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USS Arizona Pearl Harbor, Hawaii 12/7/91 [OA 8331] [2]
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USS Arizona Pearl Harbor, Hawaii 12/7/91 [OA 8331] [2]
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Speech Backup Chronological Files
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This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
Library Staff.
Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
Collection/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Speech File Backup Files
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Chron File, 1989-1993
OA/ID Number:
13784
Folder ID Number:
13784-008
Folder Title:
USS Arizona Pearl Harbor, Hawaii 12/7/91 [OA 8331] [2]
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26
22
1
2
11-06-91 04:15 PM
P02
PEARL HARBOR ATTACK: 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION
CALENDAR OF NATIONAL PARK SERVICE EVENTS
All events will take place either on the lanai of the USS Arizona
Memorial Visitor Center or at the new Remembrance Exhibit on the
lawn of the Visitor Center, except as otherwise noted. Starting
times are approximate. Many events are planned by other
government and private organization.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4
Hawaii Remembrance Day
10:30 a.m.
USS Arizona Reunion Association (Survivors of
Arizona) members, families, and friends
visit.
1:00 p.m.
Procession by the Royal Court, with concert
by Royal Hawaiian Band. Addresses by
Governor John Waihee; Honolulu Mayor Frank
Fasi; Mrs. Gladys Ainoa Brandt; and U.S.
Senator Daniel K. Inouye, a veteran of the
442nd Regimental Combat Unit, to recognize
and honor the people of Hawaii, including the
civilians who died, for their sacrifices
on December 7, 1941, and throughout the war.
U.S.S Arizona Memorial Superintendent Don
Magee, master of ceremonies.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5
Survivors' Day
9:45 a.m.
Hawaii National Guard Band Concert
10:30 a.m.
Program on behalf of the State of Hawaii with
Governor Waihee as host and master of
ceremonies. Guests will be the Governors of
the 9 States represented by battleships in
Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7,
1941. (Probably at the Remembrance Exhibit.)
1:00 p.m.
U.S. Air Force Band Concert. Addresses by
Capt. Donald K. Ross, a machinist aboard
U.S.S. Nevada (one of two surviving Medal of
Honor recipients for heroism at Pearl
Harbor) ; Capt. Joseph Taussig, JI., who was
officer of the deck and severely wounded
aboard U.S.S. Nevada; Mrs. Lenore Rickert, a
Navy Nurse on duty at Hospital Point on
December 7, 1941; and Franklin Van
Valkenburgh, son of the commanding officer of
U.S.S.Arizona, who perished aboard her.
11-06-91 04:15 PM
P03
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6
Reflections of Pearl Harbor
9:45 a.m
25th Division Army Band Concert
1:00 p.m.
CINCPAC Fleet Band Concert, to be followed by
speeches by the following persons. Architect
Alfred Preis, a native of Austria who, as a
resident of Oahu in 1941, was interned as an
enemy alien, and later, as a U.S. citizen,
designed the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial.
Edward Ichiyama, a Purple Heart Veteran of
the 442nd Regimental Combat Unit who was in
Europe with his brother during World War II
and whose other brother was a sailor with the
Imperial Japanese Navy and sister-in-law
survived the nuclear attack on Hiroshima.
Rev. Joe Morgan, a Pearl Harbor survivor and
a longtime volunteer at the Memorial, will
deliver the invocation and benediction.
James Michener the final speaker, the author
of Tales of the South Pacific and Hawaii, and
winner of the Pulitzer Pride and the Medal of
Freedom, will beh
Director James M. Ridenour of the National
Park Service will be master of ceremonies.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7
Pearl Harbor Day
7:55 a.m.
Nationally televised special program aboard
the USS Arizona Memorial to mark the exact
50th anniversary. The President of the
United States and the Secretaries of Defense
and Interior are expected to attend.
Ceremonies to be shown on TV monitors in and
adjacent to the Visitor Center.
10:00 a.m.
Wreath-laying at the National Memorial
Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl)
11:00 a.m.
Honolulu Symphony Orchestra concert from the
lawn of the Visitor Center. Premiere of a
symphonic piece entitled "Pearl Harbor
Overture: Time for Remembrance," by John
Duffy, who a lost a cousin at Hickam Air
Base, as well as special dedication Lother
selections to wives, nurses, and The women of
Pearl Harbor. Maestro Donald Johanos, conductor.
11-06-91 04:15 PM
P04
2:00 p.m.
Children's Program at Remembrance Exhibit
of
with Mrs. Lynne Waihee, Hawaii's First Lady,
a native Okinawa, and other distinguished
guests. Mrs. George Bush has been invited.
About 50 Hawaiian children of elementary
school age (and wearing traditional dress)
will march from the lanai of the Visitor
Center toward the Exhibit, each bearing
flowers. As the choir sings, the children
will place their flowers around the panels.
Mrs. Waihee will introduce Mrs. Bush (or, in
the event of Mrs. Bush's absence, will offer
the principal remarks on behalf offstate of
the
Hawaii). Secretary of the Interior Manuel
Lujan will be the master of ceremonies.
At the conclusion of the program, the choir
will again sing, the children will take the
hands of Secretary Lujan and Mrs. Waihee and
lead them in a procession back to the lanai
of the Visitor Center, where the program will
conclude.
3:00 p.m.
Visit by members of the USS Arizona Reunion
Association, family members and friends, with
memorial service aboard the Memorial.
5:00 p.m.
Traditional sunset program for members of the
Pearl Harbor Survivors' Association
Punchbowl 6:55
4,000 - 3,000 behind, 1000 in front
w/ memorial in background
survivor into
A2. Memorial speah at 8:26
back to the storter
Chency specks, Eagt. Don Rost intro
Inonge there
K-8
9:50
Powell + Chenry speak, into by nurse
Mo. in background - tours
afterward
TOTAL
MICHI
DATE
EISET
PHOTOS BY NORMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
From left, Pearl Harbor survivor Ray Emory; Raymond
Nosaka, who volunteered for a mission in the Army and
ended up playing Japanese soldier to rain attack dogs;
and Japanese Consul General Masaji Takahashi
Echoes
732-2510
Of the
Photo Copy Preservation
Day of
Infamy
Smoke pours from the USS Arizona after the Japanese attack.
ASSOCIATE
By Paul Hendrickson
Hattiesburg, Miss., and you can find pieces of his lost
the water. It's seeping up from the engines and oth
Washington Post Staff Writer
life(at the visitors' center. He had a blunt blocky face.
quarters. Half a century later, the Arizona oozes oi
At Pearl Harbor, Living in
He,was an acting paymaster. He was a husband. He
if sending messages she's alive even in her rusted
HONOLULU
used to keep scrapbooks of his exotic tropical
deadness.
rom the shore, the USS Arizona Memorial, in
adventures in the service of Uncle Sam.
The Shadow of Dec. 7, 1941
F
"We figure about a gallon a day," explains a Park
the middle of Pearl Harbor, looks like an ice
That December Sunday morning 50 years ago, in
Service guide, who probably answers this question
cube afloat in a lime-green sea. They shuttle
the first wave of the attack, the Arizona took a
times each shift. "No real way of knowing. But it's
you out to the site in a Navy launch. It takes
1,760-pound delayed-action, armor-piercing bomb.
always here."
about five minutes. The memorial, antiseptic
Took it dead on, forward of her No. 2 turret. The bomb
You could say that what's also always present, n
at a distance, straddles the sunken battleship's
detonated the battleship's powder magazines. Her
only at the memorial to the Arizona and not just in
midsections, but you can't really tell this until you're
X
front half disintegrated. She rained metal and shrapnel
anchorages of Pearl but across the 604 square mile
there. If the wind is right and the sun is right, you can
for hundreds of yards. She went under in less than nine
a volcanic resort rock called Oahu, is the shadow of
peer down into the calm water and make out shadows
minutes.
of the engraved dates of the 20th century. That da
and contours of something long and narrow just below
Other ships on Battleship Row turned into fireballs
floats atop the entire American psyche, something
the surface. The waves move almost imperceptibly
too. Other ships billowed columns of black smoke. But
haven't put to rest yet, but probably nowhere can
across the submerged coffin, a coffin containing 1,177
what happened on the imploded Arizona was like a
meanings and contradictions and sorrows and
American sailors and Marines who didn't fight World
small atomic blast.
resentments be grasped more keenly than in the pl
War II for even an hour.
There are always groups of Japanese tourists at this
where Dec. 7, 1941, actually happened. For many
They re down there yet in their shallow, watery
memorial, some fresh off the plane from Tokyo.
still live in Hawaii, but especially on Oahu, the day
tomb.
A visitor stands at a railing and stares downward.
infamy is something personal, defining, something
BY NORM AN SHAPIRO ASSOCIATED PRESS FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
They had names like G.A. Bertie Jr. and J.J. Dewitt
It's the evidence of things not fully seen. only felt. But
carry inside from here to eternity.
The USS Arizona Memorial over the sunken ship.
and A.A. Wilcox and Paxton Carter. Carter was from
here's something that can be seen. and plainly: oil on
See PEARL HARBOR, D2, Col. 1
11-06-91 04:15 PM
P08
from Nat'l. Service Park
MYTHS AND ODDITIES
ABOUT THE DECEMBER 7, 1941 ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR
Frequently asked questions and unusual facts about the events of
December 7, 1941, the USS Arizona, and events of that day in
history:
1. How many of the USS Arizona's crew survived the attack?
Fact: Some 334 of the ship's crew of 1,511 survived, including
perhaps as many as 60 who were on shore duty or on leave at the
time. Total losses among the Arizona crew were 1, 177.
2. How many of the crew are considered still entombed aboard the
sunken vessel? Fact: Representatives of the USS Arizona Reunion
Association say that 945 of their shipmates remain with the ship.
That figure is computed on the basis of the number of victims
whose bodies were recovered following the attack, including those
that never were identified.
3. Why were the remains of some Arizona crewmen never recovered
from the ship? Fact: Frantic efforts to rescue the wounded and
injured marked the hours and days immediately following the
attack. The bodies of many victims were indeed recovered. It
was virtually impossible to recover others, however, because of
the condition of the ruined ship. In time, it was accepted that
no more fitting resting place could be found for the crewmen who
died, and thus was born the concept of the USS Arizona Memorial.
4. Who were the youngest and oldest members of the USS Arizona's
crew? Fact: It's not certain who those individuals were. There
were several senior crew members who had served aboard the ship
for from 12 to 15 years each. One sailor, Harlan C. (Carl)
Christiansen of Columbus, Kansas, believed himself to have been
both the youngest man aboard and the very last fellow to join the
crew. Christiansen, an apprentice seaman, had gone aboard the
Arizona only 10 days before the attack. He had his 18th birthday
on September 14, 1941. His brother, Edward, 20, a baker aboard
the Arizona, died in the attack.
5. It's been said that the USS Arizona was sunk in part by a
bomb that went down its smokestack. True? Fact: Reports to
that effect have been discredited. In fact, an armor piercing
bomb from a Japanese horizontal bomber struck directly on or
beside the No. 2 (forward) gun turret and exploded below decks in
the ship's powder magazine. A witness likened the resulting
explosion to an earthquake.
6. The skipper of the Arizona: What happened to him? Fact:
Captain Franklin Van Valkenburg and the commander of the First
Battleship Division, Rear Admiral Isaac Campbell Kidd, both were
killed in the attack and went down with the ship. Both were last
known to have been at their stations on the bridge of the
P09
11-06-91 04:15 PM
izona.
Their bodies were never recovered.
What happened to the USS Arizona following the attack? Fact:
The 7. Arizona and the battleship Utah, on the opposite (west) side
of Ford Island, were the only ships not re-floated after the
attack. Neither was a hazard to shipping lanes, and so were left
where they lay. Both were, and are, officially listed as sunk by
enemy action.
8. Are burial services still allowed aboard the Arizona? Fact:
True. The National Park Service, with the concurrence of the U.
S. Navy, extends to surviving crew members the prerogative of
having their cremated remains placed aboard the sunken
battleship. Five such placements have been made as of 1990.
9. How many brothers and father-and-son combinations were aboard
the USS Arizona? Fact: There were as many as 34 sets of
brothers, including three sets of three brothers. Among the
latter, in each case, two brothers perished and one survived. In
the case of nine sets of brothers, one died and one survived.
Forty-five of the then 48 states were represented among the
Arizona's victims.
10. There were reports that Japanese sympathizers on the island
of Oahu cut giant arrows in sugar cane fields on Oahu, directing
Japanese attackers to Pearl Harbor. Fact: Untrue. As author
Gordon W. Prange wrote in his book "At Dawn We Slept," "Missing
Pearl Harbor from the air
would be like overlooking a bass
drum in a telephone booth.
11. What happened to the midget submarines that the Japanese
used in the attack? Did they inflict any damage on U. S. ships?
Fact: Five mini-subs were launched by larger (I-class) Japanese
submarines prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Each carried a
crew of two, and was armed with two torpedoes. None succeeded in
inflicting any damage whatever. One mini-sub is known to have
penetrated Pearl Harbor. She was rammed and sunk by the U. S.
destroyer Monaghan off Ford Island. Another was sunk by the
destroyer Ward off the entrance to Pearl Harbor. A third
grounded on Oahu's windward coast; it was recovered and for some
years has been on exhibition at Key West, Florida. A fourth was
recovered from just inside the Pearl Harbor entrance; it was
returned to Japan for display at that country's Naval Academy at
Etajima. The fifth has never been located, but it was believed
sunk somewhere off the entrance to Pearl Harbor.
12. What became of the crew members of those mini-subs? Fact:
Only one was known to have survived, Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki, whose
sub grounded off Kaneohe, on the eastern coast of Oahu, far
removed from Pearl Harbor. He swam ashore and collapsed there,
to be taken prisoner by Sgt. David Akui -- an American soldier of
Japanese ancestry. Sakamaki's fellow crew member, Kiyoshi
Inagaki, never was found; he is believed to have drowned.
11-06-91 04:15 PM
P10
what happened to the above-water portions of the USS Arizona
bllowing the attack? Fact: When it was determined that the
battleship could not be successfully re-floated, salvage workers
removed many of the battleship's weapons and much of her
ammunition. Six of her 14-inch guns were removed and offered to
the Army. Eventually, the wrecked superstructure of the fallen
giant was removed.
14. There were stories about some sailors who survived for a
time in one of the sunken ships. What happened? Fact: The West
Virginia was indeed sunk at its mooring along Battleship Row, its
lower decks flooded. In the salvage operation, the bodies of
three sailors were discovered in one compartment that somehow
remained free of water. Markings on the bulkhead indicated that
the trio had survived until at least December 23, living on tins
of food and water, before their air supply was exhausted.
15. How many ships were lost or damaged beyond recovery during
the attack? Fact: of about 100 warships in Pearl Harbor on
December 7, 1941, 19 were heavily damaged or sunk. All but three
were repaired and returned to action later in World War II.
Those that did not were the Arizona, the Utah and the Oklahoma.
16. What happened later in the war to the 30 ships in the
Japanese attack force? Fact: With one exception, all were sunk
during Pacific engagements. These included all six aircraft
carriers that launched planes used in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
17. Who commanded the Japanese attack force of aircraft, and
what became of him? Fact: Mitsuo Fuchida led the fleet of
Japanese planes and went on to survive the war. Immediately
following Japan's surrender, however, he joined the ministry and
became a lay minister in Japan.
18. What is the unusual story associated with the American
cruiser Phoenix that was in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941?
Fact: Years after World War II, the Phoenix was sold to the
Argentine navy and was reconfigured and renamed the General
Belgrano. It was sunk by the British during the Falkland Islands
fighting in 1982.
19. How many servicemen won the Congressional Medal of Honor,
the nation's highest military honor, for exceptional acts of
heroism during the attack on Pearl Harbor? Fact: Fifteen U. S.
Navy men and one U. S. Marine were awarded Congressional Medals
of Honor, 11 of them posthumously. of those honored, only two
survived as of 1991: Capt. Donald K Ross of Port Orchard,
Washington, and Lt. John William Finn of Pine Valley, California.
20. Didn't our government know that we were about to be
attacked? Fact: The U. S. had indeed broken the Japanese
diplomatic code, and U. S. leaders suspected that the Japanese
were preparing to attack British, Dutch, and possibly U. S.
possessions in the Far East. But there is no evidence to suggest
11-06-91 04:15 PM
P11
at the attack on Pearl Harbor itself was expected.
21. In what depth of water did the Arizona sink? Fact: The
battleship rests in about 40 feet of water and about 20 feet of
mud.
22. Is the Arizona still officially a part of the U. S. fleet?
Fact: No. She was not decommissioned -- sunken ships cannot be
decommissioned. Her name was removed from the Navy's register of
warships on December 1, 1942.
23. When and how did the custom of flying our nation's flag over
the Arizona originate? Fact: On March 7, 1950, the commander of
the U. S. Pacific Fleet ordered the flag flown over the sunken
battleship as an act of remembrance. Today and every day since
then, a color guard faithfully raises and lowers the national
ensign as on any commissioned ship of the fleet.
24. Were any Navy chaplains killed in the attack? Fact: Two
Navy chaplains died -- the first of their calling to perish
during World War II. One was Captain Thomas L. Kirkpatrick,
Presbyterian chaplain aboard the Arizona. The other was Lt. (jg)
Aloysius H. Schmitt, Catholic chaplain on the USS Oklahoma.
25. Other than for the USS Arizona, what ship suffered the
greatest single loss among its crew? Fact: The USS Oklahoma
lost 448 men when it was struck by torpedoes and bombs and
capsized within 10 minutes. The Oklahoma carried a crew of about
1,300.
26. What happened to the Oklahoma immediately after the attack?
Fact: Throughout Monday and Tuesday, December 8 and 9, rescuers
cut through the steel hull of the capsized battleship and
retrieved 32 crew members from the compartments where they were
trapped. These men and some 700 others who survived were
eventually reassigned to other ships in the Atlantic and Pacific
fleets.
27. And still later, what became of the Oklahoma? Fact:
Because the ship was blocking part of the Pearl Harbor channel,
she was raised as part of an effort that began in 1943. It was
apparent, however, that she could not profitably be salvaged, and
so the vessel was stripped and sold for about $46,000. She was
under tow to San Francisco on
when she suddenly
developed a list and sank, unwilling, some said, to suffer the
indignity of going to the scrap heap.
28. What did entertainer Elvis Presley have to do with the USS
Arizona Memorial? Fact: Presley performed before about 6,000
persons in a benefit appearance that raised a total of $48,000 to
help construct the Memorial. The performance took place on
at Bloch Arena in Honolulu.
3
George Akita Delivers a Speech
IN THE DAYS BEFORE PEARL HARBOR, NO ONE WAS MORE CON-
cerned with what "Americanism" was and how it could be
attained than young Japanese-Americans, so it is not surprising
that a fifteen-year-old Japanese student at Farrington High
School named George Akita should win the ten-dollar first prize
in the fourth annual speech contest of the Aloha chapter of the
Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), held at seven-
thirty on the evening of December 5 in the McKinley High
School auditorium. The contest's theme was "Americanism," a
word that now sounds dated but that was no joke in 1941 for
Japanese-Americans wishing to prove their loyalty. It was not
enough, they knew, to vote, pay taxes, serve in the Army, and
observe patriotic holidays. "Americanism" was also required,
which, like every "ism," was an all-encompassing way of living
and thinking, reflecting a knowledge of American history and
geography and a taste for approved books, movies, and sports.
The theme of Akita's prize-winning speech was "American
Citizenship and National Defense," and it ended, "From trop-
ical Hawaii to the rock-bound shores of Maine, from the snow-
clad plains of the Dakotas to sunny Texas, let us, Americans
PEARL HARBOR GHOSTS
57
all, rally around the Stars and Stripes in the defense of our way
of life. With the love of democracy burning in our hearts and
minds, we cannot fail-we must not fail."
Did he really believe this? Did he really think he was an
American like any other? Apparently he did, if the following
description of December 7 from his diary is any proof: "Plan-
ning to stay at Central [the school where he was assigned as a
student civil defense volunteer] tonight. Mom didn't want me
Speech
to go. She was afraid. Pop told her that no matter how young
I am since I was a citizen of America I have to help America
whenever I am able to. Even to die for America. I like his
attitude.
I guess we Japanese are in for it now. Especially
Mom and Pop, they're aliens. But the U.S. Government has
promised not to molest the nationals unless they by their ac-
AS MORE CON-
tions and deeds make themselves detrimental. I have faith in the
W it could be
U.S. Government."
not surprising
It is enough to make you cry. Like most Japanese resi-
rington High
dents of Hawaii, Akita and his parents were not interned, but
ollar first prize
110,000 mainland Japanese were, and on December 5, many
chapter of the
of them must have believed in "Americanism" as fervently as
held at seven-
he did.
cKinley High
It is possible he won the DAR contest fairly (the year
ericanism," a
before he had won the Honolulu Star-Bulletin oratory contest
e in 1941 for
on the Constitution), and that his speech was better than "What
y. It was not
Is Americanism?" by Christine Weatherby, or ""Americanism
e Army, and
Marches Onward" by Irene Makaiau, or Peggy Engstrom's "I
lso required,
Am an American." But it is also possible that he won (and that
way of living
Tereu Masatsugu won second place with "A United America")
1 history and
because in these final months of 1941, the DAR judges were as
i, and sports.
obsessed as the military with the loyalty of Hawaii's Japanese,
S "American
and believed it their patriotic duty to encourage it.
"From trop-
In considering the dilemma of young Japanese-Americans
m the snow-
like Akita, it is useful to recall how, just forty years earlier,
, Americans
Honolulu's electric trolley cars caused an epidemic of broken
114
Thurston Clarke
Point" (Barbers Point resembles a desert more than a jungle,
and ammunition kept there was usually kept locked).
A June 1941 article in Collier's magazine titled "Impreg-
nable Pearl Harbor" reported on military exercises in Hawaii
said to prove "how quickly the billion-dollar fist that America
has built in the Pacific could deliver a smash. The Army's Ha-
waiian division
can be at their posts within thirty minutes,
if they're not there already. The Pacific Fleet
[is] always
within a few minutes of clearing for action." The author as-
sured readers that "to the extent that we know how many
fighting ships and planes Japan has, we're kept pretty well
informed where they are and what they're up to
Our Pa-
cific battle forces are not exactly groping around in the dark.
"Ships can be sunk. Planes can be downed
But neither
the Army nor the Navy believes that there is any power or
combination of powers existing today that can prove it in the
islands.
"In the continental United States there may be some doubt
about our readiness to fight, but none exists in Hawaii. Battle-
ships
plow the ocean practicing gunnery, wary as lions on
the prowl."
The blackest humor is found in Our Billion Dollar Rock,
in which the author described "what this mighty defense base
would look like and act like if it were called on to repel an
attack." He then explained, "Although this was to have been a
'surprise' attack, listeners and sound amplifiers in mountain
recesses have heralded the enemy. The word is hurried from
observation posts. Curtiss pursuit hawks whip into the air
to meet the invader. Meanwhile, antiaircraft guns from a dozen
emplacements have found the range and are knocking enemy
planes out of the sky
Promptly, or battleships would wheel
into action against the enemy
Whatever the strength of the
invading enemy, he would soon know he had been in a battle.
For Oahu is ready."
Thurston Clarke
PEARL HARBOR GHOSTS
115
re than a jungle,
You cannot just dismiss such boasting as careless journal-
locked).
ism or a mainland fantasy. It was repeated in wire service dis-
e titled "Impreg-
patches and printed in the Honolulu papers, and believed there
rcises in Hawaii
as well. It created a closed system, in which mainland delusions
fist that America
reinforced those of the Islands, which in turn magnified those
The Army's Ha-
of the mainland, so that as December 7 approached, the arro-
1 thirty minutes,
gance and boasting grew exponentially. It reached some kind of
[is] always
peak in a speech delivered on December 6 (and reported that
The author as-
same afternoon in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin) by Senator
10W how many
Ralph Brewster of Maine, who claimed, "The United States
ept pretty well
navy can defeat the Japanese navy, any place and at any time."
to
Our Pa-
Listen to what was being said by the military and civilian
ind in the dark.
residents of Hawaii, who you might think would have known
But neither
better. The commander of the Hawaiian Department in 1940,
; any power or
Major General Charles Herron, announced, "Oahu will never
1 prove it in the
be exposed to a blitzkrieg attack. This is why: we are more than
2,000 miles away from land whichever way you look, which is
be some doubt
a long way for an enemy force to steam. And besides, it would
Hawaii. Battle-
have to smash through our Navy."
ary as lions on
Honolulu's own magazine, Paradise of the Pacific, boasted
in its May 1941 edition, "The island of Oahu is so thoroughly
n Dollar Rock,
ringed with defenses, it would be impossible for hostile planes
ty defense base
to come over the island. Their approach would be detected long
on to repel an
before they were in striking distance, and if they ever got over
to have been a
the city, the army and navy would make quick work of them
S in mountain
before they returned to their bases-presumably ships at sea."
S hurried from
An editorial the same month in the Star-Bulletin said,
into the air
"This week a high officer of the U.S. Army remarked that he
IS from a dozen
knows of no place under the American flag safer than Hawaii-
nocking enemy
more secure from the onslaught of actual war."
S would wheel
Hawaii's Japanese-Americans were also confident. They
strength of the
feared an American-Japanese war in Asia, but believed Hawaii
een in a battle.
was too strong and distant to be menaced. Seiyei Wakukawa,
who for many years had traveled to China to cover the Sino-
188
Thurston Clarke
Pearl Harbor memories are less ordered, seldom divided
neatly into timetables, and reflect the chaos of that day. Al-
though people are vague about precisely when certain ships
were hit or planes destroyed and uncertain if they were victims
of bombs or torpedoes, they remember well how those great
ships, and their crews, looked in their death throes, and re-
member the event dominating so many memories, the sinking
of the battleship Arizona.
At 0810, fifteen minutes into the attack, an eighteen-
hundred-pound armor-piercing bomb struck the Arizona
between its number two gun turret and bow, creating a
hundred-foot-wide gap, penetrating the deck, and exploding in
a fuel storage tank. A fire flared for seven seconds, then traveled
through open hatches to the forward magazine, where it
touched off 1.7 million pounds of explosives. A fountain of
flame and black smoke shot skyward. The Arizona jumped
from the water. Its foremast pitched forward, and its deck
opened like a flower.
Flaming bodies and body parts were blown upward. Na-
ked sailors, limbs, and letters from home landed on nearby
ships, or were snagged by trees on Ford Island. Men burning
like torches stumbled across the deck. "They had their hel-
mets on, but their clothes were seared off
they walked out
of the flames and just dropped dead," remembers a spectator.
Burning men jumped into the harbor and were heard to "siz-
zle." The body of the Arizona's captain, Franklin Van Valk-
enburgh, was never found, although when the ship cooled, a
boarding party dug his Naval Academy ring from a pile of
ashes.
On Ford Island, several thousand survivors of the Arizona
and other wounded battleships wandered through clouds of
smoke, naked and dripping oil, skin, and blood, screaming in
agony, falling over dead. A survivor remembers them "just
burned like lamb chops. The only thing I could see were their
Thurston Clarke
PEARL HARBOR GHOSTS
189
1, seldom divided
eyes, lips, and mouths. Their mouths were reddish; their eyes
of that day. Al-
looked watery. Everything else was black."
hen certain ships
Two hundred Arizona dead were lined up on the lawns of
they were victims
officers' bungalows. Their blood soaked the ground and black-
how those great
ened the grass. Survivors gathered dismembered arms and legs
h throes, and re-
from roofs and trees. Many had been snagged by a banyan tree
ories, the sinking
near the water, now known as the Hiroshima Banyan.
When I reviewed my own images of the attack, all the
ck, an eighteen-
product of countless documentaries, histories, and movies, I
ick the Arizona
discovered none were morbid. I watched Tora! Tora! Tora!
bow, creating a
once again, and noticed there was not a single corpse, wound,
and exploding in
or drop of blood. No wonder when I thought of Pearl Harbor,
nds, then traveled
I thought of bravery, treachery, tactics, and surprise, but not of
gazine, where it
a thousand men killed in several seconds, or 2,500 in under two
S. A fountain of
hours. I saw American pilots battling swarms of Zeros,
Arizona jumped
wounded ships puffing smoke, and Japanese diplomats arriving
rd, and its deck
at the State Department minutes before the attack in baggy
suits. When I imagined casualties, they were serene maritime
wn upward. Na-
deaths, an underwater movie of air bubbles as captains went
anded on nearby
down with ships. I had not known or had forgotten about men
nd. Men burning
trapped in pockets of air in the West Virginia, living for two
ey had their hel-
weeks and chalking off the days with X's on overturned cabin
they walked out
walls before finally dying, or the antipersonnel bomb making a
ibers a spectator.
direct hit on the mess hall where five hundred men were sitting
re heard to "siz-
down for breakfast, sending "sharp jagged masses of steel mov-
nklin Van Valk-
ing at high velocity," which resulted in the "common sight" of
e ship cooled, a
"men without one or both legs and an arm" and produced
g from a pile of
"tremendous casualties," according to Ralph Cloward, the neu-
rosurgeon who treated them. I had not known about the
rs of the Arizona
corpses stacked up to the windowsills at the Hickam Field
rough clouds of
hospital, the men dying on lush Hawaiian lawns, under flow-
od, screaming in
ering trees, while waiting for hospital beds, the forty garbage
ibers them "just
cans filled with amputated limbs seen outside the Tripler Army
ld see were their
Hospital, or the Tripler amputation saw used and sterilized so
190
Thurston Clarke
often it stayed "hot" all day, or just how those sailors on the
Arizona had died.
The more I read about sailors becoming ashes and char-
coaled flesh, the more I found myself thinking about Hiro-
shima. The Arizona's sailors had been "cut down in a single
searing blast." One had "vanished" inside the port antiaircraft
battery, and "the only place he could have gone was through
the narrow range-finder slot." The explosion sounded "like a
powerful and heavy wind blowing through thick foliage" and
was remembered as a "fireball" that "mushroomed" into the
air. Captain Fuchida had seen "a column of dark red smoke"
rising to a thousand feet, and felt his plane shudder from the
shock wave as his heart filled "with joy and gratification." One
man remembered talk of a "great mushroom cloud" rising over
the Arizona, and Honolulu residents seeing newsreels of Hi-
roshima which "reminded them of Pearl Harbor."
Sixty times as many people died at Hiroshima, and almost
all of them were civilians. But in 1941, when the country was
at peace, to lose over a thousand sailors in seconds, on a single
battleship and to a single bomb, was an unprecedented catas-
trophe. This was more sailors than were lost in action in the
Spanish-American War and World War One combined, and
the greatest number of people killed by a single explosion in the
history of warfare, a record broken only at Hiroshima.
In a way, both bombings were "sneak attacks." Although
Hiroshima occurred during a declared war in which civilians
had become frequent victims, it had a sneak-attack quality,
because for the first time the total destruction of a civilian city
was the sole purpose of an air raid. And in the moment between
explosion and annihilation, Hiroshima's inhabitants must have
been as stunned as the Arizona's sailors, who had only those
seven seconds between the muffled thud of an explosion in her
fuel tanks and the thundering explosion in the magazine to
ponder their fate.
Thurston Clarke
PEARL HARBOR GHOSTS
1913
e sailors on the
These similarities provide context for what might other-
wise be dismissed as coincidences. The banyan tree facing the
ishes and char-
Arizona is known as the Hiroshima Banyan presumably be-
ig about Hiro-
cause its shape resembles a mushroom cloud, but it is no more
own in a single
mushroom-shaped than any other banyan. Both Honolulu and
ort antiaircraft
Hiroshima have built memorials around ruins that survived,
e was through
and each is the most visited memorial in its country. At Hi-
ounded "like a
roshima, the memorial is constructed around the ruined dome
ck foliage" and
of the Industrial Promotion Hall, a structure marking the epi-
omed" into the
center of the explosion as the Arizona does the destruction at
ark red smoke"
Pearl Harbor. There is also an official "sister city" relationship
udder from the
between Honolulu and Hiroshima, based on their similar cli-
ification." One
mate, size, and positions as Pacific port cities, but nurtured by
ud" rising over
similar experiences and populations. Many Hawaiian Japanese
ewsreels of Hi-
came from Hiroshima prefecture and had relatives killed there.
r."
There are Japanese-Americans in Hawaii who witnessed Pearl
na, and almost
Harbor, suffered its consequences, enlisted in the Army, were
e country was
posted to the occupation, and returned to Hiroshima in Amer-
ids, on a single
ican uniforms to search for family members.
cedented catas-
The poignant photographs of belowdecks on the U.S.S.
n action in the
Arizona, a world of stainless-steel galleys, brass caldrons, and
combined, and
lines of hammocks, remind me of the ghostly ones of prewar
xplosion in the
Hiroshima with its busy train station, packed streets, and trol-
oshima.
ley cars. Both show an innocent but doomed population just
:ks." Although
before the catastrophe. The immutable fact that the victims of
which civilians
Hiroshima and the Arizona were so unsuspecting and that both
attack quality,
were killed by what was essentially a sneak attack reveals the
f a civilian city
most powerful connection between them to be that at the time,
oment between
both were outside the bounds of traditional warfare, and both
ants must have
are better described as mass murder.
ad only those
<plosion in her
During the war, the Arizona's twisted superstructure was
e magazine to
dismantled for scrap and its heavy guns removed for use as
coastal weapons. The rest remained, an oval outline sitting in
1'
Thurston Clarke
ht feet of water, visible beneath the surface, rust-
d crusted with coral, a metal corpse. The idea of
Juilding a memorial over the wreckage came to a Honolulu
businessman Tucker Gratz on December 7, 1946, when he laid
a wreath on Arizona to commemorate the fifth anniversary of
the attack and found there, undisturbed, the wreath he had laid
to commemorate the fourth. Five years later, the Navy erected
a flagstaff, although reluctantly, because many of its officers
agreed with Admiral Nimitz, who "regretted that we memori-
alize Pearl Harbor Day-which was a great defeat for us."
Next came a wood platform, a commemorative plaque, and in
1956 the first permanent memorial, a ten-foot stone obelisk. It
was not until Memorial Day 1962 that the Pacific War Memo-
rial Commission, headed by the same Tucker Gratz, dedicated
the Arizona Memorial, a stark white rectangular structure that
spans the Arizona's remains and appears to hover over the
water. Besides being the most important World War Two me-
morial in the country, it is one defying the usual pattern of such
places, that as wars become more distant, their visitors shrink
to an elderly trickle. Instead, every year the Arizona Memorial
attracts larger crowds, until now, with a visitor count exceed-
ing a million and a half a year, it has become the second-most-
popular cemetery on earth.
The Arizona is both memorial and cemetery because the
bodies of 1,102 of her crewmen have never been recovered.
(Two divers were killed by pockets of gas in 1942, and two
more in 1947, and further operations were abandoned.) What
this means, although you will not find it in literature provided
by the National Park Service or sold in the souvenir stand at the
memorial's shore-based visitor center, is that beyond the Ari-
zona's open hatches and unbroken glass portholes, behind her
fourteen-inch armor plating curled like lettuce leaves by the
explosion, beneath a deck strewn with firehoses and the poles
that once anchored awnings, and mixed in among shards of
Thurston Clarke
PEARL HARBOR GHOSTS
193
the surface, rust-
crockery and silverware from the mess, are the human remains
pse. The idea of
most likely to survive fifty years of submersion-1,102 sets of
e to a Honolulu
teeth.
946, when he laid
The Arizona feels like a cemetery. There is a heavy silence,
fth anniversary of
broken only by the chug of a tour boat or ferry, and calm water
vreath he had laid
surrounds it, flat and green, like a graveyard lawn. The white
the Navy erected
mooring blocks that once anchored the doomed battleships
iny of its officers
resemble old tombstones. Nearby are other buried remains: the
that we memori-
wreck of a midget submarine, "crash sites" of planes, and urns
t defeat for us."
containing the ashes of Arizona veterans, lowered over the
ve plaque, and in
years onto the wreckage in a stainless-steel cylinder the Navy
t stone obelisk. It
has built for this purpose. And there is the Arizona's oil, a
cific War Memo-
droplet escaping every nine seconds, floating along passage-
Gratz, dedicated
ways, up ladders, and through a small crack in the deck, spread-
lar structure that
ing a rainbowed film on the water, a process the park rangers
) hover over the
describe as "bleeding," as if the ship were a carelessly em-
-ld War Two me-
balmed cadaver.
al pattern of such
My impression of the Arizona as cemetery was reinforced
eir visitors shrink
died
by Fred Kokunu, a native Hawaiian park ranger with the
rizona Memorial
in
sunken face and dignified manner of a funeral director. He has
or count exceed-
1989
worked at the memorial since 1965, becoming its unofficial
the second-most-
historian. Until 1978, he gave fifteen-minute lectures to as many
as twenty-five groups a day. Every December 6, he scatters ti
etery because the
leaves and sprinkles salt blessed by a Hawaiian native priest on
been recovered.
the wreckage, a ceremony designed to placate the Hawaiian
1 1942, and two
shark god said to inhabit Pearl Harbor, and to have caused the
andoned.) What
collapse of the first dry dock in 1913, the Japanese raid, and a
erature provided
1944 munitions explosion.
venir stand at the
Hawaiians are sentimental, and their emotions are deeply
beyond the Ari-
felt. Even so, Kokunu's attachment to the Arizona is extraor-
noles, behind her
dinary. His eyes teared as he said, "I've had the honor to spend
ce leaves by the
much of my life on a one-hundred-and-fifty-four-by-twenty-
ses and the poles
foot piece of property that represents one of the greatest trag-
among shards of
edies in naval history." And teared again as he said, "I like
194
Thurston Clarke
going out in the morning before visitors arrive. I stare at the
leaking oil and imagine it's the tears of the men buried in the
Arizona, crying for us to keep America alert and strong."
He always recognizes Pearl Harbor survivors and their
relatives. They stand alone, break into deep sobs, and leave
without talking. The brother of the Anderson twins, both De-
cember 7 casualties, visited in 1968, telling Kokunu, "You are
my brothers' keeper." The widow of Chief Yeoman Malecki
came often, and had her ashes scattered over the wreckage. A
Japanese woman brought flowers in memory of her fiancé, a
pilot killed on December 7, and Kokunu himself supervised the
burial of Stanley J. Teslow, lowering the stainless-steel cylinder
containing his ashes into the number four gun turret.
I asked his impression of the half million Japanese a year
who visit the Arizona. If there is anywhere, aside from Hi-
roshima, where Americans and Japanese should tread carefully,
it is here. Fewer than a third of the memorial's visitors are
Japanese, but on mornings when their buses arrive at once they
overwhelm the visitor center. They pack shuttle boats, laughing
and shouting as they line up for photographs, dismissively wav-
ing their hands at Americans who wander into their viewfind-
ers. What did Fred Kokunu, who said the memorial was his
whole life and a "sacred tomb," think of them?
The question made him uncomfortable. Instead of a direct
answer, he made oblique comments, saying, "Until a few years
ago the visitor center bookstore was forbidden from selling
anything made in Japan. Now even our color commemorative
book is printed there." He said Americans sometimes asked,
"How can you let these goddam Japs come here?" But they
were often pointing out a party of elderly Chinese. He said,
"There was once a Japanese gentleman in his mid-forties who
said, 'Sir, I am so sorry for Pearl Harbor.' He paused, and this
time his eyes were dry. "And that is the only Japanese visitor in
my twenty years ever to say anything like that, ever."
PEARL
HARBOR
GHOSTS
A JOURNEY TO HAWAII
THEN AND NOW
Thurston Clarke
WILLIAM MORROW AND COMPANY, INC.
New York
11-22-91 FRI 11:36
THURSTON CLARKE
406 POINT ROAD
WILLSBORO, NEW YORK 12996
91 NOV 22 All: 43
TEL: 518 963-7403
November 22, 1991
Mr. Robert Simon
The White House
By Fax: 202-456-7750
Dear Mr. Simon,
As you requested on the telephone earlier this week, I am sending some
suggestions for themes, and individual stories that might have a place
in one of the two speeches President Bush will be delivering in Hawaii
on the fiftieth anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Japanese-American Reconciliation
As you know there has been some controversy over the question of whether
or not an official Japanese delegation should have been invited to Pearl
Harbor. Given the emotions surrounding the anniversary I believe the
State Department decision not to have any foreign delegations was a wise
one. Nevertheless, over the years there have been some small scale, very
moving acts of Pearl Harbor reconciliation between individuals. One of
these is mentioned in Chapter 26 of my book and concerns Wymo Takaki,
the Japanese-Amer can who made a pilgrimage to Japan several years ago
to find the family of the Japanese flyer he watched drown himself in
Pearl Harbor. More information about Takaki can be found by consulting
the index. He could be used as an example. of such reconciliation.
The Lessons of Pearl Harbor
With the Cold War over, Pearl Harbor is no longer as compelling a
cautionary tale for the necessity for maintaining a strong military, and
for guarding against a sneak attack. Nevertheless, it still teaches
important lessons about the dangers of isolationism, overconfidence, and
about the dangers of racial prejudice -- which, in the case of Pearl
Harbor, led us to belittle the Japanese military and at the same time to
over-emphasize the danger of sabotage in Hawaii by Japanese-Americans,
leading to the ruinous practice of grouping planes in the middle of
runways as a precaution against sabotage.
How Should Americans Approach the Anniversary?
I think it is important for people to keep two themes in mind at once.
(Some might even say these are two contradictory ideas. If the mark of a
great mind is the ability to entertain two contradictory 1deas at the
same time, perhaps this is also the mark of a great nation.)
The first thing to remember is that the American and Japanese peoples
and nations America and Japan have enjoyed friendly political and
economic relations for forty years, to remember that Pearl Harbor
happened almost two generations earlier, and was the product of a system
of government long repudiated by the Japanese people. To hold personal
or national grudges over this even at this late date is senseless and
inappropriate.
Extended Page:
1.1
On the other hand, Pearl Harbor is history, fact. The desire to effect a
reconciliation with Japan should not mean forgetting that this was an
act of treachery and aggression that Ted to three and a half years of
suffering, and to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; nor should it
prevent us from remembering the sacrifices of the victims of the
Japanese attack, and the important role it has played in our history.
I hope this helps. If you have any questions don't hesitate to call. I
will be at the above number until November 29. After that I can be
reached in Honolulu at the Kahala Hilton (808) 734-2211.
Sincerely Yours,
thereon clarke
Thurston Clarke
F.
SCIENCE,
D.
E.
TECHNOLOGY,
G.
VISUAL
MUSIC
GROWTH
DAILY LIFE
ARTS
1940
contd
Edward Hopper:
Roy Harris: "Folk Song
Donald Bailey invents
Air Training Corps established in Britain
"Nighthawks"
Symphony," Boston
the portable
"Mosquito" fighter aircraft in use
1941
Stuart Davis: "New York
Michael Tippett: "A Child
military bridge
Brit. A.R.P. (Air Raid Precaution)
Under Gaslight"
of Our Time"
Hans Haas begins
reorganized as Civil Defence
Fernand Léger: "Divers
William Walton:
underwater
"Utility" clothing and furniture are
against Yellow
"Scapino," overture
photography
encouraged in Britain, clothes rationing
Background"
Benjamin Britten: Violin
"Manhattan Project"
starts
Paul Nash: "Bombers
Concerto
of intensive atomic
Amer. Bowling Congress Hall of Fame
over Berlin"
Paderewski d. (b. 1860)
research begins
established
Henry Moore's drawings
Shostakovich: Symphony
Whinfield and Dickson
Joe DiMaggio hits safely in 56 consecutive
of refugees in London
No. 7 (written during
invent dacron
games, establishes a major league record
air raid shelters
the siege of Leningrad)
Ferry Command
Lord Baden-Powell d. (b. 1857)
Feliks Topolski executes
Wilhelm Kienzl, Aust.
aircraft crosses
Amy Johnson, Eng. aviatrix, d. (b. 1904)
his drawings of Brit.
composer, d. (b. 1857)
Atlantic from the
Emperor William II of Germany d. (b. 1859)
armed forces
Christian Sinding, Norw.
West in 8 hours 23
U.S. Supreme Court upholds Federal Wage
Stanley Spencer:
composer, d. (b. 1856)
minutes
and Hour Law restricting work of 16- and
"Shipbuilding in the
Popular songs:
Walther Nernst, Ger.
18-year-olds and setting minimum wage
Clyde"
"Bewitched, Bothered,
physicist and
for businesses engaged in interstate
National Gallery of Art,
and Bewildered";
chemist,
commerce
Washington, D.C.,
"Deep in the Heart of
d. (b. 1864)
Jeannette Rankin, U.S. Representative, casts
Texas"; "I Don't Want
Edwin McMillan and
sole dissenting vote in Congress against
opens
Films: "The Two-Faced
to Set the World On
Glenn T. Seaborg
declaration of war on Japan after Pearl
Woman" (Garbo's last
Fire"; "Chattanooga
(both U.S.)
Harbor attack
film); "Citizen Kane"
Choo-Choo"; "I Got It
discover plutonium
U.S. (Lawn Tennis) Association Amateur
(Orson Welles);
Bad and That Ain't
(atomic number 94)
championship won by Bobby Riggs;
"Kipps" (Carol Reed);
Good"
Construction of Gatun
Women's by Mrs. Sarah Palfrey Cooke
"The Big Store"
Locks, Panama
U.S. Golf Association Amateur won by
(Marx Brothers); "The
Canal, begins
Marvin Ward; Open by Craig Wood
49th Parallel" (Leslie
Grand Coulee Dam,
"Whirlaway," Eddie Arcaro up, wins
Howard); "Ohm
Washington, starts
Belmont and Preakness Stakes and
Krüger" (anti-Brit.
operation
Kentucky Derby
Nazi propaganda
Rainbow Bridge over
Lou Gehrig, baseball player, d. (b. 1903)
film); "Suspicion"
Niagara Falls,
Monument over Time Capsule, to be opened
(Hitchcock) "How
N.Y., opens
in 6939, sealed at site of 1939 New York
Green Was My
World's Fair, is dedicated
Valley" (John Ford),
New York (AL) wins World Series from
Academy Award
Brooklyn (NL), 4-1
Robert Delaunay
d. (b. 1885)
Pierre Bonnard:
Ernest Bacon: "A Tree on
Enrico Fermi
Malta awarded the George Cross
"L'Oiseau bleu"
the Plain," opera,
(U.S.) splits the
Gilbert Murray founds Oxfam
1942
John Piper: "Windsor
Converse College
atom
"Stars and Stripes," a daily paper for U.S.
Castle"
Benjamin Britten:
The first electronic
forces in Europe, appears
Graham Sutherland:
"Sinfonia da Requiem"
brain or automatic
Warmerdam (U.S.) establishes pole vault
"Red Landscape"
Aaron Copland: "Rodeo,"
computer
record (3.77 meters)
Walter Richard Sickert
New York
developed in the
First all-star bowling tournament held in U.S.
d. (b. 1860)
Gian Carlo Menotti: "The
U.S.
Wartime "National Loaf" introduced in
Grant Wood d. (b. 1892)
Island God," opera,
Magnetic recording
Britain
Philip Wilson Steer
New York
tape invented
Mildenhall Treasure, a hoard of Roman
d. (b. 1860)
Michel Fokine, Russ.
Franz Boas, Ger.-
silverware is discovered in Suffolk
Braque: "Patience,"
choreographer,
Amer. ethnologist,
487 die in fire at Coconut Grove nightclub,
cubist painting
d. (b. 1880)
d. (b. 1858)
Boston, most from asphyxiation when
Films: "Bambi" (Disney);
Richard Strauss:
William Henry Bragg,
trapped by exit doors that open inward
"Mrs. Miniver"
"Capriccio," opera,
Eng. physicist,
Sugar rationing begins in U.S.; OPA freezes
(Greer Garson); "To
Munich
d. (b. 1862)
rents; gasoline rationing; Elmer Davis is
Be or Not To Be"
Randall Thompson:
A. C. Hartley invents
appointed director of newly formed
(Lubitsch); "Holiday
"Solomon and Balkis,"
device for clearing
Office of War Information (OWI); coffee
Inn" (Bing Crosby);
opera, radio première
fog from airfields
rationing
"The Evening
Felix von Weingartner,
(FIDO)
U.S. Supreme Court rules Nevada divorces
Visitors" (Carné)
Aust. conductor and
Max Muller of Junkers
valid in U.S.
(contd)
(contd)
(contd)
(contd)
519
The Timetables of
AHorizontalLinkage
of People and Events
BY BERNARD GRUN, BASED UPON WERNER STEIN'S KULTURFAHRPLAN
"Fascinating and provocative;
above all, it is useful for every writer,
thinker or student of the flow of
history from the past to our time."
-Theodore H. White
WITH A FOREWORD BY DANIEL J. BOORSTIN,
AUTHOR OF THE AMERICANS, PULITZER PRIZE WINNER IN HISTORY
91-11-20 20:13 DOUG GAMBLE
1.1
DOUG GAMBLE
424- 36th Place
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Nov. 21/91
(310) 546-6409
TO: CHRISTINA MARTIN
2 Pages
PEARL HARBOR (Curt Smith)
FIFTY YEARS AGO THE AXIS POWERS THOUGHT THEY WOULD RULE THE WORLD. INSTEAD,
THEY RUED THE DAY.
THE ATTACK FROM PLANES BEARING THE INSIGNIA OF THE RISING SUN SUCCEEDED
ONLY IN HASTENING THE SETTING SUN FOR THE AXIS POWERS.
ON DECEMBER SEVENTH, 1941, THE WORLD LEARNED THAT WHILE AMERICAN SHIPS CAN
BE SUNK, AMERICAN SPIRIT CANNOT.
THE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR WAS A SURPRISE. AMERICA'S DISPLAY OF DETERMINATION
AND COURAGE WAS NOT.
FDR CALLED IT A DATE THAT WILL LIVE IN INFAMY, BUT EVEN MORE INFAMOUS WOULD
BE POLICIES THAT WOULD ALLOW SUCH A DAY TO HAPPEN AGAIN.
IT IS PRECISELY BECAUSE THE SOULS OF 2,330 BRAVE AMERICANS CAME TO REST HERE
50 YEARS AGO, THAT OUR VIGILENCE MUST NEVER REST FOR ALL TIME.
MORE
'91-11-20 20:13 DOUG GAMBLE
P.2
- 2 -
DOUG GAMBLE
TO: CHRISTINA MARTIN - PEARL HARBOR (CONT'D)
FIFTY YEARS AGO WE CROSSED THE THRESHOLD TO A LONG AND TERRIBLE WAR, FOLLOWED
BY AN EVEN LONGER AND BITTER PEACE. TODAY WE'RE AT THE THRESHOLD OF A NEW
WORLD ORDER, A NEW WORLD ERA -- AN ERA OF TRUE PEACE BASED ON MUTUAL
COOPERATION, UNDERSTANDING AND A LOVE OF FREEDOM.
On September 1, 1939, the German Army marched into neighbor-
ANNIVERSARY
ing Poland, igniting World War II. When it was over, in August
1945, 59 nations had been drawn into the struggle. The unprece-
dented carnage extended from Europe and the Soviet Union to Afri-
ca and Asia. In six years more than 45 million were killed, and the
lives of millions more were catastrophically disrupted. The war's
immediate aftermath saw a shift in the international balance of
power and a reconstitution of the political map. On the anniversary
of this last great war, a notable U.S. veteran recalls his experiences.
A BOY
by GEORGE BUSH
December 7, 1941
I was walking across the campus at Andover when I heard the
news. I was 17. It came as a shock-a jolt-an awakening. I
did not fully comprehend world affairs. My interests were our
undefeated soccer season just finished, basketball-basebal
GOES
coming up. Christmas vacation only a couple of weeks away,
graduation, then college. Things changed instantly. I knew
right then that I wanted to go into the service.
December 8, 1941
Our headmaster, a great historian and tough disciplinarian,
summoned us all into George Washington Hall, the school's
assembly place. There was the normal joking, kidding, sloppy
TO WAR
posture. Dr. Claude M. Fuess called to order the 800 students
by saying something like this: "Your country is at war. We
have just played "The Star-Spangled Banner.' From now on
when "The Star-Spangled Banner' is played you will stand at
attention, hands at your sides, and you will show respect."
From that day on, without fail, I have stood at attention
when the national anthem is played.
June 12, 1942
Secretary of War Henry Stimson, an alumnus of Andover,
spoke at our commencement. He encouraged the graduating
class to get some college education before serving. I was deter-
mined not to go on to college but to become a Navy pilot. Sec-
retary Stimson was a towering world figure, but I wondered
about this call of his.
On the same day, my 18th birthday, I was sworn into
the Navy as a Seaman Second Class, the first step toward
becoming a pilot. I was a scared, nervous kid. The Navy had
just changed the rules. It no longer required two years of col-
lege before becoming a pilot; pilots were urgently needed.
Walter Levering, Lieutenant USNR, swore me in at Boston.
FIFTY YEARS AGO WWII
I went on active duty as an aviation cadet August 6, 1942.
August 6, 1942
BEGAN. PROBABLY
I climbed on a southbound train at Penn Station. My dad was
a big, strong guy. He put his arm around me and said good-
THE LAST U.S. PRESIDENT
bye. I'd never seen my dad shed a tear before. We arrived in
Chapel Hill, N.C., and I met "The Splendid Splinter," Ted
Williams of the Boston Red Sox, who later became a great
TO FIGHT IN IT LOOKS BACK
friend. We all stood in awe of the famous hitter who was in
the same program.
June 1943
Having been stationed at Chapel Hill for preflight, Minne-
apolis for primary training and Corpus Christi for advanced,
I received my Navy wings and ensign's commission June 9. I
was still 18 years old. I wanted to fly in combat. All my class-
mates wanted to as well. I fell in love early on with the "low
and slow" torpedo bombers. The Grumman Avenger carried
2,000 pounds of bombs, the biggest single-engine aircraft in
Opposite: Late in 1944 Lieutenant (j.g.) George Bush, with
the fleet. It had a crew of three. I went off to Fort Lauder-
combat crewmen Leo Nadeau (right) and Joe Reichert,
dale to learn to fly it. Training up and down the East Coast.
was part of a naval air squadron in the Pacific Above: Bush
dropping tornorloos AIT Cane Cod dummy hombs
ANDOVER
does in Lake Okeechobee, Fla., Chincoteague, Va., Charles-
tack on the target, followed by Doug West and then me.
town, R.I., Miami
I saw 'em all. I had an ensign's stripe
At Andover prep in 1942, senior
At about 0830, and moments after pushing over into my
and an admiral's confidence. I was a Navy pilot.
George "Poppy" Bush was
dive at 8,000 feet, I felt a jolt as if a giant fist had rammed into
captain of the baseball team and
the belly of the plane. We'd been hit in the engine area. Smoke
Spring-Summer 1944
George L. "Flop" Follansbee,
poured into the cockpit and flames were spreading aft toward
I was assigned to Air Group 51, the first to be aboard the new
the coach. Bush's torpedo bomber
the fuel tanks in the wings. Navy training had taught us to
fast carrier San Jacinto, CVL 30. We went on a shakedown
was named "Barbara." His
complete the mission. I instinctively continued in the dive,
cruise to Trinidad, put San Jac into commission
homed in on the target, unloaded our four 500-
at Philadelphia, headed for the Pacific via the
pound bombs, pulled away heading east toward
Panama Canal, touched the U.S. one last time at
the sea. A few miles from shore I told my crew-
San Diego and then went west.
men, Ted White and John Delaney, to bail out.
Many of the air group and ship's company had
As I bailed out, my head struck the tail of the
spent no time at sea. One roommate, subsequent-
plane, momentarily knocking me out. I was land-
ly killed, Tom Waters, had a red face, but the seas
ing in the water when the Japanese sent two
were so bad that his face literally turned green.
boats out after me. Melvin, West and Moore
We struck Wake Island on May 23, 1944. My
along with our Hellcat fighter escorts drove the
close friend and other roommate Jim ykes went
boats away.
off on a search mission and never came back. I lay
I was in the life raft about two hours, wonder-
in my upper bunk and cried for my friend. No one
ing if my life would be spared. I prayed to God; I
saw me-that wouldn't do.
was sick to my stomach and again I cried. I was a
very scared kid, just 20, away from his mother
September 2, 1944
and dad, paddling against the wind trying
On this day at 0715, a division of VT-51, com-
to get farther from the Japanese-held island.
posed of Commander Don Melvin, Doug West,
I later learned that my crewmen had been killed.
Milt Moore and myself, took off from the San Jacinto
was the number two" plane in the
Observers said that two persons were seen leaving the
(my 50th combat mission), flying about 70 miles to destroy
squadron. His other three
plane. The parachute of the other never opened, but mine
two radio stations at Chichi Jima in the Bonin Islands.
aircraft were named
did. God had spared me from that fate for whatever reason.
At the target area, the sky was thick with black clouds of
after his fiancée too.
Hellcat fighter pilots flew over my raft until I was rescued
exploding enemy antiaircraft fire. Don Melvin led the at-
by the submarine U.S.S. Finback around noon.
September 1944
the battle helped heal the hurt. It was our duty, our honor.
The Finback stayed on its war patrol in Japanese waters, and
We were fighting for the U.S.A. against tyranny. The coun-
I, along with two other rescued pilots and two crewmen,
try was united. We, on a carrier, were a part of something
spent the next 30 days standing watch and
great and good. At times we were scared, but
counting my blessings. We got depth-charged by
there were never any doubts.
Japanese ships. The submariners in the Finback
didn't seem too concerned about that, but Jim
Christmas Eve 1944
Beckman, Tom Keene and I, the rescued pilots,
I arrive home. I stop at the Rye [N.Y.] station
didn't like that a bit. Finback's skipper won a Sil-
on the way to Greenwich. There my fiancée,
ver Star for sinking Japanese ships.
Barbara, climbs on the train. We go the 10 min-
utes to Greenwich. My mother and dad meet us.
October 1944
I was glad to be home for Christmas Day; I
Back in Pearl Harbor for a week at a "rest
counted my blessings. I was glad to be sur-
home," then after some essential refresher fly-
rounded by love. At church the next day,
ing, I hitchhiked back to the fleet-Task Force
Christmas, I thanked God I was home-and in
38 under Admiral William "Bull" Halsey off
the quiet of our church I thought about Jim
the Philippines. I wondered at the tremen-
Wykes, Dick Houle, Tom Waters, Ted White,
dous naval power in and around Pearl Harbor
John Delaney and the others who would never
and at Ulithi Atoll. You could feel things mov-
come home for Christmas.
ing our way. We were shown pictures of Japa-
I asked "Why?" but there was not any ago-
nese atrocities. It was Hirohito's fault. Hitler
ny about the cause. There were no divisions
was beginning to get kicked hard in Europe, but
about the war. We were right. God was on our
for us there was one unifying symbol-Hirohito
side. We had suffered a surprise attack and
and the evil he represented. I wanted badly to
now, three years later, we were winning; and I, a
rejoin my squadron-to fly more, to do my part.
20-year-old lieutenant (j.g.), was part of the
greatest fighting force in the world. I had grown
November 1944
up. I had flown with the best off a great carrier
I flew my final mission, the 58th, over the Luzon
that flew the Texas flag into battle. I was part
area, November 29. Puffs of antiaircraft fire, black and men-
After duty in the Pacific Bush
of a team. We cared about each other in our squadron.
acing, were nothing like the concentrated fire over Chichi
returned home and on
We understood each other's fears and loves. We played to-
Jima. Still you wonder. There was a sense of exhilaration in
January 6, 1945, married Barbara
gether, sang together, flew together. We bitched ábout
our ready room. We were going home. We'd probably make it
Pierce at the Presbyterian
our squadron commander-too tough, too demanding, too
for Christmas. Several of our VT-51 Squadron mates had
Church in Rye, N.Y.
serious. But we loved to fly on his wing-we respected
been killed, but that was accepted. In a sense, the ferocity of
Don Melvin.
1989R.J.REYNOLDS TOBACCO CO
Winston
FILTERS
If we hotdogged it or risked the lives of the ship's crew
VT-51. I checked out in the F4U, the hotshot gull-wing Cor-
by some careless maneuver, Captain Harold M. "Beauty"
sair fighter
and for a moment I wondered if "low and
Martin would kick some serious butt, but we bragged about
slow" was good enough for me anymore. A fleeting thought
him. He didn't know me from Adam's off OX.
only, since by now the feel of the TBF was a
But why should he? I had one stripe, finally one
part of my very existence. The TBF was a
and a half, and he had four. We gave him a lot
forgiving airplane-and though I was a pret-
of room, a lot of respect.
ty good pilot, I'd still make errors that needed
We were the best pilots. When we ground-
forgiveness.
looped on land, it was that damned gust of wind
or it was low hydraulics in the left brake. When
August 14, 1945
we missed the proper wire landing on the carri-
I'm just 21 now. We are based in Virginia.
er, it was that crazy landing signal officer
Barbara and I are having more time together.
"Damn fool, had me too high all the way in," or
As our new squadron, with orders in hand to go
"too fast" or "too slow"; but we never told him.
back to the Pacific, starts our final training,
He held our lives in his hands. And besides, the
the war ends. I'll never forget the scream-
skipper always thought he was right.
ing and the cheering and the dancing in the
We were the best
cocky devils, sure of
street and the praying. Bar and I went to
our ability, sure of our mission. We knew exact-
church and we said thanks. The war's end
ly what had to be done. We knew we would win.
meant we would not have to be separated and
that I would not have to cover any more land-
Winter-Spring 1945
ings of Marines on beaches-seeing them get
Having been engaged since the fall of 1943
slaughtered as the Japanese dug in to defend
while I was training up and down the East
their homeland.
Coast, on January 6, 1945, Barbara Pierce and I
exchanged wedding vows in Rye, N.Y. I was
September 18, 1945
proudly wearing my Navy uniform. My squad-
I am discharged from the Navy on "points,"
ron mates, Richard B. Playstead and Milton
and now I go to college. The togetherness of
Moore, were in attendance. Barbara and I had
it all is gone. We refocus. It's soccer, base-
time for a honeymoon at Sea Island, Ga.
George W., the first of five children,
ball-it's our first baby and economics classes. Barbara
Then off we went to carrier requalification in the Great
got a lift at their home in New
and I know family joy, and the happiness of being at
Lakes. We bought our first car-a 1941 Plymouth, price
Haven while Papa was still in college
school and looking forward shortly thereafter to a new
$350-and drove across Canada to join our squadron in
at Yale. After graduation, they
life in our west. We have lots of new friends. The let-
Lewiston, Maine. Up and down the East Coast in VT-153, a
moved to Texas.
ters from the shipmates slow down. They are finding their
new torpedo squadron manned by some of my pals from
new way, too.
SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Cigarette
Smoke Contains Carbon Monoxide.
THING incotine: by FTC method
Webster's
Ninth New
Collegiate
Dictionary
PRESS
America's favorite to the rescue.
In Tokyo last February for the
funeral of Emperor
No other dictionary relieves more sinking feelings-how to spell it, how to say it,
Hirohito, President Bush joined
how to use it. And it's the dictionary to tell you how old a word is.
heads of state from 162
other countries. The palanquin was
A Genuine Merriam-Webster®
carried through the streets by
More people take our word for it.
members of the Imperial Guard.
©Merriam-Webster 1989
June 1948
A brand-new college grad, my first job ahead, I drive to Odessa, Tex. The war
seems far behind-ahead lies a whole new exciting life.
January 20, 1989
ALFRED EISENSTAEDT TIME INC. 1989
I am sworn in as President of the United States. A TBF on a float goes by in our
inaugural parade. On it are some squadron mates from VT-51. They are smiling
and waving. No one knows who they are. But I know.
February 1989
I am in Japan for the funeral of Emperor Hirohito. It is an icy cold day, and
the long ceremony is beautifully done. Sitting there in the cold, I had time to
think. Yes, I thought about the burst of antiaircraft fire from Chichi Jima that
killed my friends, but that thought did not dominate. I thought about Hirohito
going to call on MacArthur, about Japan's remarkable recovery and about her
democracy. I thought about the quiet little man and his love of nature and how
that contrasted with the horrible pictures we saw 45 years ago
I thought of
Japan. And I thought of forgiveness. Our alliance is strong, our friendship is gen-
uine. They are now a democracy. How remarkable that is. Maybe Ted White,
Jack Delaney, Jim Wykes, Dick Houle and Tom Waters did not die in vain. It
was right that I went back to Japan to the Emperor's funeral.
SEND US YOUR WAR STORIES
V-J Day, Times Square, 1945 11 X 14 Gelatin Silver Print, 1979
Join Mickey Rooney, Sophia Loren, Julia Child and John Hersey in recounting your best
Signed Limited Edition
$3,000
anecdotes about WWII. We'd like to hear from grunts, nurses, spies, lovers, pilots, Rosie
the Riveter-all of you. Essays of 500 words or less are invited, and the most interesting
will be published in the December issue. Your story should be postmarked no later than
October 1 to LIFE's War Stories, Room 1725, Time & Life Building, Rockefeller Center,
Gallery of Photography
New York, N.Y. 10020-1393. Your name, complete address and telephone number should
1271 Sixth Ave. at 50th St. NYC
appear at the top of your entry. NO ENTRIES WILL BE RETURNED.
Debra Cohen, Director (212) 522-2300
P.02
NOV- 1-89 WED 1:20
2
/
In advance of Special Yearm
Since last talk War
Bandrame await call.
That is general rule of daty
are straining on leash
Honorable impulse
what when you go
nothing but praise
En tar splendid compaing
But - Word of cantion
Expand. Effect on
End of was is not End
grme citizens and Eders.
of problems or duty
Character's his of am. Soldri
Future americas needs
Brave wrehout Bruial.
Educated men
wishout Boashing
Sad case if all morons
Bremes a partq irrestible
might without Coaing tank
object of Selective Sensie
in individual leterly
To fil. Each man according
quartyr &
to call of duty -
Two for with your
america does not need acc
aviators
9 Henry stimson
NOTES OF HLS FOR TALK AT COMMENCEMENT
EXERCISES AT PHILLIPS ACADEMY ON
JUNE 12, 1942.
THE white HOUSE
WASHINGTON
5(mm works
Utah + Az.
greavivers
Gloup Powel
Lujan
20 congressmen
300 people
(Smith/Simon)
Draft Nine
December 2, 1991
PEARL.TS
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: USS ARIZONA
PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1991
8:25 A.M.
Captain Ross. Family and friends of the USS Arizona and USS
Utah. Fellow veterans, and Americans. //
It was a bright Sunday morning. Soldiers and sailors slept
soundly in their bunks. Early risers stood at their posts,
joking, enjoying a sun that had pushed back the previous day's
clouds, marveling at the serene and glassy sea.
On the stern of the USS Nevada, a brass band prepared to
play the Star Spangled Banner. On other ships, sailors readied
for the 8 a.m. flag raising. //
On the mainland, millions listened to football games on the
radio. Others turned to songs like "Chattanooga Choo-Choo" /
comics like Terry and the Pirates / or movies like Citizen Kane.
// In New York, Christmas shoppers flocked to Macy's. Out West,
it was late morning -- and parents and their children were on
their knees in church. /
At first, the hum of engines seemed routine. Sailors
watched with innocent fascination. For them, the idea of war
seemed palpable, but not quite real. Then, in one horrible
instant, carefree sailors froze in horror. The abstract threat
exploded into a deadly menace.
But these men did not run -- they raced to their stations.
Some strapped pistols over pajamas -- and died.
2
The shock wave soon swept across America. Ask anyone who
endured that awful Sunday. Each recalls where they were December
7th, 1941. Each felt like the writer who observed: "Life is
never again as it was before anyone you love has died; never so
innocent, never so gentle, never so pliant to your will. " //
Today, we honor those who gave their lives at this place,
half-a-century ago. // Their names were Bertie and Gomez and
Dougherty and Granger. They came from Idaho, and Mississippi,
and the sweeping farmland of Ohio. // They were black and white,
brown and yellow, native-born and foreign-born. Most of all,
they were Americans -- hating war, but loving freedom more. //
Think of how it was for these Heroes of the Harbor -- men who
were also husbands / fathers / brothers / sons. Imagine the
chaos of guns and smoke, flaming water and ghastly carnage. Two
thousand, four hundred Americans gave their lives. But in this
haunting place, they live forever in our memory -- reminding us
gently, selflessly, like chimes in the distant night. //
Every 15 seconds a drop of oil still rises from the Arizona,
drifts to the surface, and spreads across the water. Every 15
seconds the ancient poet whispers: "In our sleep, pain that
cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own
despair / against our will / comes wisdom through the awful grace
of God. " // It is though God Himself were crying.
He cries -- as we do -- for the living, and the dead. Men
like Commander Duncan Curry -- firing a .45 at attacking planes
as tears streamed down his face. // We remember machinist's mate
3
Robert Scott -- who ran the air compressors that powered the guns
aboard the battleship California. When the compartment flooded,
the crew evacuated. Bob Scott refused. "This is my station, " he
said. "I'm going to stay as long as the guns are going. " //
Nearby, aboard the cruiser New Orleans, Chaplain Howell Forgy
assured his troops it was all right to miss church. "You can
praise the Lord and pass the ammunition. " //
For these men, heroism came as naturally as breath. They
reacted to assault by rushing to their posts. These men knew
instinctively that a Nation is sustained by the nobility of its
cause. // Every American did. Ted Williams, who served America
in two wars, put down his bat after the bombs began to fall. He
took up arms and risked his life so that liberty could survive.
// Aiding that crusade were Hawaiians of Japanese ancestry who
came by the hundreds to give wounded Americans blood -- and later
thousands of kinsmen who took up arms for their country. //
The men I speak of would be embarrassed to be called heroes.
Instead, they would tell you with proud defiance: Foes can sink
American ships, but they cannot scuttle the American spirit. //
They may kill us, but they cannot kill the ideals that made us
proud to serve.
Talk to those who survived to fight another day. They would
repeat the Navy Hymn I memorized as a boy: "Eternal Father,
strong to save / O hear us when we cry to thee / For those in
peril on the sea. If //
4
I come here as a Navy man -- enlisting on my eighteenth
birthday -- 188 days after Pearl. // It was the day I graduated
from high school, and I remember how Henry Stimson, then
Secretary of War, gave the Commencement speech. / He talked of
the American soldier, and how that soldier should be -- and I
quote -- "Brave without being brutal, self-confident without
boasting, being part of an irresistible might without losing
faith in individual liberty. " //
The Heroes of the Harbor engraved that passage on every
heart and soul. They fought for a world of peace, not war --
where children's dreams speak more loudly than the brashest
tyrant's guns. // Because of them, this memorial lives to pass
its lessons from one generation to the next.
The lessons of Pearl Harbor remain as clear as the Pacific
sky. One is, together, we could "summon lightness against the
dark" -- that was Dwight Eisenhower. / Another: that when it
comes to national defense, finishing second means finishing last.
/ That no one ever walks away from appeasing an aggressor -- he
only crawls -- and that the world stops not at our water's edge.
// Perhaps above all, that real peace -- the peace that lasts -
- means the triumph of freedom -- not merely the absence of war.
Real peace stems from might that is moral and intellectual,
economic and military. It comes from Nations who use that might
to make temporary peace permanent -- and fragile peace strong. //
As we look down at the Arizona's shrunken well -- tomb to more
than one thousand Americans -- the beguiling calm comforts us,
5
reminds us of the awesome might of ideals that inspire boys to
die as men. // Think of the young boy who lost his father that
day. or the wife whose husband was her confidant and best
friend. Talk to the little girl whose brother -- her idol --
would never return to teach her the true wonder of life. Every
one who aches at their sacrifice knows America must be forever
vigilant, and Americans must always remember the brave and
innocent ones who gave their lives here. //
Each Memorial Day, not far from this spot, Hawaiian Boy
Scouts and Girl Scouts honor the heroes of Pearl Harbor by
placing two leis on the graves of U.S. servicemen. // It is for
them -- the future -- that we must apply the lessons of the past.
// We must remember that we can best keep the peace by preparing
for war. We must recall that just as what happened in Berlin and
Tokyo could not be divorced from Washington -- SO events in
Europe and Asia affect every American today. //
In Pearl Harbor's wake, we won the peace. In the Cold War
that followed, we used other means: Among them, patience,
planning, and personal diplomacy. // For nearly half-a-century,
America stood fast and firm for democracy. But it has not stood
alone. Beside us stood nations committed to democracy, free
markets, free expression, and freedom of worship -- nations that
include our former enemies, Germany and Japan.
This year, they supported our triumph in the seas and sands
of the Gulf. By fighting for what is right and good, our former
enemies paid the ultimate tribute to the memory of December 7.
6
// They said: We believe in a New World Order where the force
of law outlasts the use of force. Now I say to them: Let us
build a world where nations solve their differences peacefully,
not violently: The kind our boys died for right here. //
The cause of peace among Nations is the highest in the
Community of God, and man. Today, we re-enlist in its crusade. /
Let us recall men like Ray Emory, who was on the USS Honolulu,
reading the morning newspaper, when the enemy attacked. //
After the war, Ray spent two years building a garage-size,
three-dimensional map of Pearl Harbor -- just as it was that day,
with each ship in exact location. // Why? A magazine drawing
had placed the ships wrong -- and to Ray Emory, as he said,
"Pearl Harbor is sacred. " / He saw that map and said: "I'm going
to make a map of how it was that day, and I'll make it right. " //
And by God, he did. 11
Ray -- fellow veterans -- by God -- with God -- the men of
Pearl Harbor got it right. They knew that there are things worth
living for -- but also worth dying for: Things like principle /
decency / fidelity / honor. //
Look at the water here -- quiet and clear, bidding us to sum
up and remember. One day -- in what now seems another lifetime -
- it wrapped its arms around the finest sons any Nation could
ever have; and it carried them to a better world. //
God bless them. Let me close with words worthy of the
Heroes of the Harbor: God Bless America -- the most wondrous
land on earth. // Thank you very much.
#
#
#
#
I
I
Inaugural Address. Fanuary 20, 1953
Delivered in person at the Capitol ]
MY FRIENDS, before I begin the expression of those thoughts
that I deem appropriate to this moment, would you permit me
the privilege of uttering a little private prayer of my own. And
I ask that you bow your heads:
Almighty God, as we stand here at this moment my future
associates in the Executive branch of Government join me in
beseeching that Thou will make full and complete-our dedication
to the service of the people in this throng, and their fellow citizens
everywhere.
Give us, we pray, the power to discern clearly right from wrong,
and allow all our words and actions to be governed thereby, and
by the laws of this land. Especially we pray that our concern
shall be for all the people regardless of station, race or calling.
May cooperation be permitted and be the mutual aim of those
who, under the concepts of our Constitution, hold to differing
political faiths; SO that all may work for the good of our beloved
country and Thy glory. Amen.
My fellow citizens:
The world and we have passed the midway point of a century
of continuing challenge. We sense with all our faculties that
forces of good and evil are massed and armed and opposed as
rarely before in history.
This fact defines the meaning of this day. We are summoned
by this honored and historic ceremony to witness more than the
act of one citizen swearing his oath of service, in the presence
of God. We are called as a people to give testimony in the sight
of the world to our faith that the future shall belong to the free.
Since this century's beginning, a time of tempest has seemed
to come upon the continents of the earth. Masses of Asia have
awakened to strike off shackles of the past. Great nations of
56616-60-4
I
I
Public Papers of the Presidents
Europe have fought their bloodiest wars. Thrones have toppled
and their vast empires have disappeared. New nations have been
born.
For our own country, it has been a time of recurring trial.
We have grown in power and in responsibility. We have passed
through the anxieties of depression and of war to a summit un-
matched in man's history. Seeking to secure peace in the world,
we have had to fight through the forests of the Argonne to the
shores of Iwo Jima, and to the cold mountains of Korea.
In the swift rush of great events, we find ourselves groping
to know the full sense and meaning of these times in which we
live. In our quest of understanding, we beseech God's guidance.
We summon all our knowledge of the past and we scan all signs
of the future. We bring all our wit and all our will to meet
the question:
How far have we come in man's long pilgrimage from darkness
toward the light? Are we nearing the light-a day of freedom
and of peace for all mankind? Or are the shadows of another
night closing in upon us?
Great as are the preoccupations absorbing us at home, con-
cerned as we are with matters that deeply affect our livelihood
today and our vision of the future, each of these domestic problems
is dwarfed by, and often even created by, this question that
involves all humankind.
This trial comes at a moment when man's power to achieve
good or to inflict evil surpasses the brightest hopes and the sharpest
fears of all ages. We can turn rivers in their courses, level
mountains to the plains. Oceans and land and sky are avenues
for our colossal commerce. Disease diminishes and life lengthens.
Yet the promise of this life is imperiled by the very genius that
has made it possible. Nations amass wealth. Labor sweats to
create-and turns out devices to level not only mountains but
also cities. Science seems ready to confer upon us, as its final
gift, the power to erase human life from this planet.
At such a time in history, we who are free must proclaim anew
2
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953
I
our faith. This faith is the abiding creed of our fathers. It is our
faith in the deathless dignity of man, governed by eternal moral
and natural laws.
This faith defines our full view of life. It establishes, beyond
debate, those gifts of the Creator that are man's inalienable
rights, and that make all men equal in His sight.
In the light of this equality, we know that the virtues most
cherished by free people-love of truth, pride of work, devotion
to country-all are treasures equally precious in the lives of the
most humble and of the most exalted. The men who mine coal
and fire furnaces, and balance ledgers, and turn lathes, and pick
cotton, and heal the sick and plant corn-all serve as proudly
and as profitably for America as the statesmen who draft treaties
and the legislators who enact laws.
This faith rules our whole way of life. It decrees that we, the
people, elect leaders not to rule but to serve. It asserts that we
have the right to choice of our own work and to the reward of
our own toil. It inspires the initiative that makes our productivity
the wonder of the world. And it warns that any man who seeks
to deny equality among all his brothers betrays the spirit of the
free and invites the mockery of the tyrant.
It is because we, all of us, hold to these principles that the
political changes accomplished this day do not imply turbulence,
upheaval or disorder. Rather this change expresses a purpose of
strengthening our dedication and devotion to the precepts of our
founding documents, a conscious renewal of faith in our country
and in the watchfulness of a Divine Providence.
The enemies of this faith know no god but force, no devotion
but its use. They tutor men in treason. They feed upon the
hunger of others. Whatever defies them, they torture, especially
the truth.
Here, then, is joined no argument between slightly differing
philosophies. This conflict strikes directly at the faith of our
fathers and the lives of our sons. No principle or treasure that we
hold, from the spiritual knowledge of our free schools and
3
I
Public Papers of the Presidents
churches to the creative magic of free labor and capital, nothing
lies safely beyond the reach of this struggle.
Freedom is pitted against slavery; lightness against the dark.
The faith we hold belongs not to us alone but to the free of
all the world. This common bond binds the grower of rice in
Burma and the planter of wheat in Iowa, the shepherd in southern
Italy and the mountaineer in the Andes. It confers a common
dignity upon the French soldier who dies in Indo-China, the
British soldier killed in Malaya, the American life given in Korea.
We know, beyond this, that we are linked to all free peoples
not merely by a noble idea but by a simple need. No free people
can for long cling to any privilege or enjoy any safety in economic
solitude. For all our own material might, even we need markets
in the world for the surpluses of our farms and our factories.
Equally, we need for these same farms and factories vital materials
and products of distant lands. This basic law of interdependence,
SO manifest in the commerce of peace, applies with thousand-fold
intensity in the event of war.
So we are persuaded by necessity and by belief that the strength
of all free peoples lies in unity; their danger, in discord.
To produce this unity, to meet the challenge of our time, destiny
has laid upon our country the responsibility of the free world's
leadership.
So it is proper that we assure our friends once again that, in
the discharge of this responsibility, we Americans know and we
observe the difference between world leadership and imperialism;
between firmness and truculence; between a thoughtfully calcu-
lated goal and spasmodic reaction to the stimulus of emergencies.
We wish our friends the world over to know this above all: we
face the threat-not with dread and confusion-but with con-
fidence and conviction.
We feel this moral strength because we know that we are not
helpless prisoners of history. We are free men. We shall remain
free, never to be proven guilty of the one capital offense against
freedom, a lack of stanch faith.
4
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953
I
In pleading our just cause before the bar of history and in
pressing our labor for world peace, we shall be guided by certain
fixed principles. These principles are:
I. Abhorring war as a chosen way to balk the purposes of those
who threaten us, we hold it to be the first task of statesmanship
to develop the strength that will deter the forces of aggression
and promote the conditions of peace. For, as it must be the
supreme purpose of all free men, SO it must be the dedication of
their leaders, to save humanity from preying upon itself.
In the light of this principle, we stand ready to engage with
any and all others in joint effort to remove the causes of mutual
fear and distrust among nations, so as to make possible drastic
reduction of armaments. The sole requisites for undertaking
such effort are that-in their purpose-they be aimed logically
and honestly toward secure peace for all; and that-in their
result-they provide methods by which every participating nation
will prove good faith in carrying out its pledge.
2. Realizing that common sense and common decency alike
dictate the futility of appeasement, we shall never try to placate
an aggressor by the false and wicked bargain of trading honor for
security. Americans, indeed, all free men, remember that in the
final choice a soldier's pack is not SO heavy a burden as a
prisoner's chains.
3. Knowing that only a United States that is strong and im-
mensely productive can help defend freedom in our world, we
view our Nation's strength and security as a trust upon which
rests the hope of free men everywhere. It is the firm duty of each
of our free citizens and of every free citizen everywhere to place
the cause of his country before the comfort, the convenience of
himself.
4. Honoring the identity and the special heritage of each
nation in the world, we shall never use our strength to try to
impress upon another people our own cherished political and
economic institutions.
5. Assessing realistically the needs and capacities of proven
5
I
Public Papers of the Presidents
friends of freedom, we shall strive to help them to achieve their
own security and well-being. Likewise, we shall count upon them
to assume, within the limits of their resources, their full and just
burdens in the common defense of freedom.
6. Recognizing economic health as an indispensable basis of
military strength and the free world's peace, we shall strive to
foster everywhere, and to practice ourselves, policies that en-
courage productivity and profitable trade. For the impoverish-
ment of any single people in the world means danger to the
well-being of all other peoples.
7. Appreciating that economic need, military security and
political wisdom combine to suggest regional groupings of free
peoples, we hope, within the framework of the United Nations,
to help strengthen such special bonds the world over. The nature
of these ties must vary with the different problems of different
areas.
In the Western Hemisphere, we enthusiastically join with all
our neighbors in the work of perfecting a community of fraternal
trust and common purpose.
In Europe, we ask that enlightened and inspired leaders of the
Western nations strive with renewed vigor to make the unity of
their peoples a reality. Only as free Europe unitedly marshals
its strength can it effectively safeguard, even with our help, its
spiritual and cultural heritage.
8. Conceiving the defense of freedom, like freedom itself, to
be one and indivisible, we hold all continents and peoples in equal
regard and honor. We reject any insinuation that one race or
another, one people or another, is in any sense inferior or
expendable.
9. Respecting the United Nations as the living sign of all
people's hope for peace, we shall strive to make it not merely an
eloquent symbol but an effective force. And in our quest for an
honorable peace, we shall neither compromise, nor tire, nor ever
cease.
By these rules of conduct, we hope to be known to all peoples.
6
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953
I
By their observance, an earth of peace may become not a vision
but a fact.
This hope-this supreme aspiration-must rule the way we
live.
We must be ready to dare all for our country. For history does
not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.
We must acquire proficiency in defense and display stamina in
purpose.
We must be willing, individually and as a Nation, to accept
whatever sacrifices may be required of us. A people that values
its privileges above its principles soon loses both.
These basic precepts are not lofty abstractions, far removed
from matters of daily living. They are laws of spiritual strength
that generate and define our material strength. Patriotism means
equipped forces and a prepared citizenry. Moral stamina means
more energy and more productivity, on the farm and in the
factory. Love of liberty means the guarding of every resource
that makes freedom possible-from the sanctity of our families
and the wealth of our soil to the genius of our scientists.
And so each citizen plays an indispensable role. The produc-
tivity of our heads, our hands and our hearts is the source of all
the strength we can command, for both the enrichment of our
lives and the winning of the peace.
No person, no home, no community can be beyond the reach of
this call. We are summoned to act in wisdom and in conscience,
to work with industry, to teach with persuasion, to preach with
conviction, to weigh our every deed with care and with compas-
sion. For this truth must be clear before us: whatever America
hopes to bring to pass in the world must first come to pass in the
heart of America.
The peace we seek, then, is nothing less than the practice and
fulfillment of our whole faith among ourselves and in our deal-
ings with others. This signifies more than the stilling of guns,
easing the sorrow of war. More than escape from death, it is
a way of life. More than a haven for the weary, it is a hope for
the brave.
7
I
Public Papers of the Presidents
This is the hope that beckons us onward in this century of
3
I
trial. This is the work that awaits us all, to be done with bravery,
with charity, and with prayer to Almighty God.
Natio
My citizens-I thank you.
Hono
NOTE: This text follows the White
east front of the Capitol. Immedi-
House release of the address. The
ately before the address the oath of
President spoke from a platform
office was administered by Chief
erected on the steps of the central
Justice Fred M. Vinson.
Dear A
Tha
me th:
2
I
Statement by the President on Establishing
traditi
the President's Committee on International
becom
In a
Information Activities. Fanuary 26, I953
the A1
IT HAS LONG BEEN my conviction that a unified and dynamic
accept
permi
effort in this field is essential to the security of the United States
memb
and of the other peoples in the community of free nations. All
impor
executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government
are authorized and directed, as a matter of common concern, to
cooperate with the Committee in its work.
Mr. E
The establishment of this Committee and the scope of its
Presio
inquiry were discussed at the Cabinet meeting last Friday morn-
The I
ing and received full and complete support.
Wash
The Committee's final report and recommendations are to be
in my hands not later than June 30.
(
NOTE: The White House release of
Security; Gordon Gray; Barklie Mc-
4
which this statement was a part an-
Kee Henry; and John C. Hughes.
nounced that the President had ap-
Abbott Washburn was named Exec-
Fan
pointed the following Committee
utive Secretary. On February I9,
members: William H. Jackson,
1953, Roger M. Kyes, Deputy Secre-
To t
Chairman; Robert Cutler, Adminis-
tary of Defense, was also appointed.
Agen
A summary of the Committee's
trative Assistant to the President;
TI
final report was released by the White
C. D. Jackson, representing the Sec-
House on July 8, 1953. See footnote
Nati
retary of State; Sigurd Larmon, rep-
to news conference of that date, p.
of lif
resenting the Director for Mutual
472.
scrib
8
70
7:55-8:00 A.M.
Rodenberger from his upper bunk. He could only think that
the ancient boilers had finally exploded.
Ensign Roman Leo Brooks, officer of the deck on the
West Virginia across the channel, was thinking along these
same lines. He, too, was in no position to see the plane div-
ing on the seaplane hangars or on the ships moored across
Ford Island. All he saw was the sudden eruption of flames
and smoke at 1010 dock. He lost no time-in seconds the
ship's bugler and PA system were blaring, "Away the fire
and rescue party!"
Even the men who saw the planes couldn't understand.
One of them was Fireman Frank Stock of the repair ship
Vestal, moored beside the Arizona. along Battleship Row.
Stock and six of his mates had taken the church launch for
services ashore. They moved across the channel and into
Southeast Loch, that long, narrow strip of water pointing di-
rectly at the battleships. On their right they passed the crui-
sers, nosed into the Navy Yard piers; on the left some subs
tucked into their berths. As they reached the Merry's Point
landing at the end of the loch, six or eight torpedo planes
flew in low from the east, about 50 feet above the water and
heading down the loch toward the battleships.
The men were mildly surprised-they had never seen
U. S. planes come in from that direction. They were even
more surprised when the rear-seat gunners sprayed them with
machine-gun bullets. Then Stock recalled the stories he had
read about "battle-condition" maneuvers in the Southern
states. This must be the same idea-for extra realism they
had even painted red circles on the planes. The truth finally
dawned when one of his friends caught a slug in the stomach
from the fifth plane that passed.
On the Nevada at the northern end of Battleship Row,
Leader Oden McMillan waited with his band to play morn-
ing colors at eight o'clock. His 23 men had been in position
since 7:55, when the blue prep signal went up. As they moved
into formation, some of the musicians noticed planes diving
5-8:00 A.M.
"I Didn't Even Know They Were Sore at Us" 71
only think that
at the other end of Ford Island. McMillan saw a lot of dirt
and sand go up, but thought it was another drill. Now it was
deck on the
7:58-two minutes to go-and planes started coming in low
ng along these
from Southeast Loch. Heavy, muffled explosions began boom-
the plane div-
ing down the line
enough to worry anyone. And then it
moored across
was eight o'clock.
tion of flames
The band crashed into "The Star-Spangled Banner." A Jap-
n seconds the
anese plane skimmed across the harbor
dropped a tor-
Away the fire
pedo at the Arizona
and peeled off right over the Neva-
da's fantail. The rear gunner sprayed the men standing at
't understand.
attention, but he must have been a poor shot. He missed the
e repair ship
entire band and Marine guard, lined up in two neat rows. He
ittleship Row.
did succeed in shredding the flag, which was just being
ch launch for
raised.
nel and into
McMillan knew now but kept on conducting. The years of
er pointing di-
training had taken over-it never occurred to him that once
assed the crui-
he had begun playing the National Anthem, he could pos-
left some subs
sibly stop. Another strafer flashed by. This time McMillan
Merry's Point
unconsciously paused as the deck splintered around him, but
orpedo planes
he quickly picked up the beat again. The entire band stopped
the water and
and started again with him, as though they had rehearsed it
for weeks. Not a man broke formation until the final note
d never seen
died. Then everyone ran wildly for cover.
ey were even
Ensign Joe Taussig, officer of the deck, pulled the alarm
yed them with
bell. The ship's bugler got ready to blow general quarters,
stories he had
but Taussig took the bugle and tossed it overboard. Some-
the Southern
how it seemed too much like make-believe at a time like this.
1 realism they
Instead he shouted over the PA system again and again, "All
e truth finally
hands, general quarters. Air raid! This is no drill!"
n the stomach
Ship after ship began to catch on. The executive officer of
the supply ship Castor shouted, "The Japs are bombing us!
ttleship Row,
The Japs are bombing us!" For an instant Seaman Bill Deas
to play morn-
drew a blank and wondered whether the man was speaking
en in position
to him. On the submarine Tautog, the topside anchor watch
As they moved
shouted down the forward torpedo hatch, "The war is on, no
planes diving
fooling!"
106
8:00-8:30 A.M.
dismantled—appeared topside, wistfully told Ensign John E.
Parrott, "Thought I'd come up and die with you." Machin-
ist's Mate Henry Johnson on the Rigel remarked that now he
knew how a rabbit felt and he'd never hunt one again. A
few minutes later he lay mortally wounded on the deck.
Their very helplessness turned many of the men from fear
to fury. Commander Duncan Curry, strictly an old Navy
type, stood on the bridge of the Ramapo firing a .45 pistol as
the tears streamed down his face. On the New Orleans a
veteran master at arms fired away with another .45, daring
them to come back and fight. A man stood near the sub
base, banging away with a double-barreled shotgun.
A young Marine on 1010 dock used his rifle on the
planes, while a Japanese-American boy about seven years old
lit a cigarette for him. The butt of his old cigarette was burn-
ing his lips, but he never even noticed it. As he fired away,
he remarked aloud, "If my mother could see me now."
Ten-ten dock itself was a mess, littered with debris from
the Helena and Oglala alongside. In the after engine room
of the torpedoed Helena, Chief Machinist's Mate Paul Weis-
enberger fought to check the water that poured aft through
the ship's drain system. The hit had also set off the ship's gas
alarm; its steady blast added to the uproar. Marine Second
Lieutenant Bernard Kelly struggled to get ammunition to the
guns. In keeping a steady supply flowing, it was a tossup
whether he had more trouble with the damage or with con-
scientious damage control men, who kept shutting the doors.
Topside was a shambles. The Helena's forecastle, which
had been rigged for church, looked as if a cyclone had passed.
The Oglala, to starboard, listed heavily; her signal flags
drooped over the Helena's bridge. Across the channel, Battle-
ship Row was a mass of flames and smoke. Above the whole
scene, a beautiful rainbow arched over Ford Island.
Just below 1010 dock, the Pennsylvania and destroyers
Cassin and Downes sat ominously unmolested in Drydock
No. 1. Likewise the destroyer Shaw in the floating drydock,
)-9:45 A.M.
"You Don't Wear a Tie to War"
133
nachine guns,
hauled up the same way, and all three were assigned to a five-
menace than
inch gun on the starboard side. The Nevada steamed on
ith his heart,
down the channel, gliding past the burning wrecks, proudly
n him smile,
heading for the sea.
est Virginia's
It seemed utterly incredible. A battleship needed two and
a half hours to light up her boilers, four tugs to turn and
d them off to
pull her into the stream, a captain to handle the whole in-
it themselves
tricate business. Everybody knew that. Yet here was the
n a Tennessee
at fuse setting
Nevada
Nevada-steam up in 45 minutes, pulling away without tugs,
and no skipper at all. How could she do it?
1 fuse settings
was
She had certain advantages. It might normally take two and
Honolulu.
the
a half hours to get up steam, but two of her boilers were al-
or technicali-
battle
ship
ready hot. One was the boiler that normally provides power
nnessee in his
for a ship at her mooring. Ensign Taussig had lit the sec-
rivate Harry
behind
ond during that last peacetime watch, planning to switch the
aboard, and
steam load later. Now his efficiency paid off. Both boilers had
res of empty
Arizona
plenty of steam-giving the Nevada some 90 minutes' jump
rgetting com-
in getting away. Hard work in the fire room made up the
t through all
difference.
to gripe was
And four tugs might normally be needed to ease the ship
man Duncan
out, but in a pinch their role could be filled by a good
by a broken
quartermaster. The Nevada had a superb one-Chief
Quartermaster Robert Sedberry.
wed signs of
It was the same with leadership. Captain Scanland and
se still living
his executive officer might be ashore, but the spark was sup-
: men in the
plied by Lieutenant Commander Francis Thomas, the
Barthis said
middle-aged reservist who was senior officer present. As
n-his watch
damage control officer, Thomas was down in central station
ready in the
when he heard that the engine room was ready. He put a yeo-
ig explosion
man in charge of central station, vaulted up the tube to the
e shore easily
conning tower, and took over as commanding officer.
1 the fight.
Chief Boatswain Edwin Joseph Hill climbed down to the
Nevada was
mooring quay, cut loose an ammunition lighter alongside,
oving down
and cast off. The Nevada began drifting away with the tide,
ne tossed him
and Hill had to swim to get back on board. But after 29 years
seamen were
in the Navy, he wasn't going to miss this trip.
134
8:30-9:45 A.M.
In the wheelhouse Sedberry backed her until she nudged
a dredging pipeline strung out from Ford Island. Then ahead
on the starboard engines, astern on the port, until the bow
swung clear of the burning Arizona. Now ahead on both en-
gines, with just enough right rudder to swing the stern clear
too. She passed so close, Commander Thomas felt he could
almost light a cigarette from the blazing wreck.
So she was on her way-and the effect was electric. Pho-
tographer J. W. Burton watched from the Ford Island shore
Lieutenant Commander Henry Wray from 1010 dock
Quartermaster William Miller from the Castor in the
sub base-but wherever men stood, their hearts beat faster.
To most she was the finest thing they saw that day. Against
the backdrop of thick black smoke, Seaman Thomas Malmin
caught a glimpse of the flag on her fantail. It was for only a
few seconds, but long enough to give him an old-fashioned
thrill. He recalled that "The Star-Spangled Banner" was
written under similar conditions, and he felt the glow of
living the same experience. He understood better the words
of Francis Scott Key.
Nerada
It was less of a pageant close up. All kinds of men compose
didn't
make even a great ship's crew, and they were all there on the
it to
Nevada. As the Japanese planes converged on the moving
sea.
ship, Seaman K. V. Hendon spied a pot of fresh coffee near
The Jups
the after battle dressing station; he paused and had a cup. A
attached
young seaman stood by one of the five-inch casemate guns,
it, so the
holding a bag of powder close to his chest-he explained that
if he went, it was going to be a complete job. One officer beat
Sailors beached it
on the conning tower bulkhead, pleading, "Make them go
away!" Ensign Taussig, his left leg hopelessly shattered, lay
for fear
in a stretcher near the starboard antiaircraft director. Turning
it would
to Boatswain's Mate Allen Owens, he remarked, "Isn't this
a hell of a thing-the man in charge lying flat on his back
sink and
while everyone else is doing something."
bottle up
As the Nevada steamed on, all the Japanese planes at
The entire
Pearl Harbor seemed to dive on her. At 1010 dock, Ensign
harbour channel.
9:45 A.M.
"You Don't Wear a Tie to War"
135
she nudged
David King watched one flight of dive bombers head for the
Then ahead
Helena, then swerve in mid-attack to hit the battleship in-
til the bow
stead. Another group shifted over from Drydock No. 1.
on both en-
Soon she was wreathed in smoke from her own guns
...
e stern clear
from bomb hits
from the fires that raged amidships and
elt he could
forward. Sometimes she disappeared from view, when near-
misses threw huge columns of water high in the air. As Ensign
lectric. Pho-
Delano watched from the bridge of the West Virginia, a
Island shore
tremendous explosion erupted somewhere within her, blow-
L 1010 dock
ing flames and debris far above the masts. The whole ship
astor in the
seemed to rise up and shake violently in the water.
beat faster.
Another hit on the starboard side slaughtered the crew of
day. Against
one gun, mowed down most of the next group forward. The
nas Malmin
survivors doubled up as best they could-three men doing the
S for only a
work of seven. It was all the more difficult because Chief
Id-fashioned
Gunner's Mate Robert E. Linnartz-now acting as sight-set-
anner" was
ter, pointer, and rammerman-had himself been wounded.
the glow of
In the plotting room far below, Ensign Merdinger got a
r the words
call to send up some men to fill in for the killed and wounded.
Many of the men obviously wanted to go-it looked like a
en compose
safer bet than suffocating in the plotting room. Others want-
ere on the
ed to stay-they preferred to keep a few decks between them-
the moving
selves and the bombs. Merdinger picked them at random,
coffee near
and he could see in some faces an almost pleading look to be
ad a cup. A
included in the other group, whichever it happened to be.
emate guns,
But no one murmured a word, and his orders were instantly
plained that
obeyed. Now he understood more clearly the reasons for the
: officer beat
system of discipline, the drills, the little rituals, the exacting
ke them go
course at Annapolis, the gold braid-all the things that made
attered, lay
the Navy essentially autocratic but at the same time made it
or. Turning
work.
, "Isn't this
The Nevada was well beyond Battleship Row and pretty
on his back
far down 1010 dock when she encountered still another
obstacle. Half the channel was blocked by a long pipeline
e planes at
that ran out from Ford Island to the dredge Turbine, lying
ock, Ensign
squarely in midstream. Somehow Quartermaster Sedberry
144
8:30-9:45 A.M.
ploded next to the ship. It holed her oil tanks, pushed in the
armor plating, and made any sortie impossible. Perhaps she
couldn't have gone anyhow, for in the excitement of casting
off, one man chopped away the power line to the dock. Since
the Honolulu didn't have enough steam yet to supply her own
power, this knocked out her lights and all the electrical
gear for operating the guns.
The same thing happened on the New Orleans at the next
pier. Hot cables danced on the decks, the lights went out,
the ammunition hoists ground to a halt. So the men formed
human chains to pass the shells and powder from the maga-
zines to the guns. As they sweated away in the dark, Chaplain
Howell Forgy did his best to encourage them. He passed out
apples and oranges
...
stopped and chatted with the gun
crews
...
patted Seaman Sam Brayfield on the back
...
told him and the others that they couldn't have church this
morning, but "praise the Lord and pass the ammunition."
K
Nobody chopped the cables that gave the St. Louis power,
one of
but nothing else was spared. A shopfitter dropped down
over the starboard side and burned off the gangway with an
the
acetylene torch. Somebody else chopped loose the water
most
hose, leaving a 12-inch hole in the side of the ship; Shop-
famous
fitter Bullock welded a plate over it in ten minutes. Up on
phrases
the bridge, Captain George Rood signaled the engine room,
and the St. Louis began backing out at 9:31 A.M.-the first
of the
cruiser under way.
war.
As she pulled out, Captain Rood called down to the ward-
Made
room and requested some water. The strafing was especially
heavy, but Pharmacist's Mate Howard Myers took pitcher
into a
and glass up the exposed ladder and served it properly. For
popular
the men on the St. Louis, nothing was too good for Captain
Rood.
song.
As the ships began pulling out, the men caught on shore
raced to get back in time. Admiral Anderson tore through
red lights in his official car. Admirals Pye and Leary got a
30-9:45 A.M.
"You Don't Wear a Tie to War"
157
w; but for the
the end of the service his mind began to wander, and his
of touch for the
eyes strayed out the window. Right above Alewa Heights
two planes were in a dogfight. But that was common, and he
could they wash
thought nothing of it. He glanced a little to the left and saw
usy right now,
black puffs of smoke in the sky. That was strange-he knew
losions boomed
the practice ammunition always left white smoke. As his at-
ed transfer 20
tention drifted back to church, he became aware of a com-
n car-this was
pletely changed atmosphere. Right in the middle of the serv-
noise gradually
ice, parents were slipping in and hurriedly taking their
ryell remarked
children out. He knew there was something wrong now, for
quite a show."
the grownups were whispering and acting very mysteriously.
The mass ended, and instead of the regular hymn, everyone
hints. Second
stood and sang "The Star-Spangled Banner."
, was out with
But it was all too deep for Stephen. Still thinking about
plane plunged
the picnic, he strolled off toward a friend's house. Then a
nt, they headed
plane roared down from the sky and shot at a car driving
plane swooped
toward Pearl. He spun around and ran home as hard as he
the party was
could. His mother was glad to see him too; she had been
e second plane
looking for him everywhere.
Captain Walter Bahr, one of Honolulu's crack harbor
Gillis saw the
pilots, also noticed the black puffs of smoke as he went out to
one's hot-water
meet the Dutch liner Jagersfontein, inbound from the West
awaiian house-
Coast. The pier watchman explained it was probably the
when she was
Navy practicing. But he had a curious sense of urgency when
thought it was
he boarded the ship at 9:00 A.M. No one told him anything,
er house. Mrs.
but he sensed danger in all that noise and smoke. He brought
the sound of
her in fast. They were about at the harbor entrance when
ing planes cir-
bombs began to fall, and columns of water shot up around
moke. She de-
them. Since Holland was already at war, the Jagersfontein was
become really
armed and the Dutch crew knew exactly what to do. They
30 and didn't
peeled the canvas covers from their guns and began firing
listened to the
back-the first Allies to join the fight.
only music.
A scrappy young flyweight boxer named Toy Tamanaha
Moon, a Chi-
listened to the gunfire as he walked down Fort Street to the
a Heights-he
Pacific Café for breakfast around 9:30. He didn't think
: Kailua. Near
much of it-there was always shooting going on. Some-
D
767.92 767
.L6
DAY
OF
INFAMY
16-0LV
by
276
WALTER LORD
ILLUSTRATED WITH PHOTOGRAPHS
NEW YORK
HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
PROPERTY OF U. S. ARMY
OFFICE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS
LIBRARY