino shouts. The men
burst out the back door of the barracks. Gino looks up into the sky and sees several
black planes flying just above the treetops. He makes eye contact with the gunner sitting
in the back seat of one of the planes. Gino watches in horror as a bomb is released
from the aircraft and begins to fall. He dashes back into the barracks and shouts at
everyone who is still asleep or just waking up from the previous night of partying to get
out now. There is no time to get dressed, grab belongings, or hesitate. The men run
out of the barracks and head for cover. Gino glances at the airfield as the bomb
dropped from the Japanese plane explodes, taking out one of the hangers. The
platoon sergeant shouts at the men to take cover in the tree line. Gino
sprints towards the trees as bullets pepper the ground all around him. The gunners
are firing down at the retreating soldiers. Gino dives into the shrubs and bushes along the
tree line. The rest of the squad is still making their way toward cover. They have no weapons
to return fire with as twigs and branches are shattered by machine gun fire above their heads.
The planes continue to circle for several minutes, dropping bombs on the airfield and firing
at anything that moves. The platoon leader orders Gino and the rest of the squad who
made it to the treeline to sneak into the armory and grab the .20 caliber rifles. Others
grab cement bags and create a makeshift bunker. Gino darts in between buildings. He dives under
vehicles to stay out of the sight of the Japanese gunners. Soldiers who have secured rifles fire up
into the air to no avail. Gino grabs a cement bag and orders his squad mates to do the same. They
carry the bags back to the platoon as quickly as possible. The Japanese aircraft continue south
to join the rest of the attack force at Pearl Harbor. Gino looks across the Wheeler Airfield and
counts no fewer than 80 dead or wounded soldiers. December 7, 1941, 7:55 am: the
attack on Pearl Harbor begins. Japanese aircraft appear in the sky over Pearl
Harbor. They look like a swarm of locusts coming to destroy the island. The attack force is made up
of Mitsubishi A6M2 Zeros. They are fast and agile, allowing them to maneuver into striking
positions and hit their targets hard. The military personnel at Pearl Harbor watch
as Japanese aircraft blot out the sun and drop their payloads on the ships there. Everyone
who witnesses the onslaught of enemy planes approaching tries desperately to mount a defense.
They have been given no warning. Unfortunately, there are thousands of soldiers who have
no idea that the attack has begun. They are in the bellies of their ships where
there is no view of the outside world. Others are fast asleep after finishing
their night shifts. The tragedy that is unfolding in real-time is like nothing
any of these men have ever experienced. As the first wave of the
attack begins on Pearl Harbor, five ships are hit with bombs. One of
these vessels is the USS Arizona. Joseph Leon George had watched as the Arizona
erupted in flames and six men became trapped in the ship's control tower. Now he
is desperately trying to save their lives. December 7, 1941, 8:00 am: five minutes
after the attack on Pearl Harbor began. The line that George threw to the men aboard the
Arizona goes taught. They have secured their end. George shouts at them to climb across as he holds
the other end of the rope to make sure it doesn’t slip. One by one, the men in the control tower of
the Arizona shimmy along the rope to the safety of the Vestal. George and several other sailors
help the men from the USS Arizona on board. The last man in the command tower grabs onto the
rope and starts climbing. The flames have fully enveloped the command center. George prays
that the flames don’t snap the rope before the sailor makes it across. It is a long way to
the water’s surface below, and the impact would probably knock the sailor out. George urges him
forward. The rope begins to fray. The fire licks at the fibers causing them to snap one by one.
“Hurry!” George shouts. The sailor grits his teeth and climbs as fast as he can. He’s not going to
make it, George thinks. He reaches out his hand, grabs onto the sailor, and pulls him
aboard the Vestal. A moment later, the rope snaps. Joseph George saved all six lives
of the men trapped aboard the USS Arizona command tower. The battleship burns for another two
and a half days in the waters of Pearl Harbor. December 7, 1941, 8:10 am: fifteen minutes
after the attack on Pearl Harbor began.
Sterling Cale scans the harbor as the USS
Arizona explodes into a fireball of shrapnel and thick black smoke. He had just finished
a long night of work as a pharmacist’s mate, where he dispensed medicine. When he first saw the
planes emerge in the skies over Battleship Row, he thought it was odd there was so much action
on a Sunday. But once the bombs started falling, he realized this wasn’t an exercise;
Pearl Harbor was under attack. Cale runs towards the explosions in the harbor.
He looks up just as a plane rips across the sky above him. He can see the red circles on the
craft’s fuselage and immediately understands that the Japanese have declared war on the United
States. He stops his forward momentum and veers towards one of the armories to grab a rifle.
While at the armory, Cale runs into some other soldiers from the base. They band together
and run towards Battleship Row, where bombs detonate everywhere. They run towards the severely
damaged USS Oklahoma. Smoke bellows from its hull, and the sounds of screams cut through the air
even as explosions continue throughout the harbor. “Come on!” Cale shouts. “We need to get to
the Oklahoma and save everyone we can.” As they get closer, there is a gutwrenching
groaning sound. The Battleship begins to list and then rolls onto its side. Cale
and the other men come to a stop as they watch the top of the Oklahoma disappear from
view. “They still need our help!” Cale yells. He continues running towards the water,
where men are swimming for their lives. As he approaches the docks, Cale can feel
intense heat. But it is not just the ships that are ablaze; the water itself is on fire. The
oil leaking from the ships has coated the water’s surface and ignited. Now sailors desperately
trying to escape the carnage are simultaneously being burnt to death while drowning. It is an
image that will fuel nightmares for years to come. Cale and the other men dive into the water.
They swim under the flames to reach wounded sailors. It is dangerous, but it is their only
hope. One by one, Cale and the others pull half-conscious men out of the burning waters.
He sees the USS Arizona and other ships get hit again and again by Japanese bombs. Cale is
in the water long after the Japanese aircraft return to their carriers. He manages to pull
45 sailors out of the water over the course of four hours. Some are already dead, others
are just exhausted and need a helping hand. When his body can no longer tread through the
water from fatigue, Cale returns to the medical facilities and beings helping with triage.
There will be no rest for several days as the aftermath of Pearl Harbor sets in, and he
tries to help save as many lives as possible. December 7, 1941, 8:17 am: 22 minutes
after the attack on Pearl Harbor began. “Fire!” screams the captain of the USS Helm.
Japanese Type A midget submarines have entered the harbor and are firing torpedoes at American ships.
There are at least five of the subs in the harbor, but now there is one less. The Helm’s cannons
hit one of the enemy vessels at the entrance to the harbor. It explodes and bubbles as
the sub sinks to the bottom of the harbor. December 7, 1941, 8:54 am: the second wave begins. 170 Japanese aircraft circle around the east side
of Oahu. The initial attack on Pearl Harbor has been raging for an hour. This second wave will
bring even more death and destruction. Everest Capra is stationed at Hickman Field near the
entrance to the harbor. When the initial attack started, Capra could see the Japanese planes
in the distance. He noticed the circles on the wings and shouted, “they are here! They are
here!” The entire base jumped into action. Capra and the other men at Hickman had just
enough time to gear up before the first wave hit. Now the fight for their lives continues as
the second wave of Japanese planes fly overhead. Capra dodges machine gun fire and explosions
as he runs toward a wounded soldier. He slides across the ground to the man’s side. “Are
you alright?” he asks. But it is clear that the soldier has lost consciousness. Capra picks
him up and slings the man across his shoulders. He carries the wounded man to the newly built
hospital at the airfield and drops him off. He then immediately turns around and runs out
the door to help rescue other fallen soldiers. Capra spots a man crawling for cover. He races
towards the wounded soldier. At that moment, a bomb falls from the sky. It detonates
next to Capra, sending him flying through the air. He hits the ground hard and
blacks out. When he finally comes to, it is clear that at least some time has passed.
There are still Japanese planes in the sky, but fewer than before. Capra rubs his
head and feels warm liquid run down his cheek. He looks at his hand and sees that
his index finger is hanging by a thread. Capra tries to stand up but falls back to the
ground; he is bleeding badly from his leg. He crawls to a nearby barrack and finds
masking tape. He tapes his finger back to his hand and wraps the adhesive
around the wound in his leg. His biggest fear is that if he went to the
hospital, they would put him in a bed, and he wouldn’t be able to help his comrades.
With his finger secured and the bleeding under control, Capra runs back onto the airfield,
looking for more wounded soldiers to help. December 7, 1941, 9:30 am: 1 hour and 35 minutes
after the initial attack on Pearl Harbor began. The USS Shaw explodes in dry dock. Every
single battleship at Pearl Harbor has been hit, but only the USS Arizona and Oklahoma
are completely destroyed. Vice Admiral Nagumo is informed that the first
two waves failed to destroy many of the ships docked at Pearl Harbor. It is
requested that a third strike be launched. “It is too risky,” Nagumo says. “I’m in
charge of this attacking force. We caused immense damage with minimal casualties. It
is time to return home.” His officers agree; the fleet prepares to sail back to Japan.
Out of the 353 aircraft involved in the attack on Pearl Harbor, only 29 were lost.
The remaining aircraft are recalled to their carriers. 30 minutes later, the last of the
Japanese planes leave the island of Oahu. The Japanese believe their surprise
attack was a resounding success, and they have effectively crippled the Pacific
Fleet. There is celebration as they make their way back to Japan. It is believed that the attack
on Pearl Harbor will keep the United States from taking an offensive position in the Pacific.
This will allow them to expand further along the coast of East Asia and in the Pacific theater.
However, they have made a huge miscalculation. The fact that all three U.S. aircraft
carriers were not at Pearl Harbor during the attack means these ships are fully
functional and ready to be deployed across the Pacific. United States oil supplies,
submarines, and repair facilities around the Hawaiian islands and at other positions in
the Pacific were left untouched. Logistically, the United States Navy is in good shape.
Even though two battleships were destroyed, the rest of the battleships in the Pacific
Fleet are able to be repaired. This takes time, but it is a huge mistake by Japan not to make sure
that the battleships were more severely damaged. December 8, 1941: 1 day after
the attack on Pearl Harbor. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
stands before congress and speaks the first sentence of one of the most famous
speeches in history. “Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United
States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air forces of
the Empire of Japan.” Until this point, the American public did not want the nation
to enter the war, but that all changed after that attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese attack
may have temporarily damaged the Pacific Fleet, but it also enraged the country, and now
the United States is coming for revenge. December 16, 1941: 9 days after
the attack on Pearl Harbor. Admiral Kimmel and General Short are
relieved of their commands. The United States government needs a scapegoat for
the 2,403 Americans that died at Pearl Harbor. Even though these two men were
never given all of the information and intel they needed to prepare for the attack, the
government still blames them for what happened. The next year, The Roberts Commission,
appointed by President Roosevelt, finds Kimmel and Short in dereliction of duty.
The commission claims that these two men are solely responsible for the Pearl Harbor disaster.
This decision is a gross misrepresentation of what actually transpired between the months
before the attack and the attack itself. January 1944: 2 years and 1 month
after the attack on Pearl Harbor. A man by the name of Captain Laurence Safford
discovers damning evidence against the U.S. government and shows that they had prior knowledge
of a possible attack on Pearl Harbor before it happened. Stafford was the Navy's former chief
cryptographer. While going through old documents, he stumbles across evidence that Washington
withheld secret information from Kimmel and Short. In light of this new evidence, eleven months
later, a Naval Court of Inquiry finds that Kimmel was, in fact, not derelict in his
duties but had acted appropriately with the information that he had. Not wanting
to be blamed by the public for the death and destruction of Pearl Harbor, the Chief of
Naval Operations overrules the court's findings to protect the government. It is decided that
if Kimmel had conducted aerial reconnaissance, he might have discovered the Japanese fleet
off the coast of Hawaii. This is a thinly veiled attempt to protect the government
and place the blame on a single individual. May 25, 1999: 57 years and 7 months
after the attack on Pearl Harbor. A resolution is presented to the
Senate. 52 U.S. Senators vote in favor; 47 vote against. A non-binding resolution to
exonerate both Kimmel and Short as the sole two individuals responsible for the disaster
at Pearl Harbor is passed. The Senate requests that the President of the United States
posthumously restore them both to full rank. Then President Bill Clinton did not act on
the resolution. George W. Bush did not act on the resolution. Barack Obama did not
act on the resolution. Donald Trump did not act on the resolution. Joe Biden
has yet to act on the resolution. Both Husband E. Kimmel and Walter Campbell
Short are still officially the only two men responsible for letting the attack
on Pearl Harbor occur on December 7, 1941. Now watch “The Truth About Why
America Dropped Atomic Bombs on Japan.” Or check out “What Was
It Like to Be a Kamikaze Pilot?.”
