Air Raid - Pearl Harbor - This Is No
Drill
Second of Two Parts
by Jennifer
King
December 7, 2001
COLUMN OF THE WEEK!!
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Admiral
Isoroku Yamamoto (shown, right) is widely acknowledged as the architect of the
Pearl Harbor attack plan. Yamamoto, who by 1939 was the Commander-in-Chief of
Japan’s combined fleet, firmly believed that long-range and offensive power
were the wave of the future. He would be proven right by the extensive carrier
battles that were the hallmark of the Pacific War. Yamamoto had spent time in
Washington as a Naval Attaché, he had also traveled extensively in America and
had a healthy respect both for Americans and their industrial might. When he
became convinced, in January of 1941, that war with America and Britain was
inevitable, he completed his plan for Pearl Harbor and sent it to the Navy minister.
Yamamoto was convinced that the Japanese could launch a surprise attack patterned somewhat after the German blitzkrieg - a simultaneous attack on Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, Guam, Midway and Wake as well as the British colonies of Hong Kong and Malaya. Yamamoto reasoned that the decisive blow dealt to the American Navy would prevent us from reacting to the Pacific conquests, and that the British were too busy battling the Nazis to respond. His hope was that a thoroughly shocked America would be stunned enough to sue for a quick peace. He held out no hope for a long range war, telling colleagues that he could “run wild” for six months, but after that America’s industrial strength would kick in and then all bets were off.
Yamamoto, a man widely known to enjoy gambling, had made a gamble.
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At
7:55 am on December 7th, Japanese Naval Commander Mitsuo Fuchida (pictured,
left) started the attack upon Pearl Harbor. By 10:00 am, when the first wave
of Japanese assault aircraft started returning to their carriers, the battleships
California, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Nevada and Arizona had been sunk. The target
ship Utah was also sunk. Battleships Maryland, Tennessee and Pennsylvania had
been damaged. A total of 21 vessels of the Pacific Fleet had been sunk or damaged,
along with 75% of the planes on the airfields surrounding Pearl Harbor. More
than 2,400 Americans had been killed, and 1,178 were wounded. Satisfied with
the success of the attack, and concerned about fuel, Admiral Chuichi Nagumo
called off the third wave of the assault - an act which proved to be a major
blunder in hindsight as it left the Naval Salvage Yard and the Navy‘s brimming
fuel tanks untouched.
By 1:30 pm EST, Washington D.C. had been notified of the attack. The next day, President Franklin Roosevelt delivered his famed, “Date of Infamy” speech before a joint session of Congress. Congress overwhelmingly voted for declaring war against the Empire of Japan. When Hitler and Mussolini then declared war against America three days later, the United States would be launched into the worldwide conflict that many Americans had so desired to avoid.
The sneakiness and ferocity of the attack upon their country enraged ordinary Americans. Overnight, the intense fervor of the anti-war isolationists became completely irrelevant. Americans instinctively understood - they had been attacked, their liberty had been challenged and they were going to have to fight to keep it.
They would fight, valiantly, across the entire globe. Thousands would die. Many would commit acts of unbelievable heroism and gallantry. And, at the end of World War II, America would be in the position to become what she is today, a vast superpower whose capitalist engine drives the world economy. A great nation, whose reliance upon God gives it humility and kindness. After the total defeat of the Axis in 1945, the United States almost single-handedly rebuilt Europe and Japan. Today, Germans and Japanese are free people, and their countries are our allies.
At the ceremony commemorating the 60th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, the veterans of that attack assembled at the Arizona Memorial. Today, their hair is gray, their eyes dimmed, their steps a little faulty. Yet, they all stood erect, still proudly saluting Old Glory. They have good reason to be proud. They did their duty when it was necessary. They preserved our freedom for the generations alive today.
That
torch has now passed to us (right). On September 11th, the long lingering doubts
of the last few decades were finally answered. Ordinary Americans understood
just what those Americans of 1941 had. Our liberty was threatened, our country
attacked, our cherished freedoms in danger. We were going to have to fight,
again, to keep them.
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And
we have shown that we will. The men and women on Flight 93, CIA agent Mike Spann
(left) and the American military forces killed in Afghanistan have proven, once
again, that Americans will fight for liberty. That freedom and love of country
are still valued, above all.
Ordinary Americans still get it - even if the politicians and the media don’t. ***
© 2001 Jennifer King
COPYRIGHT © 2001 BY THE AMERICAN PARTISAN. All writers retain rights to their work.