Pearl Harbor 65 Years On.

My original intention was to mention the 65th anniversary of the bombing of
Pearl Harbor and to let it go at that.

Well that was before I did a bit of research and found what a fascinating story
there was there, I’m still not going to do much more than scratch the surface
there are others far more qualified than I who can tell the whole story.

I watched a re-run (for the umpteenth time) of "Tora! Tora! Tora!" recently
and this sparked my first internet search of the subject, which in turn has led
to this post.


The US Fleet in flames.




One of the most published images from December 7 1941.Arizona burning out of control at right.West Virginia, decks awash sunken at her berth and burning fiercely Tennessee trapped between the two raging fires.







A satellite view of Pearl Harbor clearly showing the vulnerability of the fleet
anchored here in 1941





Battleship Row, one of the tragedies of the raid was the plight of the Tennessee trapped in her mooring by the doomed Arizona and W. Virginia, she had to run her screws at high speed to keep the burning oil from engulfing her.








Admiral Yamamoto.

Imperial Admiral Yamamoto, who conceived, designed and promoted the Pearl harbor attack, cautioned against a war with the United States. Having twice held naval attache positions within the Japanese embassy in the U. S. Capitol, he knew well the industrial strength, material wealth and temperament of the United States. Overruled by his superiors, he dedicated his efforts as Commander in Chief of the Imperial Combined Fleet to a successful attack. Upon completion of the attack he is quoted as saying "We have awakened a sleeping giant and have instilled in him a terrible resolve".

FDR signing the Declaration of War on December 8th 1941

Exert from President Roosevelt’s speech to Congress Dec. 8th



No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.
This may even have made the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki more palatable.





This attack on the US fleet inspired a huge groundswell of national anger and pride that America swept into the war in full force






The claims made in the book "Days Of Deceit" are that FDR knew it would take an action such as this to get full public support for America to enter the war and that he at best, ignored warnings and at worst, he orchestrated much of what happened.


An exert from the book reads;

Pearl Harbor was not an accident, a mere failure of American intelligence, or a brilliant Japanese military coup. It was the result of a carefully orchestrated design, originated in the Office of Naval Intelligence. According to a key memorandum, eight actions were taken to make sure America would enter the war by this means. Pearl Harbor was the only way, leading officials felt, to galvanize the reluctant American public into action. This great question of Pearl Harbor--what did we know and when did we know it?--has been argued for years.

This is the "Arizona Memorial" at Pearl Harbor today, a much better insight into it can be had "here" see post # 38

"The only people I care about are
the people in Times Square,
across the street from the theatre,
who can't get close as I come in.
If I had light make-up on,
they'd never see me.
This make-up is for them..."