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K-8 Pier Pearl Harbor, Hawaii 12/7/91 [OA 8331] [2]
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K-8 Pier Pearl Harbor, Hawaii 12/7/91 [OA 8331] [2]
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Records of the White House Office of Speechwriting (George H. W. Bush Administration)
Speech Backup Chronological Files
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This is not a textual record. This is used as an
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Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
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Speechwriting, White House Office of
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Speech File Backup Files
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OA/ID Number:
13785
Folder ID Number:
13785-004
Folder Title:
K-8 Pier Pearl Harbor, Hawaii 12/7/91 [OA 8331][2]
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26
22
1
3
PEARL HARBOR
Day of
usun
100
A half-century ago, Japan
launched its surprise attack on
Pearl Harbor, and the world has
never been the same since
By oTTo FRIEDRICH
Warden was just going back for seconds on both
hotcakes and eggs
when this blast shuddered by
under the floor and rattled the cups
It had
become very quiet and everybody had stopped
eating and looked up at each other.
"Must be doin some dynamitin down to
Wheeler Field," somebody said tentatively.
-James Jones, From Here to Eternity
The brass band on the stern of the
TIME
U.S.S. Nevada kept on playing The
Dec.
Star-Spangled Banner for the 8 a.m.
2,
flag raising even after a Japanese
1991
bomber roared overhead and fired a
torpedo at the nearby Arizona. The
torpedo missed, but the bomber
sprayed machine-gun fire at the Nevada's band
and tore up its ensign.
"This is the best goddam drill the Army Air
Force has ever put on," remarked an Arizona sailor
standing idly at the battleship's rail.
"Air raid, Pearl Harbor, this is no drill," said
the radio message that went out at 7:58 a.m.
US NAVY
NOT A DRILL
Fire engulfs the
bow of destroyer.
U.S.S. Shaw after it
takes direct hit
from Japanese
bomber during raid
on Pearl Harbor
Smoke blankets
bomb-ravaged
West Virginia
and Tennessee in
ruins of Pearl
Harbor's
Battleship Row
from the U.S. Navy's Ford Island command center, relayed
attempted to get to the conning tower over decks slippery with oil
throughout Hawaii, to Manila, to Washington. But there was an
and water, I felt the shock of another very heavy explosion." Ken-
even sharper sense of imminent disaster in the words someone
worthy gave the order to abandon ship. He barely made it over
shouted over the public address system on another docked battle-
the rising starboard side as the giant battleship began to keel
ship, the Oklahoma: "Man your battle stations! This is no shit!"
over, trapping more than 400 crewmen below decks.
Across the lapping waters of the harbor, church bells tolled, sum-
Just as the Oklahoma capsized, a tremendous explosion tore
moning the faithful to worship.
open the Arizona. "A spurt of flame came out of the guns in No. 2
Almost alongside the Oklahoma, another torpedo hurtled
turret, followed by an explosion of the forward magazine," said a
through the air. After releasing it, recalled Lieut. Jinichi Goto,
mechanic on the nearby tanker Ramapo. "The foremast leaned
commander of the Japanese torpedo bombers, "I saw that I was
forward, and the whole forward part of the ship was enveloped in
even lower than the crow's nest of the great battleship. My ob-
flame and smoke and continued to burn fiercely."
server reported a huge waterspout springing up
'Atarima-
In Commander Mitsuo Fuchida's bomber circling overhead,
shita! [It hit!]' he cried."
antiaircraft fire knocked a hole in the fuselage and damaged the
"I felt a very heavy shock and heard a loud explosion," said
steering gear, but Fuchida couldn't take his eyes off the fiery
the Oklahoma's executive officer, Commander Jesse Kenworthy
death throes of the Arizona. "A huge column of dark red smoke
Jr., "and the ship immediately began to list to port. As I
rose to 1,000 ft., and a stiff shock wave rocked the plane," he re-
32
TIME, DECEMBER 2, 1991
PEARL HARBOR
tiny white flashes of smoke appeared on or near the ship."
Pearl Harbor is peaceful now, blue waves in the winter sunshine,
an occasional toot of harbor traffic. A concrete canopy shrouds the
rusted wreckage of the Arizona, the remains of more than 1,000
American servicemen entombed inside. Her flag is still raised and
lowered every day on the mast emerging out of the quiet water.
The anniversary of the greatest U.S. military defeat, the day
President Franklin D. Roosevelt called "a date which will live in in-
famy," remains a day of death and disgrace, an inglorious event,
and the spirit of reconciliation still bows before gusts of rancor.
When President Bush, a World War II fighter pilot, indicated that
he would attend the Pearl Harbor anniversary ceremonies, White
House spokesmen stiffly squelched any talk of Japanese officials'
joining in. So did the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. "We did
not invite the Japanese 50 years ago, and we don't want them
now," says the association's president, Gerald Glaubitz.
n American mythology, Pearl Harbor still represents, even
after a half-century, a classic moment of treachery and be-
trayal. Certainly it was a moment of historic surprise, a mo-
ment when the impossible happened, when warfare sudden-
ly spread, for the first and only time in history, to virtually the
whole world. This was the moment that changed Americans from a
nation of provincial innocents, not only ignorant of the great world
but proud of their ignorance, into a nation that would often have to
bear the burdens of rescuing that world. The same cataclysm also
changed the Japanese from a people trying to find their place on
the rim of the great world into a nation that would eventually rede-
fine that world and place itself at the very center.
The surprise, when it first exploded over Pearl Harbor, was
shattering, and everyone who experienced it can still remember
what was going on when the news interrupted that quiet Sunday:
the Washington Redskins playing the Philadelphia Eagles, Ar-
thur Rubinstein as soloist in the New York Philharmonic broad-
cast, or just a visit with friends. Trying to explain the national
sense of bewilderment, the TIME of that time reflected the kind of
racism that implicitly underlay the basic American attitude.
"Over the U.S. and its history," declared the weekly newsmaga-
zine, "there was a great unanswered question: What would the
people
say in the face of the mightiest event of their time?
What they said-tens of thousands of them-was: 'Why, the yel-
low bastards!'
As often happens. in surprise attacks, however, the surprise
of Pearl Harbor was largely a matter of national illusions. The
leaders on both sides fully expected a war, indeed considered it
inevitable, even to some extent desirable, but neither side really
wanted to fight unless it had to. Up to the last minute, each antag-
onist thought the other was bluffing.
Japan's navy had already begun planning and training for the
attack on Pearl Harbor when Emperor Hirohito startled his as-
sembled advisers on Sept. 6 by asking an imperial question. In the
midst of a fervent debate over when and how to go to war, the
Emperor, who traditionally never spoke during such gatherings,
called years later, when he had become a Presbyterian mission-
suddenly pulled out and read in his high-pitched voice a poem by
ary. "It was a hateful, mean-looking red flame, the kind that pow-
his revered grandfather Emperor Meiji:
der produces, and I knew at once that a big magazine had
exploded. Terrible indeed."
All the seas, in every quarter,
As operational commander of the Japanese attackers, Fu-
are as brothers to one another.
chida watched and controlled everything. It was Fuchida who had
Why, then, do the winds and waves of strife
given, exactly at 7:49 a.m. on Dec. 7, 1941, the order to attack the
rage so turbulently throughout the world?
strongest naval base in the world: "To! [the first syllable of to-
Roosevelt, re-elected to a third term in 1940 after pledging that
tsugekiseyo, meaning: Charge!] To! To! To!" It was Fuchida who
"your boys are not going to be sent to any foreign wars," knew that
sent back to Tokyo the triumphant signal that the attack had
Hirohito was just a figurehead ruler over a militarist government
caught the Americans by surprise: "Tora! [Tiger!] Tora! Tora!"
dominated by the flinty General Hideki Tojo. Still,
Now Fuchida led the attack on the Maryland, another of
the eight battleships berthed at the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet
headquarters. He saw four bombs hurtling toward their target.
*In dictating to his secretary, Grace Tully, the short speech in which he would ask
Congress to declare war against Japan, Roosevelt originally said, "Yesterday, De-
"In perfect pattern [they] plummeted like devils of doom. They
cember 7, 1941, a date which will live in world history, the United States was sudden-
became small as poppy seeds and finally disappeared just as
ly and deliberately attacked." Reviewing the typescript, Roosevelt crossed out
"world history" with his pen and wrote "infamy."
TIME, DECEMBER 2, 1991
33
6 race
Uye hara
609-953-7413
FACT SHEET: INCARCERATION OF JAPANESE AMERICANS
"On February 19, 1942. .President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order
9066, which gave to the Secretary of War and the military commanders the power to exclude any
and all persons, citizens and aliens, from designated areas in order to provide security against
sabotage, espionage and fifth column activity. Shortly thereafter, all American citizens of
Japanese descent were prohibited from living, working or traveling on the West Coast of the
United States. The same prohibition applied to the generation of Japanese immigrants who,
pursuant to federal law despite long residence in the United States, were not permitted to become
American citizens. American citizens and their alien parents were removed by the Army, first
to "assembly centers" - temporary quarters at racetracks and fairgrounds - and then to "relocation
centers" - bleak barrack camps in desolate areas of the West. The camps were surrounded by
barbed wire and guarded by military police. Departure was permitted only after a loyalty review
in consultation with the military, by the War Relocation Authority. Many of those removed from
the West Coast were eventually allowed to leave the camps to join the Army, go to college
outside the West Coast or to whatever private employment was available. However, the war
years were spent behind barbed wire; and for those who were released, the prohibition against
returning to their homes and occupations on the West Coast was not lifted until December 1944.
This policy of exclusion, and detention was executed against 120,000 people
without individual review, and exclusion was continued virtually without regard for their
demonstrated loyalty to the United States.
All this was done despite the fact that not a single documented act of espionage, sabotage
or fifth column activity was committed by an American citizen of Japanese ancestry or by a
resident Japanese alien on the West Coast.
No mass exclusion or detention, in any part of the country, was ordered against American
citizens of German or Italian descent. Official actions against enemy aliens of other nationalities
were much more individualized and selective than those imposed on the ethnic Japanese."
Personal Justice Denied, Final Report (1983)
Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians
Cressie
Natcagenva
415-362-2657
Grant ujifuso
914-241-5753
1.
Which Rights Were Violated?
Seven of the ten articles of the Bill of Rights were abrogated. They were as follows:
Article 1: (a) freedom of religion, (b) freedom of speech, (c) freedom of the press, (d) right to
assemble; Article II: (e) right to keep and bear arms; Article IV: (f) freedom from unreasonable
searches and seizures; Article V: (g) right to an indictment or to be informed of charges, (h) right
to life, liberty, and property;Article VI: (i) right to a speedy and public trial, (j) right to be
confronted with accusatory witness, (k) right to call favorable witnesses, (1) right to legal counsel;
Article VII:(m) right to trail by jury; Article VIII: (n) right to reasonable bail, (o) freedon from
cruel and unusual punishment; further constitutional guarantees abridged were: (p) right against
involuntary servitude, (q) right to equal protection under the laws, (r) right to vote, (s) right to
habeas corpus.
2.
Did the Federal Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians
examine the declassified diplomatic cables?
Following the issuance of its report, the Commission issued an addendum on the "Magic
cables. The Commission found that, "the Magic cables confirm their basic analysis presented"
concerning Japan's intelligence efforts on the West Coast.
In fact, the U.S. Government officials knew from the secret "magic" cables that the
Japanese government had instructed its staff to "avoid" the use of Japanese Americans in
gathering information.
The Commission found that the declassified cables and the controversy over the allegation
of spies to be irrelevant to their conclusion that the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans
was wrong. "Such evidence(of convicted spies) provides no good argument for excluding all
German Americans or Italian Americans from the coasts and detaining them in the interior.
Equally, there were no good arguments for excluding and detaining the Japanese Americans."
3.
Weren't Japanese Americans free to leave the detention camps?
Detainees were expressly prohibited from leaving the camps under Civilian Restrictive
Order 12 and Public Proclamation 8 issued by General John De Witt and Public Proclamation
WD 1 issued by Secretary of War, Henry Stimson.
Anyone leaving without permission was shot, as evidenced by the eight inmates killed by
guards.
Another illustration of the fact that people were detained against their will is the Mitsuye
Endo case. Upon finding herself involuntarily detained, she petitioned for a writ of habeas
corpus in July 1942, but her plea for release was denied by the federal court for almost three
years.
4.
Considering the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, wasn't the government
justified in locking up the Japanese?
As Americans we were not responsible in any way for the actions of the government of
Japan. We had absolutely nothing at all to do with the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
By logic of the question, one could then ask, are Americans of German ancestry to be
held accountable for the acts of Nazi Germany? Or, are Americans of Italian ancestry accountable
for the acts of the Italian government during World War II? The fact that only Japanese
Americans were taken en masse without individual review substantiates the Commission's
findings that it was, in part, an act of racism. Japanese Americans were readily and wrongfully
identified as the enemy without regard to their rights as American citizens. Remember too, that
Pearl Harbor is located in Hawaii, yet Americans of Japanese ancestry in Hawaii were not
interned. To do so would have brought a halt to the economy of Hawaii because Americans of
Japanese ancestry constituted, then as now, a major portion of the work force.
5.
Wasn't it a military necessity because of the dangers of espionage and sabotage?
If there were any such dangers, they did not come from Japanese Americans, No person
of Japanese ancestry was ever charged with or convicted of espionage or sabotage. The fact
that the Japanese American population was of no threat was fully documented by the FBI, Navy,
Intelligence , and a special investigatory report ordered by the President. Furthermore, it was
physically impossible for much of the Japanese American population to have engaged in
espionage or sabotage--they were too young, too old, or too visible. If military necessisty
dictated eviction and detention, why weren't those of Japanese ancestry in Hawaii, 3,000 miles
nearer the Japanese mainland in an active theater of the war, also detained?
6.
Wasn't it just an unfortunate necessity because there was a threat of invasion and
there was no time to determine who was loyal and disloyal?
If there was an actual threat of invasion, martial law should have been declared and the
restrictions applied to everyone equally, as was the case of Hawaii. But martial law was not
declared on the West Coast because our government and the military knew that Japan was
incapable of landing an invasion force on the continental United States, especially after June 1942
(the battle of Midway in which the Japanese naval fleet was virtually destroyed). The question
of who was dangerous was already determined through FBI and Navy Intelligence files. Anyone
suspected of the crimes of espionage or sabotage should have been charged and brought to trial
in the civil courts, which were in full operation.
7. Wasn't it a perfectly understandable wartime lapse caused by panic and hysteria?
The movement to exclude Japanese Americans from the West Coast had been going on
for nearly 50 years, and the war was only a convenient pretext seized upon to accomplish that
goal. The public did not suddenly and spontaneously go berserk; instead, a carefully calculated
and organized hate campaign was conducted by long time anti-Japanese groups. For the first
month of the war, the public was generally sympathetic or indifferent towards Japanese
Americans, but as the months wore on and as any initial shock should have subsided, the hate
campaign started to achieve results. Furthermore, panic and hysteria should never justify the
abrogation of constitutional guarantees.
8. Weren't you placed in these camps for your own protection against mob violence?
In a case of mob violence, the law-breakers should be locked up--not the innocent
intended victims. There was no basis for believing that the Japanese American population was
in grave danger. There were just 28 isolated cases of assault against Japanese Americans on the
West Coast during the first months of the war. The general public may have been prejudiced,
but they were law-abiding people. Any small need for security could have been readily handled
by the local police and sheriff departments. The physical arrangement of the camps prove that
the purpose was detention--not protection. Despite being in the middle of isolated deserts with
no others around, the camps were surrounded by barbed wire fences with the tops tilted inwards
to keep the people in; the guards in the watchtowers had their weapons pointed into the camps;
and the searchlights were directed inside the camps.
Tues., February 14, 1984
*
N
San Francisco Chronicle
The Nisei Soldiers' Fight
for Freedom
They defended a country that had imprisoned them
butt," recalled Tokiwa, now 57 and
try, we would fight just as hard if
BY RUTHE STEIN
the owner of a flower nursery in
not harder," said Tokiwa, who sin-
Salinas. "But as 1 thought about it
gle-handedly captured 13 German
udy Tokiwa was 15 years
more and more, I realized Japan
prisoners. He was shot in the hand,
old in 1942, when the Unit-
'wasn't my country. The United
leg and back and, as a result of war
ed States government or-
States was."
injuries, needs crutches to walk.
dered Japanese-Ameri-
cans on the West Coast into
Tokiwa was one of $3,000 Nisei
Nisei soldiers were segregated
internment camps because of
(second-generation, American-born
into the 100th Infantry Battalion
strong anti-Japanese feeling follow.
Japanese) from Hawaii and every
and the 442nd Regimental Combat
ing the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
state in the Union to enlist in the
Team which, combined, became the
His parents were forced to give
U.S. Army during World War II.
most decorated unit of its size in
up their farm in Salinas and move
Why did so many of these young
U.S. military history. Its men were
With their five children to a camp in
men come from behind barbed wire
presented with 18,143 individual
camps to volunteer for military ser-
decorations, including a Congressio-
Poston, Ariz., surrounded by a
nal Medal of Honor, 52 Distin-
barbed wire fence with a guard tow.
vice? Why did they risk their lives
er. All seven Tokiwas slept in one
fighting for a country that, at the
guished Service Crosses (one of
"Foom, in 8 tar paper barracks.
beginning of the war, classified
them to Daniel Inouye, now a U.S.
them as enemy aliens?
senator from Hawaii) and 588 Silver
"I'll be honest. When they first
Stars for combat heroism. But the
put us in that camp I thought, The
"We wanted to prove we were
price they paid was high: 9486 men
bell with this country. I hope Japan
las American as anybody else. When
in the unit were killed or wounded
"comes over here and whips our
the chips were down for this coun-
in action.
Most Americans learned about
their bravery through a 1951 movie
called "Go for Broke," the slogan
and battle cry of the 100/442nd, star-
ring Van Johnson and many actual
veterans of the Nisei unit. Now their
story is being told again in their own
words in a documentary, "Nisei Sol-
dier: Standard Bearer for an Exiled
People," by Bay Area filmmaker
Loni Ding.
The film, which will be shown
on PBS this spring. will premiere at
7:30 p.m. Sunday at the Palace of
Fine Arts as a benefit to support the
legal defense of three Nisels seeking
to overturn criminal convictions
AN
against them for defying World
War II regulations concerning evac-
uation of Japanese Americans and
draft registration. Proceeds from
the premiere will also be used for a
traveling exhibit, "Go for Broke,"
Tanaka, left, and Kawaguchi fought to show they were Americans
originated by the Presidio Army
(over)
U.S ARMY MOTO
The Japanese-American 442nd combat team, above, was decorated for bravery during World War II
Museum, about the 100/442nd.
Because the Nisel troops saw so
To provide information on the
much active duty, Tanaka said the
Several local veterans are tea-
role of Japanese American soldiers
"cannon fodder question" has been
tured in "Nisei Soldier." including
in World War II, which included
raised - was this the military's way
Tokiwa and Chester Tanaka, 2 64
intercepting and decoding Japanese
of getting rid of them? But Tanaka
year-old publications designer in
communications and battle plans
said he "never felt that at all. We
San Francisco who received the
and other military intelligence
had a job to do and we did it. Naive-
Purple Heart and Bronze Star for
throughout the Pacific, China and
ly, we felt all the other GIs were
Burma, a Nisel veterans' organiza-
his military service.
going through the same thing."
tion called Go for Broke Inc. was
Tanaka was one of the few
formed in 1981.
When the war was over, those
members of the 442nd to make 11
other Gls helped Japanese Ameri-
Tanaka, who wrote a book
through five major European cam-
cans battle prejudice on the home
about the unit. also called "Go for
paigns and played a hero's role In
front. "If a bartender refused to
Broke," devotes much of his time to
their famous rescue of the so-called
serve us a drink, a GI would bash his
Lost Battalion in France in 1944.
this organization, along with retired
nose in or break the mirror," said
Major Thomas Kawaguchi. 63, now a
The. battalion, comprised en-
Tanaka.
financial management consultant in
tirely of Texans, was trapped seven
Rudy Tokiwa recalled one incl-
the Bay Area.
days behind German lines until the
dent right after the war when a,
Nisel forces found them. When all
"He have to tell the story of the
waitress refused to take his order
Nisel soldiers over and over again to
the officers in the rescue operation
because he was Japanese. "I'm hot-
were killed or wounded, Tanaka,
remind Americans this truly is a
tempered. I broke all the tables in
then a sergeant, took command and
melting pot," said Kawaguchi, who
the restaurant." As h turned out,
was also in an Internment camp be.
was one of the first to reach the
the policeman who stopped him had
fore joining the Army.
Texans.
served in the Army and knew all
about the Nisel unit. "He told me he
By interning Japanese Ameri-
1 was the worst fighting I
didn't blame me and let me go."
cans during the war, "only for a
was ever in. The Germans
Tokiwa said, smiling.
moment our government failed."
had us completely sur-
said Kawaguchi. "But the United
rounded," Tanaka recalled.
When the sister of a Nisei sol-
States is the greatest country in the
He said there was "no jumping for
der who had earned a Distinguished
world because it admits its mistakes
Service Cross posthumously was
joy, let me tell you," when he
and tries to rectify them.
warned by vigilantes not to return
reached the Texans, just a "dull real-
to her home in Southern California
ization that we had to fight our way
"Freedom is very delicate. I lost
"because we don't want Japs here,"
back." Ironically, there were more
It once and regained it, and I would
General Joseph Stitwell and Presi-
Japanese American casualties than
fight again and again to preserve
deni Reagan, then an Army captain,
11."
the total number of Texans who
spoke out on her behalf.
were rescued.
This, Kawaguchi believes, Is the
message of the Nisei soldiers.
The Oakland Tribune
D-6
Sunday. March 3. 1985
Forgotten heroes
of fighting 442nd
go for broke again
By Eric Schwerz
numbered complaints.
Special to The Tribune
But underlying the banter,
At the time they were enlist-
several of the veterans said. was
ed. they might have been COD-
fear that they and other Asian-
sidered the most unlikely sol-
Americans are still resented.
diers in the U.S. Army.
and hope that knowledge of their
Recruited in internment cen-
war role will bring them the
ters and sent off to basic train-
respect they deserve.
ing camp. they were fighting for
a government that had locked up
Confusing situation
their families and confiscated
With coaxing. the veterans at
their property. They were fight-
the Union City gathering re-
ing for a government that was
called the confusion they felt
killing tens of thousands from
during the war years as Ameri-
the homeland of their ancestors.
can citizens labeled enemy al-
Yet the members of the 442nd
jens. Soldiers in training camp
battalion during World War II
taunted them with racial epi-
didn't let that stand in their way.
thets. Officers asked which way
Their ancestry was Japanese,
they would shoot.
but in their hearts they were
One survivor, Kiyosbii Yoshil
Americans.
of Hayward, lost his left arm ID
So when 6,000 of them were
the fight to liberate Briers.
signed up. they did the job right.
They liberated dozens of French
and Italian towns and ultimately
became what may be the most
decorated unit in U.S. Army his-
tory.
Patting the word out
Those included laws regulating
Go For Broke's collection of
Now they think it's about time
where they could gather. what
photographs. documents and
they could own and where they
oral bistories. now boused in
word of their heroism got
around.
could get their hair CUL
their Folsom Street office in San
Chester Tanaka. an Oakland
Several recent Japanese-
Francisco. will likely be dis-
lawyer. publisher and decorated
American court suits. filed to
played in Berlin. Paris. Pearl
gain redress for property taken
Harbor and Houston museums
veteran of the 442nd battalion
during World War II. sees it as a
during the war. have been unsox-
this year. A major New York
cessful. Tanaka said efforts in
constitutional struggle, and a
publishing house 15 interested in
matter of civil rights.
Congress to gain redress are
the paperback rights to a book
"Our story is a lesson to all
now stalled - a situation be said
Tanaka bas written about the
minority groups." be said. "We
Go For Broke will be monitoring
soldiers. be said, and a national
have something to contribute.
closely with an eye toward job-
commemorative stamp IS a pos-
We are Americans."
Kiyoshii Yoshill
bying for passage of restitution
sibility.
Yosh Matsuoko. a Richmond
Fighting for 442nd again
legislation.
Much of Go For Broke's effort
resident who fought at Tanaka's
Awareness, not cash
is now focused on getting the
side from June 1944 to May
France, from German occupa-
But Tanaka added that aware-
Smithsonian Institution in Wash-
1945, thinks it's a public rela-
tion. He recalled the pain be felt
ness - not restitution - is Go
ington. D.C., to make their story
tions problem.
when authorities closed his fath-
For Broke's principal goal. And
part of Its 1987 commemoration
"People don't know we did
er's Oakland restaurant and ran
on this front their success seems
of the Constitution's 2001b anni-
something for this country."
his family out of town.
to be building
versary.
Matsuoko said.
"I would look in the mirror
Now. with the 40th anniver-
and could see I was an Oriental,
sary of Germany's May 8 sur-
but in my beart I knew I was an
render coming up. survivors of
American. I wanted to fight for
the 442nd unit, nicknamed "Go
my country," be said.
For Broke" during the war. have
In 1943. the military, in a
started a national historical as-
bind. began recruiting soldiers
sociation of the same name. The
from the internment camps. In
Bay Area members are engaged
1944. after an abnormally long
in an escalating international ef-
15-month training period, they
fort to tell their story.
finally sent the Japanese-Ameri-
Dwelling on the positive
can 442nd battalion to Europe.
Mostly they want to tell about
where it liberated 38 towns LD
their exploits during the war.
five campaigns over a year.
They'd rather discuss that than
Most decorated 1
talk about the 120,000 Japanese-
Americans who were stripped of
On the battlefields of Europe
their property during World War
the soldiers of the 442nd earned
II and incarcerated by the U.S.
vigorous praise from Allied gen-
government in 10 internment
erals. acceptance from their
centers in the Western states.
fighting mates and the distinc-
Ten days ago. in a packed
tion, according to several mili-
room in a Buddhist church in
tary historians, of being the
Union City, a dozen veterans of
most-decorated unit in U.S.
the Go For Broke battalion met
Army history.
to recount for an audience of 100
This is the history they want
their experiences during the war
to discuss.
years and the history of the
After the war the soldiers re-
442nd battalion.
turned for a few days of parades
Given the persecution they expe-
and then reunions with families
rienced. the veterans might have
still captive behind barbed wire
felt angry. but little anger was
in the internment centers.
expressed. Instead they joked
By 1949, Tanaka said. the cel-
and laughed. and compliments
ebrated veterans had helped
for the United States far out-
overturn some 592 federal laws
enacted against their race.
K.
November 25, 1991
Mr. Demerest
Assistant to the President for Communications
White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C.
Dear Mr. Demerest:
I have sent the attached letter to President Bush. If you feel
it appropriate, please feel free to include part or all of it
in the President's speech at Pearl Harbor on December 7.
My father, Bill Leu, is a survivor of the attack, as well as of
other battles. His ship was sunk in the Coral Sea, and most of
his shipmates were lost. His Navy record is untarnished.
He and my mother, Lois Leu, will attend the ceremony where the
President is scheduled to speak. They reside at 22418 77th West,
Edmonds, Washington.
I have lived in Japan for over 15 years, attending one year of
high school as an exchange student and four years of college. I
am employed by United Airlines. My wife is a Japanese national.
The purpose of the letter, of which my parents are unaware, is
to demonstrate pride in my father's generation and in America's
ability to meet challenges.
Thank you for considering including my comments to the President
in his speech.
Sincerely,
BLoth
Robert B. Leu
Regional Corporate Communications Manager
United Airlines
Residence: 7-13-9 Oi
Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo
Japan
Home telephone: 011-81-3-3777-2943
November 25, 1991
President George Bush
White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C.
Dear President Bush:
America's present course -- an alert and formidable military
combined with strong international relationships -- assures
the nation of peace and prosperity.
A half century ago, my father's thoughts were on surviving
the attack and winning the war. He could not have envisioned
a future where his son would study and work in Japan. But he
recognizes that the world has changed, that America's challenges
are different.
His attitude represents that of the United States: Do your
duty, and raise the next generation to do its'.
Robert Sincerely, B. fen
Robert B. Leu
(Regional Corporate Communications Manager, United Airlines)
7-13-9 01
Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo
Japan
442nd Veterans, "Lost Battalion" Hold Emotional Reunion
DALLAS the first time to
"Tou are our beroes. To be
They had us sandbagged." re-
of the barbed-wire Japanese inter-
36 years. members of two Army
with you men again is the most
called Harry McGowan 58, a re-
ment camps on the West Coast and
units involved in one of the most
powerful experience I have -
tired San Antonio fireman
from Hawaii When the war broke
heroic battles of World War 0
had."
"R'e were trapped ID the woods
out all of LLS Japanese Americans
held an emotional reunion during
in the hills of southern France for
guys like me who were born in
the Labor Day weekend here. and
The groups celebrated their 36
seven days with fighting all
L.A. Times staffer Charles Hillin-
America were classified as enemy
years of separation with a
around us. He cut down trees to
aliens Kashino said
ger was on hand to cover the
four-day down-home Texas party
cover our foxholes for protection
"We had to prove to the rest of
nostalgic gathering
with barbecue dinners. square
We were running out of ammuni-
America that we were loyal to
dancing and an excursion to the
tion. We were out of food" said
America That's why we joined
Dallas Cowboy-Pittsburgh Steeler
Bill Stadler. 56. of Ene. Pa
the Army as soon as we we per-
Few of the 500 Texans or 250
football game.
"It was desperate.' chimed in
mitted to, to show the Americans
Japanese Americans had seen
Among the veterans of the 36th
Bob Harrison. 55. of Pryor, Okla.
that we love this country as much
each other since the week-tong
Division was John D. McKeel,
"Our 2nd Battalion tried to break
as everyone else born and living
battle to reseue the "Lost Batta-
Sr. of Balch Springs, Tex., who
through and reach us and were
here."
lion" in German-occupied south-
wore a yellow ribbon on his lapel.
thrown back with beavy
ern France in October. 1944. For
His son Marine Sgt John D. Mc-
casualities from German fire
many of the Texans. the war was
of had a feeling of anger, re-
Keel, Jr., 27, is a hostage in
"Then you fellows from 442nd
sentment and bumiliation when
the only time they have ever had
Iran
made It through at a beavy loss
myself and my family were
any contact with Japanese Ameri-
It was Fresno attorney Shim
and got us out of there."
bauled out to a concentration
cans. reported Hillinger in his
Hiraoka. 65. who had the original
camp. All of our rights were taken
story which appeared in the Sept.
idea to get the two groups to-
"How did It feel to have as
1 edition of the Times.
away. It wasn't easy He thought
gether and who worked to bring
Boddhabeads have von asked
we were Americans. It meant
the reunion about.
Monte Fujita, 64. of Los Angeles.
loyalty to a country that re-
"I thought the story of the 442nd
(The 442nd veterans all through
jected us. It meant duty before
The Allies had landed the pre-
and the 36th Division ought to be
the was and to this day call one
human rights," said Victor Izui,
vious August but the fighting was
heard at this time." Hiraoka mid
another Boddhabeads as a sick-
61, an Evanston, ILL dentist.
still very heavy and Hitler's forc-
"No longer in our country is
name.)
es were still in control.
there a feeling of the necessity to
to keep this nation strong.
"I was in Honolulu and was
It was the famed all-Japanese
"If we had been surrounded by
Hey, you guys are the greatest!
American 442nd "Go For Broke"
working near the Aloha Tower
You're the best damned soldiers
Regimental Combat Team-the
an enemy force and virtually cap-
when the Japanese attacked Pearl
most highly decorated unit in U.S.
tured like the Lost Battalion we
ever. Because of you. 211 of the
Harbor." said James Okumoto 68.
275 men B our battalion walked
military history-that came to
would have wanted someone to
of Kaneoha Hawaii "I BaR those
out of that trap alive. If It wasn't
the rescue of the 2nd Battalion,
come and get us.
planes fly over and sew the red
for you, we would all have been
141st Infantry of the all-Texan
"There are 50 Americans in Iran
meatball on the wings and I
36th Division
and no one is going after them
slaughtered by the Germans."
knew this was it-that we were
McGowan said.
at war.
The Texas battalion was
Texans and Japanese Americans
trapped behind German lines for
spent hours during the four-day
"There's & lump in my throat
"For me it didn't make any
seven days. Repeated attempts
reunion reminiscing
and I've got this feeling in my
difference what my ancestry was
Source: The Shimpo, 9/2/80. Los Angeles.
by other Texas combat units were
In one room, survivors of the
heart." be continued as tears well-
Those planes were dropping bombs
repulsed. resulting in heavy ca-
Lost Battalion and the Japanese
ed in his eyes and he choked up
and trying to kill everyone in
sualties Some of those men at-
American from "I" Company of the
with emotion "There just are not
Hawaii. I coundn't wait to fight
tended the reunion too Finally
442nd who made the breakthrough
the words to describe the deep feel-
to defend my country.'
the Japanese American forces
and were the first to contact the
ing I have to be with you here
Kashino turned to the Texans
were thrown into the frav.
trapped Texans recalled the
today after all these years
and said, "Did you guys know R'C
The fighting was 80 fierce that
battle.
"God. remember how the Ger-
were in concentration camps
there were more Japanese Ameri-
Everyone in the room had been
mans machme-gun emplacements
"It was a shame. It should have
can casualties in the rescue oper-
shot or hit by shrapnel in the
were all over the place said
never happened God Almighty
ation than there were Texans
skirmish.
Hideo Takahashi 63. of Ontano,
knows it should have never
trapped behind the German lines.
"There were 275 of us complete-
Ore. "We gave them a banzai
happened." Stadler replied
The "Go For Broke" regiment
ly surrounded by the Germans.
attack but we never had so many
"There were a lot of ironies in
suffered 800 casualties in the
casualties in one battle We had
those years." said Henry Nakada.
battle to free 275 members of the
to step over bodies of our dead
"There were seven of us broth-
Lost Battalion More than 200
comrades to keep going up that
ers in the service. In 1945 my
Japanese Americans were killed
hill to get to you Texans
mother was selected as the service
and more than 600 were wounded
"It was one belluva battle. It
mother of the year She was in
in the effort Of the trapped
took us four days just to 80 1000
& concentration camp at the time
Texans 211 were rescued by the
yards It took us a week to make
You should have seen all those
442nd and 64 were killed in the
it. Our fellows were being shot by
gold stars for sons killed in action
battle.
Germans like files We kept fight-
on the doors of the barracks
ing our way up that hill through
in those concentration camps."
machine-gun fire." recalled Shiro
Bob Harrison recalled how
"It was the ultimate of patri-
(Kash) Kashino. 58 of Seattle
some of the wounded in the Go-
otism. These men came from be-
"What & good feeling we had
for-Broke unit and Texas soldiers
hind barbed-wire internment
when we finally broke through
wound up in the same military
hospital in California
camps, where the Japanese
and reached you"
Americans were held, to volun.
"You didn't feel half as good as
"Do you remember when we
teer to fight and give their lives,"
we did." said Bill Stadler
would leave the hospital on passes
said Sen. Daniel K. Inouye of
"You know our guys were all
and people would give you guys
Hawaii, a member of the 442nd
volunteers, most of us came out
a bad time because you were of
who lost his right arm fighting
Japanese ancestry Harnson
the Germans in France.
asked "How we would go into &
bar or into a place to ea: and
they refused to serve you fellows
"And hell, this 18 only a few
Inouye was the principal speak-
weeks after you laid your lives on
er at the reunion
the line for us and lost so many
"We knew we were thought to
of your comrades.'
be expendable. Re were willing to
The Japanese American veterans
do this We accepted the chal-
all nodded as they remembered
lenge." he said "It wasn't easy.
There was a lot of bloodshed
"We made sure you were served
"Out of this experience we
when you fellows were out with
our Texas comrades and we of the
us." Harrison continued
442nd-have developed a friend-
"Sometimes it would wind up
ship that will last forever.'
in a real donnybrook and we would
"Rescuing the Texans was
have to eat on broken chairs or
something we had to do." said
tables but we made sure they
Hoppy Kaneshina 56. who oper-
served all of you Go for Brokers
ates a small cafe in Gardena,
and us guys from Texas
Calif. His entire company was
almost wiped out in the effort to
rescue the Texans
"It was the go-for-broke shoot-
the-works spirit of our men We
were out to prove ourselves. to
prove that we were loyal Ameri-
cans. We had to rescue those
Texans no matter what the cost."
At the reunion were scores of
Texans and Japanese Americans
like Inouye with arms and legs
missing and scars from bullet
wounds and shrapnel from the
battlefield.
"I paid a high price-my leg-
to get the Texans out from be-
hind enemy lines." said Frank
Fujino. 62. of Culver City, who
came to the reunion in a wheel-
chair. "I have no regrets," he
added.
Among the Texans at the reunion
were members of the Lost Batta-
lion and many others of the 36th
Division who were involved in the
engagement.
Jack L. Scott. 60, president of
the 36th Division Assn. saluted
the assembled 442nd veterans
M.2a
WH
REMINISCENCES
GENERAL OF THE ARMY
Douglas MacArthur
McGRAW-HILL BOOK COMPANY
New York
Toronto
London
80-1964
The Occupation of Japan
287
dis-
Very rarely, indeed, have I been willing to make a public protest, and I
uar-
greatly dislike so doing. But in this instance, I feel such action to be justified, and
this
I am therefore releasing this letter to the press.
Ives
A short time later, Dr. Compton wrote me, saying:
an
I have been continually gratified at the reports in the papers over the con-
di-
tinual progress and success of your administrative program in Japan. The one
ore
happening which has disturbed me was the episode of the Japanese cyclotrons. In
but
fact, I had to release a certain amount of high pressure by writing to the Secretary
of War. From him I had a very nice letter of the sort which I would expect, honest
nes.
gh-
and straightforward. He accepted responsibility for the order as having gone out
from his office. He said that it went without his personal cognizance, that it was
the
a mistake, and that the matter should have been reported to him.
ttts
It was an unhappy affair and the attempt of the War Department to
falsely shift the blame left a bad taste in my mouth. Whatever faults may be
ave
inherent in the military character, evasive misrepresentation has never been
ing
one of them.
of
Before the cyclotron episode, many changes had been made in the high
ich
command in Washington. General Marshall had been replaced by General
ast
Eisenhower, Admiral King by Admiral Nimitz, and Secretary of War Stim-
of
son by Assistant Secretary of War Patterson. The latter had been in close
has
communication with me during the war and had been present at my head-
un-
quarters during parts of the New Guinea campaign. He enjoyed an excellent
reputation throughout the Army and was regarded with confidence by the
ici-
ists
military.
ey
his
Shortly after my arrival in Tokyo, I was urged by members of my staff
ng
to summon the Emperor to my headquarters as a show of power. I brushed
to
the suggestions aside. "To do so," I explained, "would be to outrage the feel-
on,
ings of the Japanese people and make a martyr of the Emperor in their eyes.
ore
No, I shall wait and in time the Emperor will voluntarily come to see me.
In this case, the patience of the East rather than the haste of the West will
best serve our purpose."
in
The Emperor did indeed shortly request an interview. In cutaway, striped
nt
trousers, and top hat, riding in his Daimler with the imperial grand chamber-
lain facing him on the jump seat, Hirohito arrived at the embassy. I had,
ne
le-
from the start of the occupation, directed that there should be no derogation
is
in his treatment. Every honor due a sovereign was to be his. I met him
cordially, and recalled that I had at one time been received by his father
D
288
REMINISCENCES
at the close of the Russo-Japanese War. He was nervous and the stress of
the past months showed plainly. I dismissed everyone but his own interpreter,
and we sat down before an open fire at one end of the long reception hall.
I offered him an American cigarette, which he took with thanks. I noticed
how his hands shook as I lighted it for him. I tried to make it as easy for
him as I could, but I knew how deep and dreadful must be his agony of
humiliation. I had an uneasy feeling he might plead his own cause against
indictment as a war criminal. There had been considerable outcry from some
of the Allies, notably the Russians and the British, to include him in this
category. Indeed, the initial list of those proposed by them was headed by
the Emperor's name. Realizing the tragic consequences that would follow
such an unjust action, I had stoutly resisted such efforts. When Washington
seemed to be veering toward the British point of view, I had advised that I
would need at least one million reinforcements should such action be taken.
I believed that if the Emperor were indicted, and perhaps hanged, as a war
criminal, military government would have to be instituted throughout all
Japan, and guerrilla warfare would probably break out. The Emperor's name
had then been stricken from the list. But of all this he knew nothing.
But my fears were groundless. What he said was this: "I come to you,
General MacArthur, to offer myself to the judgment of the powers you rep-
resent as the one to bear sole responsibility for every political and military
decision made and action taken by my people in the conduct of war." A
tremendous impression swept me. This courageous assumption of a respon-
sibility implicit with death, a responsibility clearly belied by facts of which I
was fully aware, moved me to the very marrow of my bones. He was an
Emperor by inherent birth, but in that instant I knew I faced the First Gen-
tleman of Japan in his own right.
When he left, I started to tell my wife how he looked, but she stopped
me with her rippling laugh, saying, "Oh, I saw him. Arthur and I were peek-
ing behind the red curtains." It's a funny world, but delightful, no matter
how you figure it.
The Emperor called on me often after that, our conversations ranging
over most of the problems of the world. I always explained carefully the
underlying reasons for occupation policy, and I found he had a more thor-
ough grasp of the democratic concept than almost any Japanese with whom
I talked. He played a major role in the spiritual regeneration of Japan, and
his loyal co-operation and influence had much to do with the success of
the occupation.
After demobilization had been accomplished, early in October I issued
CAESAR
LAST POST
489
e tinged
topher Isherwood in Weimar Berlin; a British band played "The World
us of the
Turned Upside Down" at Yorktown; and Americans, during the throes of the
urai code
Great Depression and World War II, sang "The Music Goes Round and
Japanese
Round," "Three Itty Fishes," "Hut Sut Song," and "Mairzy Doats. "66
violated
It happened thus in postwar Japan. Shortly after the capitulation on the
ng bom-
Missouri, Tokyo Rose was replaced by "Tokyo Mose," a nisei whose broad-
to take.
casts were beamed across the land by the armed forces network. At the same
hich has
time, a U.S. journalist composed an odd verse of phrases which seemed to
it of de-
be spoken by the Japanese with astonishing frequency. Tokyo Mose crooned
verdict,
it over the radio to the tune of "London Bridge Is Falling Down":
0 public
ection of
Moshi, moshi, anonay?
S being.
Anonay? Anonay?
cult but
Moshi, moshi! Anonay?
proven
Ah, so deska!
quate to
y to his
Roughly translated, this meant, "Hello, hello, are you there? Are you there,
S soldier
are you there? Hello, hello, are you there? Ah, is that so!" MacArthur's
al are a
troops liked it; it seemed to sum up their amiable bewilderment in this
me and
strange country. And the Japanese accepted it enthusiastically. During that
first postwar winter it was heard everywhere, until some people, both the
1 Yama-
occupiers and the occupied, cringed when they heard its first notes. One
His last
reason for its popularity among the Nipponese was that it pleased the Ameri-
rity for-
can army, and they wished to be hospitable. Another reason may have been
I in the
its repeated question, for Hirohito's stunned subjects really didn't know
ad they
where they were or what had happened to the institutions they had been
as mar-
taught to cherish, particularly the imperial system. 67
such a
If there was one fixed star in the Shinto constellation, it was the sanctity of
ere the
the tennō, the "emperor of heaven." Situated at the center of the nation, he
he had
was immovable, untouchable, a sacred being who never visited anyone ex-
he two
cept the council of Shinto gods. Even after the surrender, die-hard samurai
it both
were predicting to Hirohito's benumbed subjects that he would soon call for
nur.⁶⁵
a return to fukko, antiquity, or even broadcast the slogan "sonnō-jōi," "Re-
vere the Emperor! Drive out the barbarians!" Then they picked up their
newspapers on September 28, 1945, and beheld a photograph of their little
screws
sovereign standing beside Douglas MacArthur. He had called on the Gen-
avoid
eral, top hat in hand. Some Japanese thought the picture had been faked,
nes of
and some, for a few dangerous hours, believed that Hirohito must have been
e ma-
prodded into the American embassy at bayonet point, but the visit had been
crazes,
the emperor's idea. As MacArthur had foreseen, curiosity or an appreciation
gns of
of his country's new realities had prompted Hirohito to make the move. Ac-
rhaps
cording to Larry Bunker, the first inkling of it came when Nippon's foreign
h dit-
minister, Shigeru Yoshida, had crossed the moat the previous morning, rid-
Chris-
den up to the sixth floor, and informed the General's staff that his sovereign
490
AMERICAN CAESAR
wished to talk to the Supreme Commander. MacArthur sent back word that
he had no intention of setting foot in the palace; his position wouldn't permit
it. At the same time, he realized that expecting Hirohito to call on his con-
queror at the Dai Ichi, a public building, would be needlessly mortifying.
Therefore he would receive him at the embassy. The emperor could be ac-
companied by an interpreter. One picture would be taken. Then they would
talk for half an hour. 68
The General hurried home and went directly to the drawing room. He
was wearing simple suntans, with no decorations or insignia of rank; his
collar was open. It was a warm day, and he saw no reason to change. Pres-
ently lookouts at the Dai Ichi phoned that a motorcade of old-fashioned
black Daimlers was emerging from the Sakurada Gate. Crossing the moat at
10:00 A.M., it passed the demolished naval ministry, the sandlot game, and
the Okura Museum, and rolled up the embassy drive. Bonner Fellers, sta-
tioned by the embassy portico, spotted the emperor first. In addition to his
silk topper Hirohito was wearing an ancient claw-hammer coat and striped
pants. Facing him on the jump seats were the translator and the lord privy
seal, the Marquis Koichi Kido, a small, compact man in his fifties whose
habits were so precise that other members of the court called him "Kido the
Clock." Lesser officials - chamberlains, heads of protocol, the keeper of the
treasures, and all manner of imperial household staff - trailed in the other
cars.⁶⁹
Hirohito and Kido emerged, Fellers saluted, and another officer politely
asked the marquis to step to one side. It was an awful moment for the em-
peror. Except when on his throne he had never spoken for himself. Always
the privy seal or another nobleman had explained that "the Emperor feels
that," or "the Emperor has decided after great consideration," or "it is the
Emperor's wish.
Frantically Kido struggled to accompany his monarch
into the building, but it was impossible; smiling, courteous U.S. colonels
blocked him on every side. Hirohito, with his interpreter at his heels, ad-
vanced, trembling. On the threshold of the reception hall he suddenly con-
fronted MacArthur, who murmured, "Your Majesty," and gripped his hand
warmly. Speaking through the translator, the General recalled having been
received by the emperor's father at the close of the Russo-Japanese War. He
motioned him to a chair beside the fireplace and, as MacArthur later re-
called, "offered him an American cigarette, which he took with thanks. I
noticed how his hands shook as I lighted it for him. I tried to make it as easy
for him as I could, but I knew how deep and dreadful must be his agony of
humiliation."70
The General later told a visitor, "I came here with the idea of using the
Emperor more sternly," but soon discovered that Hirohito was "a sincere
man and a genuine liberal." Perhaps he also felt the compassion of one aris-
tocrat for another: "I was born a democrat. I was reared as a liberal. But I
tell you I find it painful to see a man once so high and mighty brought down
AR
LAST POST
491
so low." MacArthur did concede that he had had "an uneasy feeling" that the
emperor "might plead his own cause against indictment as a war criminal."
Despite strenuous objections from the Russians and the British, the Su-
g.
preme Commander had already struck his name from the list of defendants,
but Hirohito didn't know that, and a plea for clemency would have been un-
derstandable, if unseemly. Instead he said: "I come to you, General Mac-
Arthur, to offer myself to the judgment of the powers you represent as the
one to bear sole responsibility for every political and military decision made
and action taken by my people in the conduct of [the] war." MacArthur felt
"moved
to the very marrow of my bones. He was an Emperor by inher-
ent birth, but in that instant I knew I faced the First Gentleman of Japan in
his own right." After thirty-eight minutes of mannered civility they rose,
bowed, and parted. As Hirohito retraced his steps toward the frustrated,
perspiring Kido, the General heard a faint, rippling laugh. It was his wife.
Jean and Dr. Egeberg had been peering out from behind folds of red
drapes.⁷¹
The visitor's impressions of his host were, in the Oriental way, elusive.
The first inkling his subjects had of his postwar mood was in a poem he pub-
lished in the Tokyo newspapers:
The pine is brave
That changes not its color,
Bearing the snow.
People, too,
Like it should be. 72
The snow was the Allied army occupying his country; the people were the
Japanese; he was telling them not to temper or alter their national character.
In many ways they did not, but the abolition of absolute monarchy was
bound to bring shifts in outlook, particularly in the monarch himself. After
that first visit, the emperor called on the Supreme Commander twice a year.
They developed a father-son relationship which would have been unthink-
able before V-J Day. At first the people said of each precedent-shattering
SCAP decision, "What will the emperor say?" They stopped because Hiro-
hito endorsed all of them. "He played," MacArthur wrote, "a major role in
the spiritual regeneration of Japan." Japanese politicians believed that the
General was responsible for this. Yoshida, who was prime minister during
most of MacArthur's viceregal years in Tokyo, concluded that the Supreme
Commander's respectful bearing with the mikado - his order that "every
honor due a sovereign is to be his" and his insistence that he not be tried and
executed - "more than any other single factor made the occupation an his-
toric success. "73
E748
m2m35
WH
William Manchester
11
AMERICAN
CAESAR
Douglas MacArthur
1880-1964
Little, Brown and Company
Boston Toronto
On September 1, 1939, the German Army marched into neighbor-
ing Poland, igniting World War II. When il was over, in August
ANNIVERSARY
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-
bye. I'd never seen my dad shed a tear before. We arrived in
THE LAST U.S. PRESIDENT
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
the fleet. It had a crew of three. I went off to Fort Lauder-
Opposite: Late in 1944 Lieutenant (j.g.) George Bush, with
dale to learn in flv it. Training up and down the East Coast.
combat crewmen Leo Nadeau (right) and Joe Reichert,,
was part of a naval ainsquadromi in the PacificzAbove:Bushi
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 about
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.
REYNOLDS
TOBACCO
COS
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.
Webster's
Ninth New
Collegiate
Dictionary
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
A Genuine Merriam-Webster®
other countries. The palanquin was
carried through the streets by
More people take our word for it.
members of the Imperial Guard.
©Mernam-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
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Join Mickey Rooney, Sophia Loren, Julia Child and John Hersey in recounting your best
Signed Limited Edition
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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
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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
125. The President Requests War Declaration
125 "December 7, 1941 - A Date Which Will
Live in Infamy" - Address to the Congress
Asking That a State of War Be Declared Be-
tween the United States and Japan.
December 8, 1941
Mr. Vice President, and Mr. Speaker, and Members of the Senate and
House of Representatives:
Y ESTERDAY, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy
- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately
attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that Nation and, at the
solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its Govern-
ment and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace
in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had
commenced bombing in the American Island of Oahu, the Japa-
nese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered
to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American
message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to
continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no
threat or hint of war or of armed attack.
It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan
makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many
days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japa-
nese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United
States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued
peace.
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused
severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to
tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addi-
tion American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high
seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.
5 1 4
125. The President Requests War Declaration
Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack
against Malaya.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam.
Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.
Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island.
And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.
Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extend-
ing throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and to-
day speak for themselves. The people of the United States have
already formed their opinions and well understand the implica-
tions to the very life and safety of our Nation.
As Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy I have directed
that all measures be taken for our defense.
But always will our whole Nation remember the character of
the onslaught against us.
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premedi-
tated invasion, the American people in their righteous might
will win through to absolute victory.
I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the
people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to
the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of
treachery shall never again endanger us.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our peo-
ple, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.
With confidence in our armed forces - - with the unbounding
determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable tri-
umph - so help us God.
I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and
dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7, 1941, a state
of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese
Empire.
NOTE: Less than 24 hours after
the foregoing message to a joint
the receipt of the first news of the
session of the Senate and the House
attack on Pearl Harbor, the Presi-
of Representatives. The President
dent drove to the Capitol to deliver
spoke grimly for six and a half
515
11. 19. 91 05:29 PM *202-695-8743/SDIO/MN P01
: OFFINE the and NSE 30
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
STRATEGIC DEFENSE INITIATIVE ORGANIZATION
WASHINGTON, DC 20301-7100
ADDRESS INITIATIVE
I
NOV 19 P5: 34
MIRL
2 MALLING $
O
INTERNATIONAL AND EXTERNAL PROGRAMS (SDIO/IE)
DATE:
11/19/91
1
TO: NAME Mary Kate Grant
FAX NUMBER: 202-456-6248
PHONE NUMBER:
NUMBER OF PAGES, INCLUDING COVER: 3
FROM: NAME Doug Mackinnon
FAX NUMBER: (703) 697-4027
SDIO/
PHONE NUMBER: (703)
COMMENTS:
MK:
This actually is a good idea if you can
Squeeze it in samewhare. The language is not
mine and I can recurite something if YOU decide
to 90 that way. Call me if YOU can. The
Sooner the better. They're really on my ease
over this. Thanks
Jay
11. 19.91 05:29 PM *202-695-8743/SDIO/MN P02
The Strategic TArget System (STARS) is an SDIO prgram being
executed by the Army and involves launching forty, three-stage,
solid-propellant boosters with non-nuclear payloads over the next
ten years. These will act as ICBM target vehicles to be launched
toward Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The purpose of
the tests is to develop the technology necessary to track the
flight paths of ballistic missiles, and is a vital component of
the Strategic Defense Initiative.
An Environmental Assessment (EA) for STARS was prepared by
the Army in July 1990 and a supplemental assessment completed the
following July. In October and November of 1990, two lawsuits
were filed in Federal District Court by the Sierra Club and the
State of Hawaii, alleging the STARS EA was inadequate and the
program required a complete Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
The court ruled in August 1991 that an EIS was NOT required but
Senator Daniel Inouye requested one be done to allay the concerns
of the people of Kauai.
In an exchange of correspondence between Senator Inouye and
SDIO Director Ambassador Henry Cooper, two themes were stressed.
One was the need to address and allay public concerns with the
STARS program and the other was the importance of enhancing a
positive community relationship with the citizens of Kauai and
Hawaii. In fulfillment of these goals, Ambassador Cooper decided
to prepare an EIS for STARS launches from Kauai.
Unfortunately, during the litigation period, opponents to
the program staged a tremendous media campaign against STARS and
only since September has the military been allowed to correct
misinformation and speak out about the safety and importance of
the program.
The fear is that if the negative attitude of the local
populous and politicians does not change, more lawsuits will
follow and the launches will be eternally delayed. No feasible
alternative launch vehicles or launch sites have been found,
making this situation critical. The current program delay to
complete the EIS is costing SDIO at least $6 million.
11. 19. 91 05:29 PM K202-695-8743/SDIO/MN P03
2.
Huolulu.
Request President Bush make a positive comment about the
people of Kauai's significant contributions to strategic defense
during his address at the Naval Supply Center KILO-8 Pier on
December 7. By taking advantage of this situation, the Presi-
dent's comments would lend credence to Strategic Defense Initia-
tive programs. In particular, the Strategic Target System
(STARS) launch program on Kauai is vital for proceeding to deploy
a viable defense system. The President's words would greatly
assist DOD efforts to counter the very large misinformation
campaign being carried out against this SDIO program.
SUGGESTED PRESIDENTIAL COMMENT:
The people of Hawaii have always been staunch advocates for
defense. These Americans realize the importance of defending
their homeland. It is a fitting tribute to the people of Hawaii,
that after suffering so from the lack of any defensive shield
fifty years ago, they are today playing a major role in the
development of the strategic defense initiative which will
protect the entire nation from such a surprise attack in the
future. Critical launches are being conducted on Kauai and key
tracking and obsevation facilities are located throughout the
islands.
Mary Kate:
This need, work But you get
the idea.
Thanks,
Doy
The bombs that fell that Sunday
didn't just knock out some
bättleships; they roused America
into a new age. Here is how
the long, unforgettable day unfolded.
5E56ION-WIT
by Richard Ketchum
A or most Americans Sunday began quietly, with
nothing to suggest that this was the last morn-
ing for almost four years when the nation would
be at peace. It was cold and crisp, a glorioùs day
across the eastern half of the country. The Roose
velts had company for the weekend-all old friends.
The President's cousin Ellen Delano Adams and her
husband, with their son and daughter-in-law, were
there, as was Mrs. Charles Hamlin, known as Bertie
whom Franklin had met years before in Albany, New
York, at his uncle Ted's inauguration as governor
The White House was silent when Bertie Hamlin
awoke and she dressed quietly, walked down the
long hallway past the closed doors leading to the
President's bedroom and study went downstairs
and crossed Pennsylvania Avenue to St. John's
Church on Lafavette Square, where the bells were
pealing for morning worship By the time she re-
turned, a number of people were climbing the stairs
the Fast Entrance The hincheon guests had
American Heritage
11/89
arrived-some thirty-one of them, and a mixed bag they
he said, talking peace in the Pacific while plotting to over-
were, friends, relatives, minor officials, Army Medical Corps
throw it.
officers-prompting someone to observe that the First
That morning the corridors of the old State, War and Navy
Lady's secretary was cleaning up around the edges of the invi-
Building had been deserted when Secretary of State Cordell
tation list.
Hull arrived at ten-fifteen for a meeting with Knox and
Although they may have hoped to see the President, none
Secretary of War Henry Stimson. By two o'clock they were
of the guests much expected him to put in an appearance;
ready to call it quits and go to the Mayflower Hotel for
s Stimson
started.for the
White-House
he.thought the
Americans
might won
a major victory
at Pearl.
Soldiers at the San, Francisco
Presidio study an extra edition of
the Chronicle on Sunday, and, at
far right, a sailor kisses his girl
good-bye the next day at Penn
Station in New York City,
he was understandably preoccupied with the tense situation
lunch, and they were just leaving when the Japanese envoys
in the Far East, and on top of that, Mrs. Roosevelt explained,
Kichisaburo Nomura and Saburo Kurusu arrived outside
his sinuses were acting up. He was having a relaxed lunch in
Hull's office. They had a cable for the Secretary of State, a
his upstairs study with his friend and adviser Harry Hopkins,
long and insulting reply to the imperious "Ten Point Plan"
who recalled that they were talking about "things far re-
that Hull had submitted to them on November 27, which de-
moved from war." Saturday, while the White House staff took
manded that the Japanese withdraw from China and Indo-
half a day off for Christmas shopping, the President had
china.
worked late, and now, after finishing the lunch on his tray,
Hull already knew the contents of the document; Ameri-
he was enjoying the undemanding company of his old friend
can cryptanalysts had broken the Japanese code in 1940,
and his Scottie dog, Fala, while he paid a little overdue at-
and in this particular case they had translated Japan's reply
tention to his stamp collection.
before the Japanese embassy could. In fact, the ambassa-
At the Navy's communication station the clocks read 1348
dors had been so hard pressed that they were an hour late
when Chief Frank Ackerson was called to the Washington-
getting their translation to Hull.
Honolulu operator's message AIR RAID ON PEARL HARBOR THIS IS NOT
When they arrived at his office, the Secretary of State was
DRILL
busy on the telephone. His visitors could not know it, but
While the President and Hopkins talked, the telephone
the President was calling to inform him of the report from
rang, and it was Frank Knox calling Roosevelt-a stunned,
Pearl Harbor, advising him to receive the ambassadors for-
stricken Secretary of the Navy, reporting the staggering
mally but under no circumstances to inform them of the at-
news from Pearl Harbor. Hopkins, hearing that Japanese
tack. He was to accept the reply to his note "coolly and bow
planes were still attacking, thought there must be some
them out."
mistake-surely Japan would not attack Hawaii-but the
Hull let the agitated Japanese sit outside for fifteen min-
President thought the report was probably true. It was
utes-a tense quarter of an hour that marked an end to
just the sort of surprise the Japanese would spring on us,
innocence and the beginning of a new and different era in
American history. When the two men were finally admitted
Tennesseean," calling them "scoundrels" and "pissants" in
to his office, he greeted them coldly and kept them standing,
his fury.
and when Nomura handed him the note, explaining that he
Secretary of War Henry Stimson was weary, and he was
had been instructed to deliver it at one o'clock, Hull asked
feeling his seventy-four years. He had hoped to get away to
why. Nomura said he did not know, but those were his in-
his Long Island place for a rest, but the news that morning
structions; the Secretary retorted sharply that he was receiv-
got progressively worse, convincing him that something bad
ing the message at two o'clock. Hull glanced perfunctorily
was going to happen, so he stayed in Washington. He was eat-
ing lunch at Woodley, his handsome Southern colonial
home overlooking Rock Creek Park, when the President
called and asked, in an excited voice, "Have you heard the
news?"
"Well," Stimson replied, "I have heard the telegrams which
have been coming in about the Japanese advances in the
Gulf of Siam."
"Oh, no," Roosevelt said, "I don't mean that. They have at-
tacked Hawaii. They are now bombing Hawaii."
That was an excitement indeed, Stimson thought, and
as he prepared to leave for the White House it occurred to
him that American forces in Hawaii might have won a major
victory; the defense forces in the islands had been alerted
and were capable of inflicting severe damage on the attack-
ers.
At 2:28 P.M. Adm. Harold Stark, Roosevelt's chief of naval
operations, phoned the White House and informed the Presi-
dent that the first report was true, that the attack had caused
some damage to the fleet and some loss of life-no one
SHOULD
could yet say how much. Throughout the afternoon and
evening the phone at the President's side continued to ring,
each time bringing an even more distressing bulletin about
the extent of the devastation. Roosevelt listened calmly to
each report, usually without comment, and then returned to
the business at hand.
About the time of Stark's first call, Mrs. Roosevelt was bid-
through the document and then, according to the subse-
ding good-bye to her departing luncheon guests when one of
quent State Department press release, said indignantly, "In
the ushers told her the news. The report was so stunning,
all my conversations with you during the last nine months, I
she said, that there was complete quiet, and after she had
have never uttered one word of untruth. This is borne out ab-
seen her guests to the door she waited until Franklin was
solutely by the record.
alone, hoping to slip into his study. It took only a quick
"In all my fifty years of public service I have never seen a
glance to make her realize that he was concentrating on
document that was more crowded with infamous falsehoods
what had to be done and wouldn't talk of what had hap-
and distortions-infamous falsehoods and distortions on a
pened until the first strain was over, so she went back to
scale so huge that I never imagined until today that any gov-
work-work, at that moment, consisting of going through
ernment on this planet was capable of uttering them."
her mail and writing letters, with one ear cocked to the
If the Japanese wondered how a man could know so much
voices of people going in and out of the President's study,
about a document he had barely skimmed, they did not say,
and finding the time and strength of character to concen-
but Nomura was about to speak when Hull cut him short
trate on what she would say in her weekly radio broadcast
with a motion of his hand and gestured toward the door.
that afternoon.
The two ambassadors left without a word.
Roosevelt's first move, after Stark confirmed the report,
Thus the authorized version. But when Dean Acheson ar-
was to summon his press secretary, Stephen T. Early, and dic-
rived at the department several hours later-having rushed
tate a statement for immediate release, and at two-thirty Lou-
in from his Maryland farm as soon as he heard the news on
ise Hachmeister, who supervised the White House switch-
the radio-little groups of people stood in the corridor, talk-
board, called the three wire services, put them on a confer-
ing in whispers, while the Secretary, still in a towering rage,
ence hookup, and asked, "All on? AP? UP? INS? Here's Mr.
remained closeted with several intimates, and the word Ache-
Early."
son got from those who had overheard Mr. Hull ridding him-
"This is Steve Early at the White House." the press secre-
of was that he had done so in "native
tary said. "At 7:55 A.M. Hawaiian time. the Japanese bombed
Pearl Harbor. The attacks are continuing and
no I don't
dio in New York-none of them on the air, of course, just
know how many are dead." Almost instantaneously alarm
desultory conversation between people waiting for the broad-
bells on teletype machines in every city across the country
cast to begin. Paul White loved to sit in front of the complex
began to ring.
instrument panel, surrounded by gadgets, and he would
either push a lever and tell Trout to start talking or simply
"Give US the reaction from London"
let his man in London listen to the broadcast and wait for
In London the CBS correspondent Robert Trout was sitting
the announcer to say, "And now we bring you Robert Trout
in the BBC's Studio B-2, two stories underground. He had
in London-come in, Bob Trout."
been stationed there since early November, temporarily re-
But tonight Trout realized that his cue was being delayed
placing Edward R. Murrow, who had returned to the United
for some reason, and he didn't hear White's voice. He was
States with his wife, Janet, for some rest and recreation, and
also aware that the door to the studio in New York had
as Trout looked at the wall of the studio, he found himself
opened because he could hear the clatter of teletype ma-
thinking that there was a huge bomb crater on the other
chines in the hall outside, then a babble of voices, and
side and that all that stood between him and the hole was a
someone saying, "Of course it means war
but why Pearl
single course of bricks.
Harbor?," which is how he became aware of what had oc-
curred.
Then White came on, to
DR dug in his
say he would have to tell
Trout what they had just
heels when
seen on the wire. "I already
know," Trout told him.
Hull-urged him to-
White didn't ask how he
make
knew (he died before Trout
ever had a chance to tell
message to
him); instead he said, "Okay
Congress long,
then, I'm cutting you in. Give
us the reaction from Lon-
and-elaborate.
don."
For a, horrified moment
Trout couldn't believe his
Manhattan office workers listen
ears. He turned to the cen-
to Roosevelt on December 8.
sor, who realized immedi-
ately the spot he was in,
For these nightly broadcasts, CBS leased a transatlantic
thought for a moment, and then nodded his approval-
telephone line for ten minutes. Even though the transmis-
meaning that Trout could go ahead with the "reaction" as
sion might last for only a fraction of that, ten minutes was
best he could.
the minimum rental, with the result that some of the time
"I have no idea what I said," Bob Trout recalled, "but some-
was used in preparing for the broadcast and testing voice lev-
how I put some words together and delivered a two-minute
els, with engineers, announcers, and others in studios on op-
talk. Then I was off the air-though only for a while. I was
posite sides of the ocean conversing. Trout was waiting for
on again any number of times that night."
his cue from the CBS news department chief, Paul White, to
A few minutes later Trout had a telephone call from Am-
go on the air, while next to him, as always, sat a British cen-
bassador John G. Winant, who was visiting the British prime
sor.
minister at Chequers and was furious. Why hadn't Trout
The procedure called for the censor to read the script that
called the embassy and told them we were at war before he
the reporter had prepared in advance, approving it or asking
began his broadcast? What did he think I should do, Trout
him to delete or alter something, but both parties knew that
wondered, call the American embassy and announce, "We
the censor had his hand on the control by which he could
are at war"? Until Winant asked the question, Trout hadn't
cut off Trout if he extemporized and said something that
realized that he had been the first person in Great Britain to
was not permitted. The regulars like Murrow and Trout had
learn that hostilities had begun between the United States
a good working relationship with the censors. It was all very
and Japan.
informal and friendly, and in addition to his official duties
Ambassador Winant had had a busy weekend. He was sup-
the censor actually served as a technician, by cutting Trout
posed to have gone to Anthony Eden's country house on Fri-
in and out.
day evening, to discuss the foreign secretary's forthcoming
Trout was wearing earphones, listening to a British engi-
conversations with Joseph Stalin in Moscow (Eden was leav-
neer and an American in Riverhead, Long Island, discuss the
ing for Russia on Sunday), but the news from the Far East in-
transmission. He recognized other voices from the CBS stu-
truded on the U.S. ambassador's plans. What with one thing
and another, he didn't arrive
at Eden's place until after
midnight on Saturday, but
H
ull let the
his obliging host "found me
some supper and we stayed
agitated
up until the early hours of
Japanese
the morning discussing his
mission." When Eden de-
ambassadors sit
parted at ten o'clock, Win-
ant left for Chequers, a hun-
outside his
dred miles away, to see the
office for
prime minister, whom he
found pacing back and forth
fifteen.minutes
outside the front door, the
other guests having gone in-
side to lunch.
Churchill at once asked
Winant if he thought war
with Japan was imminent.
When the ambassador re-
plied yes, Churchill stated
with some vehemence, "If
they declare war on you, we
shall declare war on them
within the hour."
After lunch most of the
guests departed, leaving the
The Japanese ambassadors
prime minister to work and
Nomura (seated) and Kurusu
to rest, since he had been
wait at the State Department for
up most of the previous
their meeting with Cordell Hull;
night, while Winant spent a
at far right, Wall Street crowds
quiet afternoon with Averell
listen to FDR call for war.
Harriman, who was in Eng-
land coordinating the Lend-Lease program, and his daugh-
bor," Roosevelt replied. "We are all in the same boat now."
ter. A few minutes before nine o'clock they assembled in the
After the two leaders talked briefly (no mention was made
dining room and found Churchill sitting alone, grim and si-
of the serious losses that had been suffered), the prime min-
lent; as soon as they took their places, he called out to Saw-
ister and his guests returned to the table and, as Churchill
yers, the butler, asking him to put a portable radio on the ta-
said, "tried to adjust our thoughts to the supreme world
ble so he could hear the news. Churchill switched it on, and
event which had occurred." To the man who represented Brit-
as the sound of music faded away, it was replaced by a
ain's last chance, the indomitable leader whose courage and
voice announcing that the Japanese had attacked the U.S.
conviction had rallied his countrymen when the nation
fleet at Pearl Harbor. As the diners looked at each other in-
seemed doomed, the news that America would be in the
credulously, Sawyers came back into the room to assure
war to the neck and in to the death" was a gift from
them, "It's quite true. We heard it ourselves outside. The Japa-
the gods. "So we had won after all!" he exulted, confident
nese have attacked the Americans."
now that "England would live; Britain would live; the Com-
Churchill bounded to his feet and headed for the door, ex-
monwealth of Nations and the Empire would live." After the
claiming, "We shall declare war on Japan."
long succession of defeats, the trials that were enough to
Winant got up and hurried after him, saying, "Good God!
scar men's souls-Dunkirk, the fall of France, the threat of
You can't declare war on a radio announcement! Don't you
invasion, the blitz, the U-boat war-he knew at last that
think you'd better get confirmation first?"
there was "no more doubt about the end."
Churchill walked through the hall to the office, which was
manned twenty-four hours a day, and told his staff to put
"It is the worst day in American history"
through a call to the White House.
From New York, Ed and Janet Murrow had come to Washing-
"Mr. President, what's this about Japan?" Churchill asked
ton, where they were to have dinner at the White House on
when the connection was made.
Sunday, December 7. That afternoon Murrow was playing
"It's quite true. They have attacked us at Pearl Har-
golf at the Burning Tree club when a man rushed out of the
later, moreover, the United States was bound to be in the
war, so it was an unexpected boon that "the crisis had come
in a way which would unite all our people," as Stimson re-
marked.
Harry Hopkins saw things in an even more positive light.
"Japan had given us an opportunity," he felt. Others looked
on the day's bloody events not as opportunity but as unmiti-
gated disaster, and Assistant Secretary of State Breckinridge
Long expressed that point of view in the diary he kept for
most of his life. "Sick at heart," he wrote. "I am so damned
mad at the Navy for being asleep at the switch at Honolulu.
It is the worst day in American history. They spent their
lives in preparation for a supreme moment-and then were
asleep when it came."
That state of mind was hardly unique to Long. It was the
kind of reaction that was bound to surface publicly after the
first shock wore off, and with the idea of controlling the dam-
age promptly, Hopkins suggested to the President that he
schedule two conferences that evening-one with the full
cabinet, the other with legislative leaders. Roosevelt agreed
on both counts; the cabinet would meet at eight-thirty, the
congressional delegation an hour later.
Grace Tully, one of the President's private secretaries, had
been resting at home that afternoon, after the grueling de-
mands of the past few weeks, when the telephone rang. It
was Louise Hachmeister, and, with a long list of people to
call, she wasted no words: "The President wants you right
away. There's a car on the way to pick you up. The Japs just
bombed Pearl Harbor!" Twenty minutes later Tully pulled
into the White House driveway, which was swarming with
extra police and Secret Service men, reporters, and military
brass.
In the second-floor study she found Knox, Stimson, and
clubhouse shouting that Pearl Harbor had just been
Hopkins, who were joined a few moments later by Marshall
bombed. Murrow went at once to the CBS office to confirm
and Hull, whose face looked as white as his hair. Since most
the report and phoned Paul White in New York. Earlier in
of the news from Pearl Harbor was coming in to Admiral
the day a friend had driven Janet Murrow to an Army airfield
Stark at the Navy Department, it was her job to answer calls
near Washington so that she could see the planes awaiting
from him, take down the "fragmentary and shocking reports
shipment to England. She was amazed. The field was
by shorthand, type them up and relay them to the Boss."
jammed with aircraft, and until then she had had no idea
At first she used a telephone in the second-floor hall, but the
that Lend-Lease was producing aid on such a scale for Brit-
noise and confusion were such that she moved into the Presi-
ain. In the afternoon she was with their hosts, listening to
dent's bedroom. Each time she put down the phone and
the New York Philharmonic, and when the program was in-
rushed to the typewriter to transcribe her notes, a quartet of
terrupted with a bulletin about the attack, she assumed at
White House aides-Gen. Edwin M. Watson, Adm. Ross T.
once that their dinner engagement would be canceled. To
McIntire, Capt. John R. Beardall, and Marvin H. McIntyre-
her surprise, when she phoned the White House, Mrs. Roo-
followed and crowded in behind her to peer over her shoul-
sevelt told her that they were still expected.
der as she typed. To all of them the news was shattering.
At three o'clock the President met with the War Council-
Each time Stark called she heard the shocked disbelief in his
Hull, Stimson, Knox-plus the two military chiefs, Gen.
voice; the men around the President were first incredulous,
George Marshall and Adm. Harold Stark, and despite the grav-
then angry; and while "the Boss maintained greater outward
ity of the circumstances, Harry Hopkins remarked the ab-
calm than anybody else
there was rage in his very calm-
sence of tension. These men, for whom the imminence of
ness. With each new message he shook his head grimly and
war had been a constant presence, reacted as Churchill did
he tightened the expression of his mouth."
when he heard of the attack. They had concluded long since
After talking to Churchill, the President had a long conver-
that the ultimate enemy was Hitler: they knew the Germans
sation with General Marshall about the disposition of troops
Air Force and it was evident that Marshall was in-
creasingly edgy, impatient to get back to the War Depart-
text of the declaration of war to be submitted to that body.
ment, where he could be in touch with commanders in the
All the uncertainty of the recent past was over, and however
field (he had already warned Lt. Gen. Douglas MacArthur,
daunting the future might be, it was calming to know what
commander of U.S. Army forces in the Far East, to take
must be done.
every precaution). Roosevelt impressed on Hull the neces-
The White House switchboard had an open circuit now to
sity of keeping all the South American republics informed;
Gov. Joseph Poindexter in Hawaii, who confirmed the news,
he ordered protection for the Japanese embassy and consu-
or as much of it as he knew. As he and the President spoke,
lates and had the Justice Department put Japanese citizens
the governor suddenly shouted into the phone, and Roose-
under surveillance; Stimson and Knox were to see to the pro-
velt turned to the group in the room to say, "My God, there's
tection of U.S. arsenals, private munitions factories, and
another wave of Jap planes over Hawaii right this minute!"
bridges (though under no circumstances was there to be a
Reports continued to come in to what was now the na-
military guard at the White House). Then the discussion
tion's command headquarters, and in the meantime those
turned to Roosevelt's message to Congress, which he had al-
present were passing on to the others their fragmentary
ready decided to deliver the following day. The President
knowledge of events. Hull, still bitterly angry, repeated "in a
dug in his heels when Hull recommended a review of the en-
tone as cold as ice" his remarks to the Japanese envoys, but
as Grace Tully noted, "there
was nothing cold or diplo-
matic in the words he used."
Yorkers
Knox and Stimson were inter-
heard a siren
rogated by the President on
the situation in Hawaii, on
and turned out
why they believed this could
have happened, on what
their lights.
might happen next, on what
What-now? Was
could be done to repair the
damage, but as the bad
this eal?
news continued to pour in,
it became evident that the Pa-
Air-raid wardens take their
cific fleet had been severely
atop the County
crippled, that the Army and
courthouse in Mineola, Long
air units there were in no
Island, the day after the raid
condition to fight off an inva-
sion of Hawaii, and that the
tire history of relations with Japan; no, he said, it would be
West Coast of the United States might even be an invasion
a short, precise message.
target.
For an immensely energetic man whose infirmity bound
him to a chair, all this activity was a relief and a release, a
"Every American is willing to serve"
means of channeling that inner rage and putting it to work,
Meantime, bulletin by bulletin, a smattering of information
and Eleanor Roosevelt could see that at that moment "in
at a time, the public at large was learning the news, strug-
spite of his anxiety Franklin was in a way more serene than
gling to comprehend and digest it and figure out how to re-
he had appeared in a long time." Despite the confusion whirl-
act. Sunday afternoon still had a particular niche in the aver-
ing around him, it occurred to some witnesses that the
age American home; with morning church attendance behind
White House was the calmest place in town, with the Presi-
them and the big midday dinner cooked, consumed, and
dent in his study the center of the hurricane's eye. The Un-
cleaned up, members of the family could settle down to a
der Secretary of State Sumner Welles was close by during
few hours of quiet and rest-napping, listening to the radio,
those hectic hours and thought that of all the times he had
reading the Sunday paper, going for a leisurely walk. Profes-
seen the President in action he had never had such reason
sional football was beginning to make inroads into this do-
to admire him. Sitting calmly at his desk, receiving a continu-
mestic tranquillity, and at Washington's dingy Griffith Sta-
ous flow of reports on a national disaster, "he demonstrated
dium the crowd was watching the Redskins play their last
that ultimate capacity to dominate and to control a supreme
game of the season against the Philadelphia Eagles when the
emergency which is perhaps the rarest and most valuable
first bulletin hit the press box. Nearby spectators heard the
characteristic of any statesman." With his talent for grasping
news from sportswriters, the word spread from seat to seat
the significance of each development, by the end of the eve-
and section to section, and soon the loudspeaker announcer
ning Roosevelt had personally handled every detail of the
began paging high-ranking Army and Navy officers, telling
situation laid before him by his military advisers. had writ-
them to get in touch with their offices immediately; this was
ten the text of a message to Congress. and had overseen the
interspersed with summonses to editors and reporters. for-
eign ambassadors, and others. until individuals in every sec-
about twenty miles from his destination when someone in-
tion of the grandstand seats were hurriedly leaving and run-
terrupted the music to announce the bombing of Pearl Har-
ning for their cars.
bor. For Tibbets, that was the first news of the war whose
At the Polo Grounds in New York City, no one expected
end he would help bring about less than four years later, pi-
the Brooklyn Dodgers football team to be leading the East-
loting a B-29 Superfortress called the Enola Gay over Hiro-
ern champion Giants. but that was exactly what was happen-
shima, Japan. (By some extraordinary turn of fate and tim-
ing, and the radio audience was as intent on the play-by-
ing, a few minutes after the atomic bomb dropped from the
play account as those in the stands were on the game they
Enola Gay, Mitsuo Fuchida flew into the area. This was the
were watching. "It's a long one down to the three-yard line,"
same Mitsuo Fuchida who led the Japanese planes from
the announcer shouted; the ball was intercepted by Ward
their carriers to Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, bringing
Cuff, who picked up a nice block by Alphonse Leemans be-
war to America, and as he flew past Hiroshima, he wondered
fore he was hit hard around the twenty-seven-yard line-at
what had caused the curious mushroom-shaped cloud he
which moment another voice broke in to say, "We interrupt
saw rising above the city. So the man who was present at
this broadcast to bring this important bulletin from United
the beginning was there at the end as well.)
Press: Flash! The White House announces Japanese attack
In Manhattan the author Marcia Davenport was at one end
of the apartment when she
heard her husband, Russell,
shout for her in a high, tense
some
voice. He was listening to
witnesses-that
the New York Philharmonic
broadcast, and when she ran
the White
into the room an announcer
House was the
was talking about the attack
on the U.S. fleet. Neither of
calmest place in
them quite believed what
town.
they were hearing and they
stared at each other, wonder-
ing if it might be a hoax of
Officials planned to sleep in the
some kind, while repeating,
War Department during the
"Japan? Japan?" A few hours
crisis; this bed Assistant
later they sat talking with
Secretary of War Robert Lovitt'
friends they had invited for a
pickup supper, stupefied by
on Pearl Harbor!" Predictably, the Mutual Broadcasting Sys-
the news, not knowing what to do, half-expecting that Hitler
tem was suddenly deluged with calls from furious fans. want-
might have planned an attack on the East Coast to coincide
ing to know what was happening in the game. Mutual put
with Pearl Harbor, when suddenly they heard the wail of an
the Pearl Harbor story on the air immediately; astonishingly,
air-raid siren. Everyone stopped talking and looked around
NBC and CBS decided not to interrupt scheduled music pro-
the table at the others. What now? Was this real? Marcia Dav-
grams but waited until their two-thirty news broadcasts to an-
enport turned on the radio and switched off the lights, and
nounce the news.
they waited in the dark until a voice finally informed them
At Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, an Army offi-
that the sirens were being tested on account of the day's
cer whose exceptional performance in the Louisiana maneu-
events.
vers a few months before had won him a brigadier general's
The man the Davenports had tried so hard to get elected
star was taking a nap after lunch, having told his aide that
in 1940 was contemplating a trip to Australia on Sunday, De-
he was tired and didn't want to be awakened under any cir-
cember 7. That autumn the Australian government had in-
cumstances. Under these particular circumstances, how-
vited Wendell Willkie to visit the commonwealth. As chance
ever, the aide decided that disobedience was warranted, and
would have it, President Roosevelt had written him on De-
he called General Eisenhower. From another room, Mamie
cember 5, saying he hoped Willkie would accept the invita-
Eisenhower heard her husband saying, "Yes? When? I'll be
tion in the interest of Australian-American relations and the
right down," and as he ran for the door, pulling on his uni-
Allied cause. The letter reached Willkie after Pearl Harbor,
form jacket, he told her he would be at headquarters and
and it was several days before he replied to the President,
didn't know when he would be back.
saying he would think further about the wisdom of making
Paul Tibbets was flying a Douglas A-20 bomber from Fort
the trip.
Bragg. North Carolina. to Savannah, Georgia, navigating by
Apart from that. however, he wanted to add something
tuning in to a Savannah station and steering by rad.: com-
that was very much on his mind. Friends of Mr. Roosevelt
pass. He was listening to a Glenn Miller recording and was
were suggesting that he could be extremely useful to the
President in the national emergency, and Willkie hoped they
people could somehow set matters right.
had not troubled the Chief Executive on that score. Noting
A few minutes before five o'clock, President Roosevelt
the incredibly anxious and burdensome days that lay ahead
asked Grace Tully to come to his study, and she found him
for the President, he wrote: "What I am trying to say-
alone, with two or three neat piles of notes before him on
honestly, but awkwardly I am afraid, because it is not easy-
his desk containing the information he had received in the
is this: If any such well-meant suggestions about me are
last two hours. As she came in with her notebook, he lit a
brought to you, I beg you to disregard them. There is on
cigarette, took a deep drag, and said, "Sit down, Grace. I'm
your shoulders the heaviest responsibility any man can
going before Congress tomorrow. I'd like to dictate my mes-
carry and I would not add to it in the slightest way. Even
sage. It will be short."
to volunteer a willingness to serve seems to me now only an
With that he took another long pull on the cigarette and
imposition on your attention. Every American is willing to
began to speak in a calm tone as if he were dictating a let-
serve."
ter, but she noticed that his diction was unusually incisive
On Sunday afternoon, December 7, that letter had not yet
and slow and that he specified each punctuation mark.
been written, but Wendell Willkie knew precisely what the
"Yesterday comma December seventh comma 1941 dash a
mood of the country was: Everyone was willing to serve. The
day which will live in infamy dash the United States of Amer-
ica was suddenly and deliber-
ately attacked by naval and
Litler was
air forces of the Empire of
Japan period paragraph."
jubilant; without
In fewer than five hundred
words, spoken without hesi-
any p reparation
tation or second thought,
he vowed to
Roosevelt dictated the
speech intended to lay Amer-
declare war on
ica's case before Congress
America
and the world. The message
look INN
luck
had none of Churchill's soar-
ing prose, no patriotic sum-
No it's a world war: barber
mons, no bugle calls to ac-
and his customer read'of
tion-only a simple, direct
Germany and Italy's coming
recitation of the facts, as in
against the December
the conclusion: "I ask that
the Congress declare that
question for most of them would be how-and how soon.
since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sun-
"Yesterday comma December seventh
day comma December seventh comma a state of war has ex-
isted between the United States and the Japanese Empire
comma
period end."
The first news bulletin had attracted a crowd to the Japa-
When Grace Tully had transcribed her notes, the Presi-
nese embassy on Massachusetts Avenue, and as people
dent called Hull back to the White House to go over the
stood watching, smoke began to rise from the rear of the
draft. As he anticipated, the Secretary of State had in hand a
building, where the staff was burning diplomatic papers. On-
much longer message relating in explicit detail the long train
lookers were tight-lipped and silent, and a woman who was
of circumstances leading to war; again, Roosevelt was ready
there said their faces reminded her of a lynch mob she once
for him and would have none of it. He must have known that
saw in Georgia.
his wish in this grave instance was the wish of the whole
In front of the President's house at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave-
American people, for he sensed that they wanted no oratory,
nue, another silent crowd had been collecting since the first
no lawyer's brief, only the briefest summary of the facts, set
announcement of the attack, and several hundred were on
forth by him in what might be described as controlled rage,
hand-some women and children, but mostly men with an-
so that the nation could get on with what needed to be done
ger etched into their faces. These people were eager to do
as quickly as possible. Except for a few minor changes of
something and had no idea what shape action might take;
words, the only real addition he permitted was volunteered
mostly they had come here because they needed the reassur-
by Harry Hopkins, who suggested what appeared as the next-
ance of the White House, as if proximity to the embodiment
to-last sentence of the message: "With confidence in our
of America's roots and its might would relieve their anxiety,
armed forces-with the unbounded determination of our peo-
their shock, and their horror, and even in the random com-
ple-we will gain the inevitable triumph-so help us God."
ings and goings of high-level civilians and military men they
Eleanor Roosevelt was carrying on gallantly downstairs,
found security of a sort. as if the very activity of important
on the theory that her dinner guests had to eat somewhere
and it might as well be there,
but it was not a relaxed occa-
sion for the visitors, who
F
DR seemed
were acutely aware of the
empty chair at the head of
relieved; the
BOTH,
the table and the stream of
worried-looking men scurry-
men in Tokyo
ing through the hall to or
after all, had
from the study that was the
focus of the nation's atten-
taken the
tion. Ed and Janet Murrow
decision for war
were with Mrs. Roosevelt, as
were her young friends Joe
or peace from
Lash and Trude Pratt, and
his hands
during dinner the President
sent word that Murrow was
to wait, that .he wanted to
see him.
After the meal Janet de-
parted to attend another
party, at which the Murrows
were to have been the
guests of honor, while Ed
went upstairs to sit on a
bench outside the Presi-
dent's study. As he waited to
be summoned, he observed
the continuing procession of
FDR signs the joint congressional
VIPs and overheard snatches
resolution declaring
of conversation as they
war on Japan; at far right,
passed, including a snarled
a crowd in front of the
rebuke to Frank Knox-"God-
Capit tol follows developments
damnit, sir, you ought not to
on a portable radio.
be in charge of a rowboat,
let alone the United States Navy!" Some years later, comment-
As luck would have it, the audience was seated by three
ing on the charges that Roosevelt and his top advisers pos-
o'clock, when the program was scheduled to begin, so these
sessed advance knowledge of the attack on Pearl Harbor,
twenty-five hundred Pittsburghers were innocently unaware
Murrow recalled the opportunity he had had that night to ob-
of the catastrophe in Hawaii. In an anteroom offstage a re-
serve these men off guard and said, "If they were not sur-
porter Informed Nye that Pearl Harbor and Manila had sup-
prised by the news from Pearl Harbor, then that group of eld-
posedly been bombed, but, lacking confirmation, and feeling
erly men were putting on a performance which would have
that they should not hold up the meeting, the America First
excited the admiration of any experienced actor."
group decided that the show must go on.
It was almost five o'clock by the time Senator Nye got his
"It sounds terribly fishy to me"
chance to talk. Gerald the Giant Killer was feisty and proud
The affair in Pittsburgh that afternoon was billed in advance
of his reputation as a stump speaker against Roosevelt and
as "one of the biggest mass meetings ever staged here by the
the policies that were taking the country into war. He was
America First Committee,' and the faithful began arriving
not about to pass up an opportunity to harangue a crowd be-
early at Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Hall, on Sunday, De-
cause of an unconfirmed report (though he had not troubled
cember 7, to hear Sen. Gerald P. Nye of North Dakota and
to check it out during the two hours he waited to speak).
Irene Castle Mcl aughlin, the widow and former dancing part-
The unhappy result was that while hundreds of Americans
ner of Vernon Castle, who was killed in World War I. Given
were dying in Hawaii, the senator from North Dakota set
the rapid pace of events and the polarization of opinion in
some sort of record for insensitivity by striking out at the
the country, something like what happened here was almost
administration for fighting Britain's war and at Britain for
bound to take place, but it proved to be a demonstration of
suffering fewer casualties than any of its allies. lampooning
America First at its most inept. a sorry end to a protest move-
the national debt and the destroyers-for-bases deal. He had
ment that had begun with such high hopes and ideals.
been talking for half an hour when a local reporter walked
to take into account that the isolationists' illusion was all of
a piece with the ancient European dream of America as an
innocent, uncorrupted land, untroubled by the Old World's
wars, a new Eden where man might make a fresh start. "Lib-
erty has still a continent to live on," Horace Walpole had
promised, and in what people had called the Great War-
the one to make the world safe for democracy, which my
father and his generation fought-Americans went off to
Europe resolved to set matters right, singing
we won't
come back till it's over, over there." But there was no com-
ing back to a sanctuary set apart by oceans, no holding off
the world. One of the lessons of 1941, as of 1914, was that
America, like it or not, was part of the whole. In the twenti-
eth century no nation was an island.
"On the ground, by God, on the ground!"
By evening people were standing five and six deep on the
sidewalk beyond the tall iron fence around the White House
grounds, peering at the lighted windows in hopes of spotting
movement inside, watching intently the arrival of each auto-
mobile to see if they could identify passengers, and by the
time Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes appeared for the
cabinet meeting the moon was up, misty and indistinct. He
noticed especially how quiet and serious the crowds were,
and he decided their presence was an example of the human
instinct to get close to the scene of action even if one could
see or hear nothing. Some cabinet officers had been try-
ing all afternoon to get back to Washington, and Ickes was
pleased to see that everyone had made it. Postmaster Gen-
eral Frank Walker and Frances Perkins, Secretary of Labor,
had flown from New York in a special plane; so had the Treas-
ury Secretary, Henry Morgenthau.
Promptly at eight-thirty the full cabinet met, with the mem-
bers forming a ring completely around the President's desk.
onto the stage and handed him a note stating that the Japa-
Ickes noticed at once how solemn Roosevelt was: no wise-
nese had declared war on the United States.
cracks or jokes this evening, not even a smile, and the calm-
Nye glanced at the piece of paper and with barely a pause
ness he had displayed earlier in the afternoon was largely
completed his sentence. For another fifteen minutes he con-
gone, replaced by tension and signs of enormous fatigue.
tinued, interrupted only by cheers and shouts of "Impeach
The President began by telling them that this was probably
Roosevelt!," and at last he turned to the subject of the Far
the gravest crisis to confront a cabinet since 1861; then he
East and the administration's "studied effort to pick a war
filled them in on everything he had heard from Hawaii, mak-
with Japan." At that point he stopped long enough to read
ing clear that what they had on their hands was the worst na-
what was written on the slip of paper before him. He seemed
val defeat in American history. Not only that: Guam had prob-
confused, one reporter noted, as if he had difficulty digest-
ably been captured, and it was likely that Wake was gone,
ing it before he spoke again. "I have the worst news that I
while the Japanese were advancing on Manila, Singapore,
have had in twenty years to report," he declared. "The Jap-
Hong Kong, and other locations in the Malay States. For all
anese Imperial Government at four P.M. announced a state
anyone knew, an attack might be taking place in Hawaii at
of war between it and the United States and Britain." Then,
that very moment.
incredibly, he proceeded to deliver the rest of his prepared
Even though they had heard some of this news before
speech, and when it was done and reporters gathered
they arrived, the detailed catalogue of catastrophe shocked
around to ask for comments on the Pearl Harbor disaster, he
the cabinet members-that and the manner in which Roose-
told them, "It sounds terribly fishy to me."
velt described the disaster. Frances Perkins said he actually
Then and later it was customary to sneer at the isolation-
had "physical difficulty in getting out the words that put him
ists and pass them off as an aberration of the thirties.
on record as knowing that the navy was caught unawares."
myopes who had failed to perceive reality. And certainly
It was obvious to her that he was "having a dreadful time
there was some truth in the accusation. Yet the charge fails
just accepting the idea." Yet she knew him well. and she de-
tected an evasive look, revealing the wave of relief he was re-
They knew these negotiations were going on." Knox was ob-
luctant to acknowledge-relief that the long period of ten-
viously deeply embarrassed by these and other questions
sion, of not knowing what the Japanese would do and when
but made no attempt to reply.
they would do it, was over. The men in Tokyo, after all, had
Finally, at twelve-thirty, it was Ed Murrow's turn in the
taken the decision for war or peace from the President's
study, and the President ordered beer and sandwiches. Join-
hands.
ing them was Col. William Donovan, who was then engaged
Throughout the meeting, according to Ickes, Hull behaved
in setting up an intelligence organization that would be
more than ever like a Christian martyr-indignant that he
known as the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Mr. Roose-
was the one to have been duped by the Japanese diplomats
velt, dead tired, his face ashen, asked Murrow a few ques-
T
here were
some women
and children in
front of the
White House
but mostly men
with anger
etched into
their faces
The lights in the White House
burned all night, and crowds
waited quietly outside; at far
right, FDR's press secretary
Steve Early briefs reporters.
while their army and navy were plotting against us, since it
tions about the bombing of London and the morale of the
was obvious that the expedition against Pearl Harbor had
British and then informed his visitors in detail about the
been in the works for months. Despite FDR's annoyance,
losses at Pearl Harbor-the loss of life, how ships had been
moreover, Hull was still plumping for a long presidential
sunk at their moorings and planes destroyed on the air-
message to Congress, but when Roosevelt read his own draft
strips-and he pounded his fist on the table and groaned,
aloud, all but the Secretary of State agreed that he had struck
"On the ground, by God, on the ground!"
exactly the right note.
For a reporter on this night of nights, it was the chance
Shortly after nine-thirty the congressional leaders were
of a lifetime, since the details that Roosevelt gave them-
ushered into the study, and the cabinet members moved
with no indication that what he said should be off the rec-
back to let them have the chairs surrounding the President's
ord-would not be made public for hours-in some cases,
desk. The President reviewed the situation with them in
for months. The President mentioned that he had talked
much the same words he had used with the cabinet, inform-
with Churchill, who told him of attacks on British bases, and
ing them that "the casualties, I am sorry to say, were ex-
he asked Donovan if he thought this might be part of an over-
tremely heavy" and that "we have lost the majority of the bat-
all Axis plan. The latter had no evidence to offer but said
tleships there."
it was certainly a reasonable assumption. Then Roosevelt
Following his summary of the attack, there was dead si-
asked a rather curious question, hinting at the isolationists'
lence until the man most visibly outraged said what most of
powerful influence on his thinking and his intense concern
the others were thinking. Tom Connolly of Texas, chairman
about public unity: Did they believe the nation would now
of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, asked, "How did
support a declaration of war? Both men assured him that it
it happen that our warships were caught like tame ducks in
would.
Pearl Harbor? I am amazed at the attack by Japan. but I am
As Murrow was taking his leave after more than half an
still more astounded at what happened to our navy. They
hour's conversation. the President inquired. "Did this sur-
were all asleep!" he exploded. "Where were our patrols?
prise you?"
"Yes, Mr. President," he replied.
no cipher messages could be sent, and that all telegrams
"Maybe you think it didn't surprise us!" Roosevelt re-
must be submitted to the Foreign Office for approval. The
sponded.
British ambassador and several others from the diplomatic
In the early hours of the morning Murrow returned to the
colony managed to get past the police outside the gates and
hotel and for hours paced the floor, smoking continuously,
bid farewell to the Americans, and they were followed by a
debating whether or not he could reveal the information he
group of extremely polite Japanese, who apologized pro-
ad heard from the President. "The biggest story of my life,"
fusely before confiscating all the short-wave radios in the em-
.ie kept telling his wife, "and I can't make up my mind
bassy. None of the Americans knew, of course, how long it
whether it's my duty to tell it or forget it." In the end he de-
would be before they might be exchanged for Japan's diplo-
mats in Washington, and about sixty members of the staff as-
sembled for cocktails that evening, livened by a few brave
speeches. Arrangements were made for those who lived out-
side the compound to move into the embassy, sharing apart-
ments, bunking down on mattresses on the floor.
Reflecting on the way Tokyo had borrowed blitzkrieg tac-
tics from its allies in Berlin, Grew concluded that "if the Japa-
nese had confined themselves to the Far East and had at-
tacked only the Philippines, there would have been pacifists
and isolationists at home who would have said that we have
no business in the Far East anyway, but once they attacked
Hawaii it was certain that the American people would rise
up in a solid unit of fury." The task ahead would not be easy,
he knew, but Japan's defeat was absolutely certain, and he
permitted himself a smile of satisfaction as he recalled how
he had warned Washington to be ready for a step of "danger-
ous and dramatic suddenness" what had occurred.
Grew might be right that victory over Japan was certain,
but what good was that if Britain and Russia should fall, if
Hitler should triumph in Europe? Despite pressure from Stim-
son, in particular, who argued that Germany had pushed Ja-
pan to attack, President Roosevelt resisted the temptation to
declare war on Germany and Italy, hoping that Hitler would
relieve him of the necessity to act. He detected "a lingering
cided it had been told him in confidence and he should not
distinction in some quarters of the public between war with
report what Roosevelt had said.
Japan and war with Germany," he told the British ambassa-
dor, and although Berlin was ominously silent, he decided to
"We have never even considered a war
wait it out to see if the Führer would resolve his dilemma.
against the United States"
Hitler had his hands full. Winter had closed in on Russia,
The telephone awakened Ambassador Joseph Grew in Tokyo
and his dream of conquering that nation in a single summer
at 7:00 A.M. on December 8. The call was urgent, requesting
campaign ended as the days grew shorter and brutal cold
that he come as quickly as possible to see Foreign Minister
and blizzards descended on the land. On December 6, to the
Shigenori Togo, and, without taking time even to shave, he
utter surprise of the German high command, the Russians
threw on some clothes. When he arrived at 7:30, he found
seized the initiative when the temperature was thirty-five de-
Togo grim, formal, and-as always-imperturbable. The Jap-
grees below zero, launched a major assault with one hun-
anese official made a brief statement and slapped down on
dred fresh divisions, and threw back the Wehrmacht within
the table the thirteen-page memorandum that Nomura had
twelve miles of the center of Moscow. Simultaneously, Gen.
delivered to Hull. Then he made a pretty little speech thank-
Erwin Rommel's Afrika Corps began to retreat in the desert,
ing Grew for his cooperation during the long negotiations
and Hitler assumed control of all military operations. Curi-
and walked downstairs to see him to the door. Not a word
ously, despite the many warning signs from the Far East, the
was spoken about Pearl Harbor. Indeed, not until after he
Japanese attack took him by surprise. In the spring he had
had shaved and breakfasted did Grew learn that the two coun-
urged his allies in Tokyo to move against Singapore, saying
tries were at war, and this was not confirmed until late morn-
that one of the benefits would be to deter the United States
ing, when a functionary appeared at the embassy and, hands
from entering the war, but he had not contemplated hostili-
trembling, read the official announcement.
ties between Japan and America. As the German foreign min-
Shortly thereafter the embassy gates were closed and the
ister Joachim von Ribbentrop perceived. the Japanese attack
ambassador was told that no one could enter or leave. that
"brought about what we had wanted to avoid a: all costs.
war between Germany and America," but Hitler himself was
"Brothers Grim" columns for the Yale Daily News and had
jubilant. Rejoicing in the news- "The turning point!" he pro-
turned in what both of us recognized as a piece of fluff for
claimed when he heard it-he dismissed the advice of those
the Saturday, December 6, issue-a hasty, last-minute effort.
around him and made another monumental miscalculation:
before Christmas vacation-in which. by pure coincidence,
He would declare war on the United States.
we imagined ourselves during the approaching "reading pe-
Knowing virtually nothing about the United States, view-
riod" in Honolulu, taking in the sun and fun on Waikiki Beach.
ing it merely as a decadent bourgeois democracy incapable
I had been spending more time in New York that fall with
of waging or sustaining a prolonged war, he disastrously un-
my friend Bobs Bray. She was commuting to Sarah Lawrence
derestimated its strength (an opinion bolstered by the appar-
as a day student; happily, her mother's apartment had a
ent ease of the Japanese triumph), and despite the lack of
spare, closet-size bedroom where I was welcome to stay;
the most elementary preparations (one of his headquarters
and I had begun work on my senior thesis, which was to be
officers admitted that "we have never even considered a war
a history of The New Yorker, and was doing much of the re-
against the United States") and the certainty of U.S. interven-
search at the magazine's office on West Forty-third Street.
tion in the European war, he left his Wolf's Lair bunker on
That Sunday morning we had a late breakfast and sat around
the evening of December 8, returned to Berlin, and began to
reading the paper. After lunch Bobs and I went out for a long
walk. Sometime before three
o'clock we were strolling
down Madison Avenue, sev-
L hey could
eral blocks from her moth-
er's apartment. Suddenly it
was very cold, with the sun
that they were
low in the sky, sinking be-
seeing certain
hind the tall building, and
I turned my coat collar
friends for the
against the sharp wind. We
last-time
passed a soda fountain and
decided to have a hot choco-
late, and while we sat at the
Boston men stand in line to join
counter the news came over
up; recruiting office
the radio.
the country were busy the
As in millions of other
after the attack
homes that night, we talked
the hours away, for the first
prepare a speech to the Reichstag. On December 11. after de-
time contemplating a future in which the two of us might be
nouncing Roosevelt as "the main culprit of this war" and a
separated for long periods, though we could not admit to
creature of the Jews, he announced to deafening applause
the unspoken fear beneath the surface: the possibility that I
that he had arranged for the American chargé d'affaires to
might go off to war and not come back. Whatever else we
be handed his passport. Now the fire he had ignited with the
may have thought about during that troubled evening, it
invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, would rage around
never occurred to us that what lay ahead would prove to be
the world.
the great divide for our generation-not only a chasm that
would swallow up some of our closest friends but the demar-
"The shortest, gladdest years of life"
cation line against which we would measure time and
Sunday, December 7, 1941, was my parents' twenty-first wed-
change ever afterward, as the Civil War and the First World
ding anniversary, and I had called them that morning from
War marked them off for our great-grandfathers' and fathers'
New York City to wish them many more of the same. They
generations.
were going to church in their hometown of Pittsburgh, as
On the Yale campus itself a carol service was in progress
they nearly always did, confident that Rev. Hugh Thompson
in Dwight Hall. A mixed group of students and faculty fami-
Kerr would reinforce their Presbyterianism in the most ami-
lies raised their voices in the old Advent hymn, joyously sing-
able manner imaginable. I was never sure how much they
ing out "Gloria in excelsis Deo!" at the same time the
liked the idea of my spending a lot of time in New York City;
announcer at the Polo Grounds in New York interrupted the
after all, if you were paying someone's tuition at Yale, you
Giants-Dodgers football game with the news that Pearl Har-
probably thought he should stick to his studies there. But I
bor had been bombed.
was pretty well caught up on my work and had come to New
All over the campus students were preparing for Monday
York for several days, planning to stay through the weekend.
classes when the word came, and it sent them rushing from
Before leaving New Haven, my classmate Dick Drain and I
their rooms, spilling out into the streets of New Haven, until
had written one of our occasional. purportedly humorous
two entire blocks on Elm Street were filled with undergradu-
70
ates, churning about, moving without a destination, a mass
sional outpourings of enthusiasm by Yale students, but nei-
of nervous energy seeking release in shouting, singing "Over
ther they nor their paying guests were prepared for the
There," yelling, "On to Tokyo!" Long after dark they were on
small army that swarmed through the lobby, past and over
the march up Hillhouse Avenue to President Seymour's
chairs, couches, and potted plants, a bobbing, weaving, bois-
house, to serenade with "The Star-Spangled Banner" the
terous snake dance that made its way noisily up the stairs,
aloof, dignified man who had been a delegate to the peace
through the corridors to the top floor, and down and out
conference in Versailles only twenty-two years before. Sey-
again onto the streets. For most students and the "townies"
mour was sick in bed and had to dress, and while the stu-
who had joined them, it seemed like good clean fun, but win-
dents milled around, waiting for him to appear, the secre-
dows were broken, potted plants overturned, the hotel lobby
tary of the university led them in singing "Bright College
was a mess, and beneath the fun ran an undercurrent of po-
Years," which nearly everyone regarded mistakenly as the
tentially destructive force, a mix of exhilaration and anger
alma mater and which almost no one realized was set to the
that reflected the shock of the day's news-that, and a kind
tune of Germany's World War I anthem, "Die Wacht am
of relief that the uncertainties of the past months
Rhein." Its sentimental words were as
Dale
News
had been resolved at last. Fortunately for every-
much a product of another genera-
one, the police appeared in force, the students
OPENS
WAR
ran out of steam, and after a
NAVAL 1500 MEET BLITZ NEWS WITH British Fallow RIOT
brief mass sit-down on the
eneath.the
trolley tracks to demonstrate
their independence, the stu-
lun was a mix of
Expire
Separar Sees
Against less
dents broke up into groups
exhilaration
of two or three and slowly
feed INDisciptive Unity
faded away in the night.
anger tha
They could have no idea of
the hardships and suffering
reflected
Faculty, Surprise, Student Optimism Connect is Eastern Expresses Crisis
that lay ahead or of the thin
shock-of the
margin that would separate
their country and its allies
days news.
from defeat at times. As they
strode through the cobbled
streets of New Haven on that
The front page of the Yale Daily
News
December evening, bursting
on
December
ARCHIVES
with the force of youth and
defiance, laughing, cheering,
tion as the man to whom they were sung,
some with tears in their eyes, they
but they had a particular poignancy at this
could hardly imagine that they were seeing cer-
moment, coming from a little band of Amer-
tain friends in the crowd for the last time, or know that the
ica's youth, their hundreds of uplifted faces illuminated by
only future vestige of those names or faces would be the dim-
the soft light from the President's house:
ming memory of lost comrades forever young, glowing and
strong, walking arm-in-arm through a college town on the
Bright college years, with pleasure rife,
night the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
The shortest, gladdest years of life;
All that was for the future; for now, everything was lost in
How swiftly are ye gliding by!
joyful exuberance and a surge of patriotism, the likes of
Oh, why doth time so swiftly fly?
which might not be seen again on that campus or another.
During those borrowed years before the unsought war came
At last the President appeared to address the "Men of
to America, these students had favored America's entry into
Yale," recalling similar gatherings in 1898 and 1917, remind-
the war, or they had opposed it, or they had not known ex-
ing them of the university's tradition of loyalty and service
actly where they stood, but the differences that had seemed
to the nation, telling them how proud he was that they were
so important didn't really matter any longer. What needed to
ready to serve. Seymour was not exactly a spellbinder, but
be done now seemed very clear.
the undergraduates listened politely enough, rewarded him
with a chorus of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow," and set off
Richard Ketchum was the editor of The American Heritage Pic-
toward the center of town, shouting the rallying cry of so
ture History of the Civil War and cofounder of Country Jour-
many football weekends: "On to the Taft!" The magic of the
nal. He is the author of several books on American history;
moment was gone, and Charles Seymour watched as the dark-
ness swallowed them up.
the most recent is The Borrowed Years: America on the Way
to War, 1938-1941, published this month by Random House,
The management of the Taft Hotel was resigned to occa-
from which this article was adapted.
127. Fireside Chat on December 9, 1941
between them, and see that they don't clash in what they
give out.
Q. Will there eventually be a censor that we can get our teeth
into?
THE PRESIDENT: It is awfully hard to answer it. Talk to Steve
[Early] about this. What we want is to get the news out as
soon as we can, subject to the two qualifications, and do it in
the most convenient way. In other words, our objectives are
exactly alike. It is going to work all right.
127 ["We Are Going to Win the War and We
Are Going to Win the Peace That Follows" -
Fireside Chat to the Nation Following the
Declaration of War with Japan.
December 9, 1941
THE sudden criminal attacks perpetrated by the Japanese in the
Pacific provide the climax of a decade of international immo-
rality.
Powerful and resourceful gangsters have banded together to
make war upon the whole human race. Their challenge has now
been flung at the United States of America. The Japanese have
treacherously violated the long-standing peace between us. Many
American soldiers and sailors have been killed by enemy action.
American ships have been sunk; American airplanes have been
destroyed.
The Congress and the people of the United States have ac-
cepted that challenge.
Together with other free peoples, we are now fighting to main-
tain our right to live among our world neighbors in freedom
I
and in common decency, without fear of assault.
I have prepared the full record of our past relations with
Japan, and it will be submitted to the Congress. It begins with
522
go lyber
127. Fireside Chat on December 9, 1941
the visit of Commodore Perry to Japan 88 years ago. It ends with
the visit of two Japanese emissaries to the Secretary of State last
Sunday, an hour after Japanese forces had loosed their bombs
and machine guns against our flag, our forces, and our citizens.
I can say with utmost confidence that no Americans, today or
a thousand years hence, need feel anything but pride in our
patience and in our efforts through all the years toward achieving
a peace in the Pacific which would be fair and honorable to every
Nation, large or small. And no honest person, today or a thou-
sand years hence, will be able to suppress a sense of indignation
and horror at the treachery committed by the military dictators
of Japan, under the very shadow of the flag of peace borne by
their special envoys in our midst.
The course that Japan has followed for the past ten years in
Asia has paralleled the course of Hitler and Mussolini in Europe
and in Africa. Today, it has become far more than a parallel. It
is actual collaboration so well calculated that all the continents
of the world, and all the oceans, are now considered by the Axis
strategists as one gigantic battlefield.
In 1931, ten years ago, Japan invaded Manchukuo - - without
warning.
In 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia - without warning.
In 1938, Hitler occupied Austria - without warning.
In 1939, Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia - without warning.
Later in 1939, Hitler invaded Poland - without warning.
In 1940, Hitler invaded Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands,
Belgium, and Luxembourg- - without warning.
In 1940, Italy attacked France and later Greece - without
warning.
And this year, in 1941, the Axis powers attacked Yugoslavia
and Greece and they dominated the Balkans - - without warning.
In 1941, also, Hitler invaded Russia - without warning.
And now Japan has attacked Malaya and Thailand - and the
United States - - without warning.
It is all of one pattern.
We are now in this war. We are all in it - all the way. Every
4
5 2 3
127. Fireside Chat on December 9, 1941
single man, woman, and child is a partner in the most tremen-
dous undertaking of our American history. We must share to-
gether the bad news and the good news, the defeats and the vic-
tories - the changing fortunes of war.
So far, the news has been all bad. We have suffered a serious
set-back in Hawaii. Our forces in the Philippines, which include
the brave people of that Commonwealth, are taking punishment,
but are defending themselves vigorously. The reports from Guam
and Wake and Midway islands are still confused, but we must be
prepared for the announcement that all these three outposts have
been seized.
The casualty lists of these first few days will undoubtedly be
large. I deeply feel the anxiety of all of the families of the men
in our armed forces and the relatives of people in cities which
have been bombed. I can only give them my solemn promise that
they will get news just as quickly as possible.
This Government will put its trust in the stamina of the Amer-
ican people, and will give the facts to the public just as soon as
two conditions have been fulfilled: first, that the information has
been definitely and officially confirmed; and, second, that the re-
lease of the information at the time it is received will not prove
valuable to the enemy directly or indirectly.
Most earnestly I urge my countrymen to reject all rumors.
These ugly little hints of complete disaster fly thick and fast in
wartime. They have to be examined and appraised.
As an example, I can tell you frankly that until further sur-
veys are made, I have not sufficient information to state the exact
damage which has been done to our naval vessels at Pearl Har-
bor. Admittedly the damage is serious. But no one can say how
serious, until we know how much of this damage can be repaired
and how quickly the necessary repairs can be made.
I cite as another example a statement made on Sunday night
that a Japanese carrier had been located and sunk off the Canal
Zone. And when you hear statements that are attributed to what
they call "an authoritative source," you can be reasonably sure
524
127. Fireside Chat on December 9, 1941
from now on that under these war circumstances the "authorita-
tive source" is not any person in authority.
Many rumors and reports which we now hear originate with
enemy sources. For instance, today the Japanese are claiming
that as a result of their one action against Hawaii they have
gained naval supremacy in the Pacific. This is an old trick of
propaganda which has been used innumerable times by the Nazis.
The purposes of such fantastic claims are, of course, to spread
fear and confusion among us, and to goad us into revealing mili-
tary information which our enemies are desperately anxious to
obtain.
Our Government will not be caught in this obvious trap - and
neither will the people of the United States.
It must be remembered by each and every one of us that our
free and rapid communication these days must be greatly re-
stricted in wartime. It is not possible to receive full, speedy, ac-
curate reports from distant areas of combat. This is particularly
true where naval operations are concerned. For in these days of
the marvels of radio it is often impossible for the commanders of
various units to report their activities by radio at all, for the very
simple reason that this information would become available to
the enemy, and would disclose their position and their plan of
defense or attack.
Of necessity there will be delays in officially confirming or
denying reports of operations but we will not hide facts from the
country if we know the facts and if the enemy will not be aided
by their disclosure.
To all newspapers and radio stations - all those who reach the
eyes and ears of the American people - I say this: You have a
most grave responsibility to the Nation now and for the duration
of this war.
If you feel that your Government is not disclosing enough of
the truth, you have every right to say so. But - in the absence of
all the facts, as revealed by official sources - you have no right in
the ethics of patriotism to deal out unconfirmed reports in such
a way as to make people believe that they are gospel truth.
525
127. Fireside Chat on December 9, 1941
Every citizen, in every walk of life, shares this same respon-
sibility. The lives of our soldiers and sailors - the whole future
of this Nation - depend upon the manner in which each and
every one of us fulfills his obligation to our country.
Now a word about the recent past - and the future. A year and
a half has elapsed since the fall of France, when the whole world
first realized the mechanized might which the Axis Nations had
been building for so many years. America has used that year and
a half to great advantage. Knowing that the attack might reach
us in all too short a time, we immediately began greatly to in-
crease our industrial strength and our capacity to meet the de-
mands of modern warfare.
Precious months were gained by sending vast quantities of our
war material to the Nations of the world still able to resist Axis
aggression. Our policy rested on the fundamental truth that the
defense of any country resisting Hitler or Japan was in the long
run the defense of our own country. That policy has been justi-
fied. It has given us time, invaluable time, to build our Amer-
ican assembly lines of production.
Assembly lines are now in operation. Others are being rushed
to completion. A steady stream of tanks and planes, of guns and
ships, and shells and equipment - that is what these eighteen
months have given us.
But it is all only a beginning of what still has to be done. We
must be set to face a long war against crafty and powerful bandits.
The attack at Pearl Harbor can be repeated at any one of many
points, points in both oceans and along both our coast lines and
against all the rest of the hemisphere.
It will not only be a long war, it will be a hard war. That is the
basis on which we now lay all our plans. That is the yardstick by
which we measure what we shall need and demand; money,
materials, doubled and quadrupled production - ever-increasing.
The production must be not only for our own Army and Navy
and Air Forces. It must reinforce the other armies and navies and
air forces fighting the Nazis and the war lords of Japan through-
out the Americas and throughout the world.
5 2 6
127. Fireside Chat on December 9, 1941
I have been working today on the subject of production. Your
Government has decided on two broad policies.
The first is to speed up all existing production by working on
a seven-day-week basis in every war industry, including the pro-
duction of essential raw materials.
The second policy, now being put into form, is to rush addi-
tions to the capacity of production by building more new plants,
by adding to old plants, and by using the many smaller plants for
war needs.
Over the hard road of the past months, we have at times met
obstacles and difficulties, divisions and disputes, indifference and
callousness. That is now all past - and, I am sure, forgotten.
The fact is that the country now has an organization in Wash-
ington built around men and women who are recognized experts
in their own fields. I think the country knows that the people
who are actually responsible in each and every one of these many
fields are pulling together with a teamwork that has never before
been excelled.
On the road ahead there lies hard work - grueling work -
day and night, every hour and every minute.
I was about to add that ahead there lies sacrifice for all of us.
But it is not correct to use that word. The United States does
not consider it a sacrifice to do all one can, to give one's best to
our Nation, when the Nation is fighting for its existence and its
future life.
It is not a sacrifice for any man, old or young, to be in the
Army or the Navy of the United States. Rather is it a privilege.
It is not a sacrifice for the industrialist or the wage earner, the
farmer or the shopkeeper, the trainman or the doctor, to pay
more taxes, to buy more bonds, to forego extra profits, to work
longer or harder at the task for which he is best fitted. Rather is
it a privilege.
It is not a sacrifice to do without many things to which we are
accustomed if the national defense calls for doing without.
A review this morning leads me to the conclusion that at pres-
ent we shall not have to curtail the normal use of articles of food.
527
127. Fireside Chat on December 9, 1941
There is enough food today for all of us and enough left over to
send to those who are fighting on the same side with us.
But there will be a clear and definite shortage of metals of
many kinds for civilian use, for the very good reason that in our
increased program we shall need for war purposes more than half
of that portion of the principal metals which during the past
year have gone into articles for civilian use. Yes, we shall have to
give up many things entirely.
And I am sure that the people in every part of the Nation are
prepared in their individual living to win this war. I am sure
that they will cheerfully help to pay a large part of its financial
cost while it goes on. I am sure they will cheerfully give up those
material things that they are asked to give up.
And I am sure that they will retain all those great spiritual
things without which we cannot win through.
I repeat that the United States can accept no result save vic-
tory, final and complete. Not only must the shame of Japanese
treachery be wiped out, but the sources of international brutal-
ity, wherever they exist, must be absolutely and finally broken.
In my message to the Congress yesterday I said that we "will
make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again
endanger us." In order to achieve that certainty, we must begin
the great task that is before us by abandoning once and for all
the illusion that we can ever again isolate ourselves from the
rest of humanity.
In these past few years - and, most violently, in the past three
days - we have learned a terrible lesson.
It is our obligation to our dead - it is our sacred obligation to
their children and to our children - that we must never forget
what we have learned.
And what we all have learned is this:
There is no such thing as security for any Nation - or any in-
dividual - in a world ruled by the principles of gangsterism.
There is no such thing as impregnable defense against powerful
aggressors who sneak up in the dark and strike without warning.
We have learned that our ocean-girt hemisphere is not im-
5 2 8
127. Fireside Chat on December 9, 1941
mune from severe attack - that we cannot measure our safety in
terms of miles on any map any more.
We may acknowledge that our enemies have performed a bril-
liant feat of deception, perfectly timed and executed with great
skill. It was a thoroughly dishonorable deed, but we must face
the fact that modern warfare as conducted in the Nazi manner
is a dirty business. We don't like it - we didn't want to get in it
- but we are in it and we're going to fight it with everything
we've got.
I do not think any American has any doubt of our ability to
administer proper punishment to the perpetrators of these crimes.
Your Government knows that for weeks Germany has been
telling Japan that if Japan did not attack the United States,
Japan would not share in dividing the spoils with Germany when
peace came. She was promised by Germany that if she came in
she would receive the complete and perpetual control of the
whole of the Pacific area - and that means not only the Far East,
but also all of the islands in the Pacific, and also a stranglehold
on the west coast of North, Central, and South America.
We know also that Germany and Japan are conducting their
military and naval operations in accordance with a joint plan.
That plan considers all peoples and Nations which are not help-
ing the Axis powers as common enemies of each and every one
of the Axis powers.
That is their simple and obvious grand strategy. And that is
why the American people must realize that it can be matched
only with similar grand strategy. We must realize for example
that Japanese successes against the United States in the Pacific
are helpful to German operations in Libya; that any German
success against the Caucasus is inevitably an assistance to Japan
in her operations against the Dutch East Indies; that a German
attack against Algiers or Morocco opens the way to a German
attack against South America, and the Canal.
On the other side of the picture, we must learn also to know
that guerrilla warfare against the Germans in, let us say, Serbia or
Norway helps us; that a successful Russian offensive against the
529
127. Fireside Chat on December 9, 1941
Germans helps us; and that British successes on land or sea in
any part of the world strengthen our hands.
Remember always that Germany and Italy, regardless of any
formal declaration of war, consider themselves at war with the
United States at this moment just as much as they consider them-
selves at war with Britain or Russia. And Germany puts all the
other Republics of the Americas into the same category of ene-
mies. The people of our sister Republics of this hemisphere can
be honored by that fact.
The true goal we seek is far above and beyond the ugly field
of battle. When we resort to force, as now we must, we are deter-
mined that this force shall be directed toward ultimate good as
well as against immediate evil. We Americans are not destroyers
- we are builders.
We are now in the midst of a war, not for conquest, not for
vengeance, but for a world in which this Nation, and all that this
Nation represents, will be safe for our children. We expect to
eliminate the danger from Japan, but it would serve us ill if we
accomplished that and found that the rest of the world was dom-
inated by Hitler and Mussolini.
We are going to win the war and we are going to win the peace
that follows.
And in the difficult hours of this day - through dark days that
may be yet to come - we will know that the vast majority of the
members of the human race are on our side. Many of them are
fighting with us. All of them are praying for us. For in repre-
senting our cause, we represent theirs as well - our hope and
their hope for liberty under God.
NOTE: As initially drafted, the
partment, and constituted a very
foregoing fireside chat included a
careful documentation of historical
long review of the history of our
facts. As such, it was important to
relationships with the Japanese, and
be in the record in order to show
a detailed account of the negotia-
that the United States Government
tions in the weeks preceding the at-
had exhausted every possible means
tack on Pearl Harbor. This material
to achieve an amicable and honor-
had been prepared in the State De-
able settlement with Japan.
530
128. Party Chairmen Pledge Cooperation During War
However, this tediously detailed
going to win the peace that follows"
review of diplomatic history was
provided a definite boost to the
hardly inspiring material for a fire-
morale of all the embattled Allies.
side chat, to which millions of
Accordingly, the President de-
Americans, and peoples all over the
cided to use the material about the
world, would be listening, waiting
history of our relations with the
for the President to tell them what
Japanese in a message to the Con-
course America would take in resist-
gress. He submitted it on Decem-
ing the sneak attack. The Presi-
ber 15, 1941 (see Item 132, this vol-
dent's confident words "We are
ume).
going to win the war and we are
128 The President Thanks the Republican
and Democratic National Chairmen for Pledging
Party Cooperation During the War.
December 11, 1941
LET me thank you both, personally and on behalf of our coun-
try, for the patriotic action you have in contemplation. The na-
tional organizations of the two great parties are capable of inesti-
mable service in our present emergency. The Nation-wide quality
of their personnel, the circumstance that their agents are men
and women of eminence and respect in their respective com-
munities will, I am sure, demonstrate that in time of war there
can be no partisan domestic politics. There can be only a deter-
mined intent of a united people to carry on the struggle for hu-
man liberty to a victorious conclusion.
So, I am sure we appreciate - and the people will appreciate -
that the political truce is for the period of the emergency and
that the principles of our respective parties will continue to
dominate our courses. When the war is over we will still be ad-
hering to our historic method of settling our domestic problems
which has made our country the great Nation it is, and has
shown the world that democratic freedom is a perfectly workable
system of government.
531
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She also received the Navy Unit Commendation as & part
Arizona joined the Atlantic Fleet following her shake-
of the Combat Salvage and Fire Fighting Unit, Force O,
down cruise. She spent World War I undergoing train-
during the invaston or Normandy (7-12 June 1944).
ing in Chesapeake Bay. On 18 November 1918 she salled
from Hampton Roads, Va., to join the Naval Forces in
British waters. On 12 December 1918 she departed
Aristueus
Portsmouth, England, to assist in escorting George Wash-
In Greek and Roman mythology Aristaeus was the son
ingion, carrying President Woodrow Wilson, to Brest,
of Apollo and the nymph Cyrene.
France. Later in the month Arisona returned to the
United States.
(ARB-1: dp. 1781 1. 328'; b. 50'; dr. 11'2"; 4. 11.6 k.;
Except for a voyage to the Mediterrunean (April-July
cpl. 260; a. 1 8"; cl. Aristaeus)
1919), she cruised along the Atlantic coast and in the
Caribbean with the Atlantic Fleet, until transferred to
Aristoeus (ARB-1) was laid down by Philadelphia
the Pacific in 1921. Arisona served with the Facific Fleet
Navy Yard as LST-329; reclassified ARB-1, 25 January
until 1929 when she reported to Norfolk Navy Yard for
1948; launched 11 February 1948; sponsored by Mrs.
modernization. Following the completion of her modern-
Arthur Taylor: and commissioned 18 May 1943, Lieu-
instion in 1981, Arizona carried President Herbert
tenant R. M. G. Swany, USNR, in command.
Hoover on a cruise to the West Indies and then rejoined
Aristacus got underway for the Pacific during August
the Pacific Fleet. She was attached to the Pacific Fleet
1948, arriving at Noumea, New Caledonia, 14 September.
throughout the remainder of her service. During the
She remained in that area until July 1944 making emer-
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941, Art-
gency repairs to damaged vessels. From July 1944 to
sona took hits from one torpedo and eight bombs. One of
April 1945 she operated off New Guinea, north and east
the latter penetrated a powder magazine and the result-
of Australia, and on 1 May 1945 she enchored off Kerama
ant explosion completely wrecked her. Arizona suffered
Retto, Okinawa. She remained at Okinawa until Decem-
the loss of 1104 personnel. The ship still remains sub-
ber and then returned to the west coast of the United
merged at Pearl Harbor; a memorial to the valiant dead
States. Placed out of commission 15 January 1947,
still on board her,
Artstacus joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego,
Rear Admiral I. O. Kidd and Captain F. Van Valken-
Calif.
burgh, respectively, were posthumously awarded the
Aristaeus received one battle star for her participation
Medal of Honor for courageously discharging their duties
in the Okloawa campaign.
while on board Arizona; and Lientenant Commander S.
G. Fuqua, the senior surviving officer on board, was also
a recipient of the Medal of Honor.
Arisona
Arisona received one battle star.
Arizona was admitted into the Union 14 February 1912
as the 48th state.
I
Artsonan
(SwStr T. 959 1. 200' b. 84' dr. 8' ; cpl. 91 a. 4 32-pdr.
An Arizonan is a native or inhabitant of Arisona.
B. B., 1 80-pdr. R., 1 12-pdr. R.)
(AK: dp. 19,419: 1. 490' b. 57'2" dr. 31'6" B. 10.2 k.
The first Arizona was an iron side-wheel steamer built
cpl. 70; B. 1 5", 1 8"; cl. Alaskan)
in 1859 by Harlan and Hollingsworth Co., Wilmington,
Arizonan, a freighter, was launched 20 September 1902
Del. Taken over by the Confederates, she was renamed
by Union Iron Works, San Francisco, Calif. transferred
Caroline and served as a blockade runner until captured
from the Shipping Board 10 August 1918; and commis-
by Montgomery 28 October 1862 in 29°25' N., 87'35' W.
sioned four days later at Norfolk, Lientenant Commander
She was purchased from the Philadelphia Prize Court 28
H. R. Patterson, USNRF, in command.
January 1868; fitted out at Philadelphia Navy Yard and
Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Serv-
commissioned 8 March 1863 as Arisona, Acting Volunteer
Ice, Arizonan curried cargo to Marseilles, France, until
Lieutenant D. P. Upton in command.
October 1918. She was then converted into a troop trans.
Arizona joined the West Gulf Blockading Squadron
port at Newport News, Va. On 17 December she trans-
and took part in the capture of Aurelia, La, (28 March
ferred to the Cruiser and Transport Force, Atlantic
1883) ; destruction of CSS Queen of the West (14 April)
Fleet. and by 2 September 1919 had returned 7794 service-
capture of Butte a la Rose (20 April) ; in action with
men from Europe. She was decommissioned and return-
Confederate vessels in Red River (S-4 May) ; attack on
ed to the Shipping Board 29 September 1919 at Hoboken,
Fort Beauregard, La. (7 May) ; capture of Fort De
N. J.
Russy, La, (9 May) : and the attack on Sabine Pass, Tex.
(7-8 September). From September 1868 to November
Arkab
1864 she blockaded the Texas coast and in November
1864 she was fitted out as a temporary flagship on the
Arkab 1a a star in the constellation Sagittarius.
Mississippi River, near New Orleans. She was acciden-
tally destroyed by fire 27 February 1865, about 88 miles
(AK-180: dp. 4023 1. 441'6"; b. 56'11"; dr. 28'4";
below New Orleans.
B. 12.5 : cpl. 198 a. 1 5", 18"; cl. Orater)
II
Arkad (AK-180) was launched 22 January 1944 as
Warren Stone by Delta Shipbuilding Corp., New Orleans,
On 15 May 1869 the acrew cruiser Neshaming was re-
La., for the Maritime Commission sponsored by Mrs. C. E.
named Arizona, but her name was changed again, 10
Williams; transferred to the Navy 21 February 1944; and
August 1869. to Nevade (q. v.).
commissioned the same day, Commander C. D. Schutz,
USNR, in command. She was decommissioned 25 Febru-
III
ary for conversion to a naval vessel by Alabama Dry Dock
and Shipbuilding Corp., Mobile, Ala., and recommissioned
(BE-89: dp. 31,400; 1. 608'; b. 97'1"; dr. 29'10"; B. 21
15 May 1944, Commander F. F. Enachel, USNR, in
k; cpl. 915; a. 12 14", 22 5", 2 21" TT,; cl. Penn-
command.
sylvanta)
Arkab sailed from Jacksonville, na., 18 July 1944 for
The third Arisona (BB-89) was launched 19 June
the Pacific. For the next year she provisioned bases at
1915 by New York Navy Yard sponsored by Miss Esther
Samoa, New Caledonia, the Admiralties, the Marianas,
Ross; and commissioned 17 October 1916, Captain J. D.
and the Marshalls. With the end of World War II she
McDonald in command.
brought home men end material from the Pacific islands,
completing her last voyage at Norfolk 16 December 1945.
61
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rck. tle between Monitory opery 1863.
Hampton Roads adversary until arriving at Key West on 15
saved: but efforts to salvage the ship were unsuccess-
ful. The ship's hulk was sold at Nassau, New Provi-
th San Jaointo rechere she was attached to the East Gulf Blockading
dence, on 17 May 1871.
he and remained inadron as flagship. However, soon after she began
North Atlantic B duty, word reached Key West that CSS Florida
II
Union naval through the blockade from Mobile and was
THE THE Jacinto to sail for Cuba and blockade the
On 22 January, Rear Admiral Bailey or-
(CVL-80: dp. 11,000; 1. 622'6"; b. 71'6"; ew. 109'6";
dr. 26'; 8. 31.6 k.; cpl. 1,549; a. 28 40mm, 40 20mm,
I } cruiser if she were in port or to chase and
ac. 45; cl. Independence)
rounded Sewell's Poarted. The Union frigate quickly put to sea but
Sture or destroy her if the commerce raider had
The second San Jacinto (CVL-30) was laid down as
SS Raleigh approachuary; sailed north on 4 February; and reached the
nder the ironclad's and little trace of Florida. She broke her shaft on 30
the light cruiser, Newark (CL-100), on 26 October
1942 by the New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J.;
red three small Usw York Navy Yard on the 16th for repairs.
redesignated CV-30 and renamed Reprisal on 2 June
major ready for action, San Jacinto departed New
1942; renamed San Jacinto on 30 January 1948; con-
ships retired upatrik on 24 June and returned to Key West on 1 July.
verted, while building, to a light aircraft carrier and
reclassified as CVL-30; launched on 26 September
arrived in Hampimiral Bailey's Aagship, and she performed that duty
be celebrated Independence Day by becoming Rear
1948; sponsored by Mrs. Jesse Jones; and commis-
ni, to take persontil relieved by Dale on 5 September.
sioned on 15 November 1943, Capt. Harold M. Martin,
Campaign: and, The ship then took up blockade duty off Mobile, Ala.
in command.
ander in Chief in in the afternoon of the 11th, her masthead lookout
After shakedown in the Caribbean, San Jacinto
r, San "black smoke bearing about south," and San
sailed, via the Panama Canal, San Diego, and Pearl
Harbor, for the Pacific war zone. Arriving at Majuro,
set out in pursuit of the steamer. During the
Marshall Islands, she became part of the growing
the lookout spotted blockade runner, For,
might of Vice Admiral Marc A, Mitscher's Task Force
tointo helped to phanged course for Mobile, hoping to intercept the
to sround and burning. About dusk, San Jacinto
58/38, the fast carrier striking force of the Pacific
troops occupied beeing vessel if she attempted to dash into that port.
Fleet. There, San Jacinto embarked Air Group 51,
rs of 11 May, Vehis strategy proved sound for, early the next morn-
whose fighters and torpedo planes would be the ship's
ern ironclad ablang, the Union steam frigate found that her quarry
chief weapons in battle.
After providing search patrols to protect other car-
insula and its subhoal water and sent her first cutter after the steamer.
Confederate nawNear the Chandeleur Islands, San Jacinto anchored in
was again within sight; and the chase began again.
riers striking at Wake and Marcus Islands, San Ja-
cinto, by 5 June 1944, was ready to participate in the
free to resume That evening shortly before twilight, the blockade run-
largest fleet action since the battle of Midway, almost
ton Roads on ther-which happened to bear the name of the frigate's
exactly two years before. On that day, Task Force 58
L. Lardner, anold adversary, Alabama-ran ashore and was aban-
sortied from Majuro and headed toward the Marianas
Three days laterioned. Before San Jacinto's cutter could reach the
to conduct air strikes preparatory to American seizure
of Saipan and to protect the invasion forces from
an in command obrize, Union blockader, Eugenie, arrived upon the
enemy air and naval attack.
and San Jacintecene and took possession of the blockade runner.
This American thrust triggered a strong Japanese
flagship was ulDavis, after a two-hour chase. This blockade runner
On the 16th, San Jacinto captured steamer, Lizzie
reaction: on 19 June, the Japanese Fleet launched
rted that yellowhed departed from Havana laden with lead and was
more than 400 planes against the invasion fleet and the
covering carrier force. In the ensuing air hattle, known
nd, the next day endeavoring to dash into Mobile. On 6 October, San
to American pilots as the "Marianas Turkey Shoot,"
arantine area on
Jacinto was within signal distance when United States
more than 800 enemy planes were shot down. While
Schooner, Beauregard, took possession of Last Trial
San Jacinto's planes were achieving their most one-
San Jacinto, as
after heavy weather had forced that Southern sloop to
sided victory of the war, her gunners helped to down
ading Squadron,
seek shelter near Key West. On 16 December, Ariel, a
the few attackers able to get near the American ships.
four
.C. However, Hower,
tender to San Jacinto, captured Confederate sloop,
Then, at dusk, Admiral Mitscher dispatched an all-
Magnolia; and, on the 24th, schooner, Fox, another of
carrier attack after the retreating enemy fleet. The
ide, orders left
San Jacinto's tenders, took British schooner, Edward,
night recovery of the returning planes was accom-
immediately to
trying to carry salt and lead from Havana to the
plished amid considerable confusion. Reportedly, a Jap-
coal, and steam
Suwanee River. On the morning of 7 January 1864,
anese carrier plane attempted a landing approach on
ia in search of
San Jacinto overtook schooner, Roebuck, after a two-
San Jacinto, only to be waved off by the landing signal
ich the elusive
hour chase, and deprived the Confederacy of a general
officer because its hook wasn't down.
blows against
cargo Including much clothing and lead. In another two-
San Jacinto then participated in strikes against Rota
used Northern
hour chase on 11 March, San Jacinto ran an unnamed
and Guam and furnished combat air patrol (CAP) and
schooner (formerly called Lealtad) aground. She then
antisubmarine patrol (ASP) for her task group. Dur-
I and reached
took possession of this prize which was laden with
ing these raids, a San Jacinto fighter pilot was shot
Washington
cotton and turpentine for export.
down over Guam and spent 17 days in B life raft
Yellow fever again struck the veteran warship the
trying to attract attention and 16 nights hiding on the
altered her
following summer; and San Jacinto-carrying Rear
island.
ailed on the
Admiral Bailey, now dangerously ill with the disease—
After a refueling and replenishment stop at Eniwe-
muda to the
departed Key West on 7 August and sailed north
tok Atoll, San Jacinto joined in carrier strikes against
the frigate
hoping for a quick restoration of the crew to good
the Palaus on 15 July. On 5 August, her targets were
: Caribbean.
health. She reached the quarantine area at New York
Chichi, Haha, and Iwo Jima. A brief stop at Eniwetok
ral warship
Harbor on the 18th; but, the next day was ordered to
preceded dawn-to-dusk CAP and ASP duty while other
eached Fort
fill up with coal and set out in pursuit of Confederate
I there the
carriers struck at Yap, Ulithi, Anguar, and Babel-
cruiser, Tallahasses. The ship sailed on the 19th and
thuap, pinning down Japanese air forces while the
lary in the
raced as far north as Halifax, Nova Scotia, without
Palaus were being assaulted on 15 September.
ance to the
finding the Southern commerce raider.
Following a replenishment stop at Manus, Admiralty
equired by
After the ship put in at Portsmouth, N.H., she
Islands, San Jacinto joined in strikes against Okinawa
er to com-
received long overdue repairs. She returned to Key
and furnished photographic planes to get information
dark and
West on 3 December and resumed her role as squadron
luring the
necessary for future invasion plans. After refueling at
flagship a week later. Toward the end of the month,
sea, she once again supplied dawn-to-dusk air protec-
until cer.
she was relieved of this duty and sailed for the Baha-
tion as other carriers sent strikes against Formosa,
secluded
mas. On New Year's Day, 1865, the ship struck a reef
1. On the
northern Luzon, and the Manila Bay area from 12 to
near Great Abaco Island and filled with water. Her
d for her
19 October. During operations on 17 October, a fighter
guns, along with some equipment and provisions, were
plane made a very hard landing and inadvertently
297
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7021 11-15-91 11:23
7036950699-
92024566218:# 4
fired its machine guns into the ship's island structure
15 May 1959; she was struck from the Navy list on 1
In A
killing two men; wounding 24, including her command-
June 1970.
reco
ing officer; and causing considerable damage to radar.
San Jacinto earned five battle stars and was
Dies
Despite this accident, San Jacinto remained battlewor-
awarded the Presidential Unit citation. Her hull was
Japa
thy.
sold for scrapping on 15 December 1971 to National
LS
As American troops landed on Leyte in the central
Metal and Steel Co., Terminal Island, Calif.
week
Philippines on 20 October, San Jacinto provided close
Arm
air support. On 24 October, this mission was inter-
carri
rupted by news of the tri-pronged approach of the
San Joaquin
turn
Japanese fleet which precipitated the largest fleet bat-
A river in central California.
into
tle in naval history.
pass
San Jacinto sent planes against the central force in
I
in J
the Sibuyan Sea; then raced north to launch strikes
duct.
against the northern force, resulting in heavy damage
(YFNB: t. 1,551; 1. 219'91/2'; b. 41'7"; dph. 24'2"; nsp.)
carg
to the Japanese carriers and surface combatants off
she
Cape Engano. On 30 October, her fighters furnished
The first San Joaquin, a wooden, schooner-rigged
men'
air protection over Leyte while her guns shot down two
harge, built during 1876 at Freeport, Maine, was pur-
chased during 1918 by the Navy from the Luckenbach
Japa
planes attempting suicide attacks on the ship, After a
5 No
pause at Ulithi, the carrier joined in attacks on the
Steam Ship Co., and placed in service on 8 August
end
Manila Bay area; then took a side trip to Guam to
1918, Chief Boatswain's Mate John J. Miller in charge.
She
exchange air groups, receiving Air Group 45. She
Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation
cond
received slight damage during a typhoon in December
Service as a non-self-propelled lighter, San Joaquin
1944.
made seven round-trip voyages between Norfolk and
phib
New England ports transporting coal. During these
ary
After completing repairs at Ulithi, San Jacinto and
on 1
the rest of her fast carrier force entered the South
operations, San Joaquin was towed by the tugs Alle-
ties
China Sea and launched massive air attacks on the
sheny, Billow, Mohave, Pensacola, and Sagamore. She
cont
airfields of Formosa and against shipping at Cam
was detached on 27 March 1919 and assigned to local
Puse
Ranh Bay, French Indochina, and at Hong Kong. By
duty within the 5th Naval District. San Joaquin was
Fo
refueling and replenishing at sea, Task Force 38 was
struck from the Navy list on 18 June 1919 and sold on
11 September 1919 to the Neptune Line of New York,
port
able to continue its pressure on the enemy and stra-
twee
tegic support for the American invasion of Luzon by
N.Y.
true.
strikes against the Ryukyu Islands.
Oper
Next, San Jacinto joined in the first carrier strikes
late
against the home islands of Japan. During the raids on
San Joaquin (AKA-109), a Tolland class attack
islai
16 and 17 February 1945, carrier-based aircraft downed
cargo ship, was laid down on 17 August 1945 by the
stag
many enemy planes during fierce dogfights over air-
Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Kearny,
retu
fields in the Tokyo area. These operations were de-
N.J. Further construction, however, was cancelled on
ous
signed to cover the imminent invasion of Iwo Jima,
27 August 1945.
A
Next came air support for the landing marines, fol-
Con,
lowed by further strikes against Tokyo and Okinawa
cent
before San Jacinto returned to Ulithi.
San Joaquin County
trai-
While conducting operations off Kyushu, Japan, she
simi
witnessed the conflagration on Franklin (CV-18) and,
A county in California,
alon,
on 19 March 1945, narrowly escaped destruction her-
(LST-1122: dp. 1,625; 1. 328'; b. 50'; dr. 11'2"; B.
1st
self when & kamikaze barely missed her. More massive
12 k; cpl. 226; a. 8 40mm., 12 20mm.; cl. LST-542)
char
enemy attacks came with Operation "Iceberg" as the
ber
carrier force furnished air support for the invasion of
LST-1122 was laid down on 30 October 1944 by the
sup)
Okinawa. On 5 April, more than 500 planes, primarily.
Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., Seneca, III.; launched on
Win
kamikazes, attacked. Fighter planes and antiaircraft
24 January 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Alice S. Weaver;
saile
guns shot down about 800, but many got through. San
placed in reduced commission on 2 February 1945 for
and
Jacinto's gunners shot the wing off a would-be suicide
ferrying to New Orleans; and commissioned in full on
Nov
plane, deflacting its dive, and splashed another only 50
14 February 1945, Lt. L, L. Hutchinson, USNR, in
Nah
feet off her port how. Her mission of covering the
command.
A
Okinawa invasion entailed heavy air activity and kept
Following shakedown off Pensacola, Fla., LST-1122
mon
the ship almost constantly at general quarters while
loaded cargo at Gulfport and steamed via the Panama
whe
supporting ground forces and repelling frequent at-
Canal to the Pacific. In mid-May, she arrived at Pearl
Phi
tacks by suicide planes. On 7 April, San Jacinto's
Harbor, whence she continued on to deliver cargo in
On
bombers torpedoed Japanese destroyer, Hamakaze, part
the Marshalls, the Western Carolines, the Ryukyus,
she
of a naval suicide attack in which super battleship,
and the Marianas. After the cessation of hostilities in
phil
Yamato, was also sunk. San Jacinto then returned to
mid-August, she continued her cargo and passenger
off
the dangerous job of defending against the suicide
runs. In September, she extended her range to include
mai
plane attacks, striking at the kamikaze airfields on
the Philippines and the Japanese home islands, in
on 1
Kyushu, and providing close air support for ground
which areas she continued to operate through the end
A
forces fighting on Okinawa. On 5 June, she success-
of the year.
tion
fully rode out another typhoon and, after replenishing
With the new year, 1946, the tank landing ship was
Sou.
at Leyte, sortied for her final raids as part of Task
Force 58. Her aircraft struck at Hokkaide and Hon-
ordered back to the United States. On 18 February,
at
she arrived at San Francisco. In May, she shifted to
assi
shu, Japan, on 8 July and continued to operate off the
San Diego, whence she conducted operations, primarily
912
coast of Japan until the end of hostilities on 15 August
off California, until 1949. In January of that year, she
she
1945. Her air missions over Japan then became mercy
moved north; conducted exercises in the Aleutians;
mur
flights over Allied prisoner-of-war camps, dropping
food and medicine until the men could be rescued. Her
and returned to San Diego in March. The following
the
month, she joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet; and, on 13
at $
wartime mission completed, San Jacinto returned home
June, she was decommissioned and berthed at San
and tied up at Alameda, Calif., on 14 September 1945,
S
Diego.
Cov
She was decommissioned on 1 March 1947 and joined
In June 1950, hostilities again broke out in the Far
she
the Pacific Reserve Fleet berthed at San Diego. Reclas-
East as the North Korean People's Army pushed past
und
sified as an auxiliary aircraft transport (AVT-5) on
the 38th Parallel into the Republic of (South) Korea.
dut
298
U.S. NEWS
Bush's own
war story
A new book reveals what a young
bomber pilot learned about
himself and combat when he
faced death in World War II
n Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, George
Bush was walking across the
campus of his prep school, Phil-
lips Academy in Andover, Mass., when
he heard about Pearl Harbor. "My re-
action was one of shock, almost disbe-
lief," he recalls. "I didn't fully compre-
hend world affairs. My interests were
our undefeated soccer season just fin-
ished, basketball-baseball just coming
up. Christmas vacation was only a cou-
ple of weeks away and then graduation.
Then I guess that was followed by the
typical American reaction that we had
better do something about this. I re-
member the country's instant coming
together for a common purpose, and
my own gut feeling was the same as that
of many young Americans- - we wanted
to fight for our country." On that day,
at age 17, Bush decided to enlist in the
Navy - and embarked on an experience
that imprinted his sense of leadership
and America's role in the world.
He graduated that June and two
months later bade his tearful father
good-bye at New York's Penn Station
as he headed for Chapel Hill, N.C., and
aviation school. "It was the first time I
had ever seen my dad cry," Bush re-
calls. The training was monotonous, but
the flying was glorious. Some 48 years
later, recalling his first solo flight, Bush
says, "It is hard for nonpilots to under-
stand the joy of a first solo flight. All of
us who soloed thought we were 20 feet
tall." And he later found night flying
"darn good fun," though he never did
like aerial acrobatics. "All work average
except stunts are a trifle weak," one in-
structor noted. And another, Ens. Ed-
ward C. Fritz, noted in Bush's fitness
report the following March that the
young aviator had above-average marks
26
PAINTING BY ALAN REINGOLD FOR USN&WR
in every department: "Aviation Cadet
While the mission was not expected
grown fond of in China." He was con-
Bush is an upstanding lad with great
to be particularly tough, the men had
victed and executed in 1947.)
self-confidence. It appears, however,
one terrifying concern about Chichi
With the other squadron members,
that he may be somewhat eccentric."
Jima. It was believed to be in the hands
Bush was briefed on the bombing mis-
He later explained that eccentric meant
of a sadist named Maj. Sueo Matoba.
sion, which was to pave the way for a
"divergence from the usual-and
The fate of American airmen captured
massive Marine assault on the island.
events since we flew together have cer-
by the Japanese was often grim; reports
He took particular comfort in hearing
tainly proven me right."
of grisly deaths-prisoners beheaded or
that he would not encounter Japanese
Meeting the Avenger. Bush got his
used for bayonet practice Al-
fighter planes. Since there wouldn't be
gold wings on June 9, 1943, and days
lied intelligence, and the fliers were
a dogfight, he also figured it was all
later was sent to Fort Lauderdale to
warned. Squadrons in the Pacific were
right to allow an acquaintance, Lt. (j.g.)
learn to fly a torpedo bomber called the
shown a picture, purportedly taken by a
William Gardner "Ted" White, to go
Avenger. It was the biggest single-en-
Japanese soldier on Chichi Jima, that
on the mission in place of his regular
gine, carrier-based plane in the Navy.
showed a Japanese officer lifting a sam-
gunner, Lee Nadeau. As always, De-
On the ground, the Avenger-its huge
urai sword, about to behead a bound
laney would be the radioman.
belly bulging with a ton of bombs-
and blindfolded Allied aviator. The
By 8:15, Bush's team was over the is-
looked like some aberrant barnyard
land, flying in a diamond formation.
THE WHITE HOUSE
fowl. It was known throughout the Navy
Bush was piloting the third plane over
as the Pregnant Turkey.
the target, with his friend Milt Moore
He spent the next 11 months learning
flying on his wing. As Bush nosed over
how to fly it and land it on carriers. And,
into a 30-degree glide, heading straight
like all those around him, Bush won-
for the radio tower, the first Japanese
dered when he'd ever see combat. He
antiaircraft fire cut through the sky. Bush
had never considered the possibility that
used no evasive tactics and held the plane
he might die. He knew that pilots were
directly on target. The plane was de-
killed, were even considered expendable
scending through thickening clouds of
by the Navy. But like most 19-year-olds,
flak pierced by the flaming arc of tracers.
he couldn't imagine that at some time in
Then, there was a sudden flash of light
the future he might be one of those to be
followed by an explosion. "The plane
brought down by antiaircraft fire in a
was lifted forward, and we were envel-
burning plane. He had too much faith
oped in flames," Bush recalls. "I saw the
in his training and ability.
flames running along the wings where
By the end of the year, he had ac-
the fuel tanks were and where the wings
quired a crew-a gunner named
fold. I thought, "This is really bad!' It's
Lee Nadeau and a radioman-tail
hard to remember the details, but I
gunner named John Delaney-
looked at the instruments and couldn't
and an assignment to a newly
see them for the smoke." Bush neverthe-
commissioned light carrier
less continued his bomb run. Finally over
named San Jacinto. It took an-
the target, his view from the canopy all
other six months for the ship to
but blinded by the thick smoke, he re-
enter the fire zone. But on May
leased his bombs. All four bombs made
23, 1944, Bush got his first taste
Bomber team. Bush with crewmen Joe
direct hits on the radio tower, which dis-
of combat over Wake Island,
Reichert, left, and Lee Nadeau, right
appeared in swirling flames and flying
some 2,300 miles due west of
debris. He lifted the plane from its dive
Pearl Harbor. "The first sight
photograph was later reproduced in
and turned back out toward the water.
of the antiaircraft bursts
Life, and Bush recalls having seen it and
The bailout. By then the wings were
made a lasting impression on
thinking that if a pilot survived a crash,
covered in flames and smoke, and the
me," he says. "Yet I have
it would be far better to drown than be
engine was blazing. He considered mak-
never forgotten the beauty of
captured by the Japanese.
ing a water landing, but realized it would
the area from the sky." That
No one knew, however, that on Chi-
not be possible. Bailing out was absolute-
day, Bush's roommate disap-
chi Jima, thanks to the depravity of Ma-
ly the last choice. He had no other option.
peared over sea and the young
jor Matoba, American prisoners were
He got on the radio and notified squad-
airman cried himself to sleep.
being mistreated in a way that defies
ron leader Don Melvin of his decision.
"No one saw me; that wouldn't
belief. Several Korean laborers report-
Melvin radioed back: "Received your
do," he recalls.
ed after the war that many of the cap-
message. Got you in sight. Will follow."
The fateful bombing run. The
tured pilots had been executed, cut into
As soon as he was back over water,
next three months were a violent
pieces and eaten. Major Matoba, they
Bush shouted on the intercom for White
prelude to the most dramatic day
said, had ordered his doctor to cut out
and Delaney to "hit the silk!" (meaning
in Bush's life, September 2. He saw
the liver of an American aviator, which
eject and parachute into the ocean).
action in several battles and had to
was then fed to the enlisted prisoners,
There was no response from either of
ditch his plane at the time, full of
and had even tricked the naval officers
Bush's crewmen and no way he could see
bombs in the sea. Ironically, the fate-
into eating flesh from the thigh of the
them; a shield of armor plate between
ful day for him was one that had been
body: It was served in place of goat
him and Lieutenant White blocked his
billed as fairly routine. His squadron's
meat at the admiral's mess. When they
view behind. He was certain that White
mission on September 2 was to destroy
learned what they had eaten, many of
and Delaney had bailed out the moment
a Japanese radio transmitter on a small
the officers vomited, but the major of-
they got the order. In fact, neither did
island called Chichi Jima, one of the
ten boasted of his little joke. (Matoba
and both died in the subsequent crash.
three islands in the Bonin chain an-
later admitted at a war-crimes trial that
Bush turned back over the water, lev-
other of which was Iwo Jima.
cannibalism "was a practice I had
eled his plane, disconnected his headset,
U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT, DECEMBER 31, 1990 JANUARY 7. 1991
27
THE
WHITE
NEWS
released his safety belt and harness and
then pushed himself out of the seat and
canopy. The wind tore at his body and
blurred his vision. He knew he was about
2,000 feet above the water, which meant
he had time to dive headfirst onto the
wing so that the wind could pull him
away from the plane and the tail section.
But he had never done it before, nor had
any other pilot he knew. When he
plunged over the side, he banged his
head on the tail and jerked the para-
chute ripcord too soon. The slipstream
(air driven backward) had caught his
body, all 161 pounds of it, and thrown
him toward the tail of the plane. His
head grazed the starboard elevator, and
his chute snagged on the tail and ripped.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Because of the torn panels in the
Ready to fight. Bush,
parachute, he plummeted through the
standing third from right,
air far too fast. All at once the tedious
above, with officers at the
hours of emergency training paid off.
Norfolk Naval Air Station,
Rule No. 1 in bailing out at sea: Don't
was one of the youngest
get tangled in the parachute after hit-
bomber pilots commissioned
ting the water; the weight could sink
during the war. His
you or the chute wrap around you, mak-
instructors generally found
ing it impossible to move. Although
he had above-average skills,
stunned by the blow to his head, Bush
but he hated doing air
had sufficient presence of mind to start
stunts. When he finally
unbuckling his seat straps on the way
learned the fine points of
down. The parachute drifted away from
landing on carriers, Bush
him, and he plunged the last 20 feet
exulted that it "gets the
straight into the water.
adrenaline flowing." His
Kicking with his legs to stay afloat, he
crew mates painted his
yanked the toggles on his life vest. It
girlfriend Barbara Pierce's
inflated properly, but he was not yet out
name on each of the
of trouble. He was being nearly pulled
bombers he flew.
under by the weight of his watersoaked
flight suit. Gasping, he removed his
shoes and struggled to the surface.
glimpsed-or was he seeing things?-
died. Given the configuration of the
Blood streamed down from a cut on his
between one swell and another, then a
plane, it was impossible for the gunner
head as he began to tread water, search-
larger spot, finally a massive form com-
to wear a parachute. "The plan we had
ing for the life raft that had been his seat
ing right toward him. "At first I
rehearsed countless times was for Del
cushion. A Hellcat swooped down and
thought, 'Maybe I'm delirious,' and
[Delaney] to unhook my chute from the
drew his attention toward the raft bob-
when I concluded it was a submarine all
bulkhead and hand it to me when I came
bing about 50 feet away. He swam for it,
right, I feared that it might be Japanese.
down the hatch into his compartment,"
hoping it hadn't been damaged by the
It just seemed too lucky and too far-
says Nadeau. "And then he would bail
fall and would inflate. It did. Bush
fetched that it would be an American
out first through the starboard-side en-
hauled himself aboard and discovered
submarine." The moment he was
try door. I'm sure Del did as we re-
that the emergency container attached
picked up by the Finback was recorded
hearsed and stayed in the plane until he
to the raft had been smashed. The real-
by a crewman-and later became part
could hook up White, unless White had
ization that he was without fresh water
of the Bush lore that his presidential
been killed by the gunfire that raked the
brought him near despair. The raft's
campaign used to good advantage.
plane. Del was wearing a chest chute,
paddles had also been lost.
Six days after his rescue Bush wrote to
and they were notorious for not open-
No matter how hard he struggled, the
his parents of the crash, his escape and
ing, particularly if they had been packed
ocean was going to take him to the is-
the death of his crew: "I try to think
a long time, as had his chute. Chances
land he had just bombed, right into the
about it as little as possible, yet I cannot
are that Del was the first one out and
hands of the enemy. He felt tired and
get the thought of those two [Delaney
White went down with the plane." An-
knew he was alone: The sky was bright
and White] out of my mind. Oh, I'm
other American pilot that day had re-
blue and clear-no planes anywhere in
O.K. - I want to fly again and I won't be
ported seeing a "streamer" - man
sight. He prayed and thought, "This is
scared of it, but I know I won't be able to
whose parachute failed to open.
it it's all over."
shake the memory of this incident and I
Yet the young pilot's brushes with
The rescue. Bush recalls that he had
don't believe I want to completely."
death were not over. While Bush was
been in the water for almost 3 hours
Though no one can know for sure,
aboard, the Finback was depth-charged
when the submarine appeared. At first
Lee Nadeau, Bush's regular crewman
twice by Japanese ships. The rescued
it seemed like an apparition. He saw it
who didn't ride in the plane that day, has
pilots sat in the wardroom along with
grow, first a small, dark speck
a theory about why Delaney and White
one crewman and sweated it out. "That
30
U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT. DECEMBER 31. 1990 JANUARY 7. 1991
HOUSE
THE WHITE HOUSE
Safe haven. A sailor on the
submarine Finback shot this
film of Bush's rescue on
Sept. 2, 1944, after his plane
was downed by antiaircraft
fire from the Japanese-
controlled island Chichi
Jima. Bush ejected after
finishing his bombing
mission, but two other
crewmen on his plane died.
While he awaited rescue,
Bush, who had seen this
picture of a beheading on
Chichi Jima, was most
frightened he would be
captured by forces connected
to a sadist named Matoba,
who commanded the island.
COURTESY LIFE MAGAZINE
t,
le
n,
oned
nd
tills,
experience was far scarier than an air-
People talk about a kind of foxhole
Bush was awarded a Distinguished
plane bombing run," Bush recalls. "At
Christianity, where you're in trouble and
Flying Cross soon after rejoining the car-
least in the plane you controlled your
think you're going to die, and so you
rier. He flew several more missions-
destiny to some extent: You could see
want to make everything right with God
including one with a new radioman-gun-
puffs of smoke coming at you, and you
and everybody else right there in the last
ner named Joe Reichert that involved a
knew what the problem was. But there,
minute. But this was just the opposite of
dangerous emergency landing-before
underwater, all you could do was hope
that. I had already faced death, and God
the San Jacinto ended its tour of duty in
like hell that the enemy wouldn't put an
had spared me. I had this very deep and
late November. He returned to the States
explosive on top of you. The real sub-
profound gratitude and a sense of won-
and awaited another combat assignment.
mariners weren't that worried about it;
der. Sometimes when there is a disaster,
But that wasn't necessary. On Aug. 14,
they'd been through it all before. But
people will pray, 'Why me?' In an oppo-
1945, Japan unconditionally surren-
for me, there was a certain helplessness.
site way I had the same question: Why
dered. Bush celebrated with his new wife
Having no assigned duty made it even
had I been spared, and what did God
Barbara in Virginia Beach: "It was unbe-
worse-waiting for one explosion and
have in store for me?
lievable joy, rejoicing with our fellow pi-
then the next. There were times when it
"As you grow older and try to retrace
lots down the street, with this tremen-
felt as though the sub would shake
the steps that made you the person that
dous outpouring of emotion."
apart. I felt trapped and scared."
you are, the signposts to look for are
On Sept. 18, 1945, George Herbert
Deep revelations. It was those times
those special times of insight. I remem-
Walker Bush was discharged from the
when the Finback was on the surface at
ber my days and nights aboard the Fin-
Navy on "points" compiled by his months
night and he was standing the midnight-
back as one of those times maybe the
in combat and the decoration he had
to-4 a.m. watch that Bush most enjoyed.
most important of them all. There wasn't
been awarded. After logging 1,228 hours
"I'll never forget the beauty of the Pacif-
a sudden revelation of what I wanted to
of flying time, 126 carrier landings and 58
ic," Bush says. "It was absolutely dark in
do with the rest of my life, but there was
missions, his role in the Pacific campaign
the middle of the Pacific; the nights were
an awakening. There's no question that
was over and he had survived.
so clear and the stars so brilliant. It was
underlying all that were my own religious
wonderful and energizing, a time to talk
beliefs. In my own view there's got to be
EXCERPTED FROM FLIGHT OF THE AVENGER
to God. I had time to reflect, to go deep
some kind of destiny and I was being
BY JOE HYAMS. COPYRIGHT © 1991 BY JOE HYAMS. To BE
inside myself and search for answers.
spared for something on earth."
PUBLISHED BY HARCOURT BRACE JOVANOVICH. INC.
U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT. DECEMBER 31, 1990 JANUARY 7, 1991
31
Grant/Simon
A:Kilo-8.ts Draft three
December 2, 1991
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: ADDRESS WWII VETERANS AND FAMILIES
KILO EIGHT, HONOLULU, HAWAII
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1991
9:50 A.M.
[Acknowledgements]
I remember exactly when I first heard the news about Pearl
Harbor -- as I'm sure all of you do, too. I was seventeen years
old, walking across the yard in high school. My thoughts in
those days didn't turn to world events, but mainly to simpler
things: making the basketball team, entering college. That walk
across campus marked an end of innocence for me, and someone
later described the attack as the instant "when the impossible
happened, when warfare suddenly spread, for the first and only
time in history, to virtually the whole world."
When Americans heard the news, they froze in shock. But
just as quickly we came together. I was swept up in it -- I
became determined that very day. I wanted to be a Navy pilot.
And so, on my 18th birthday, I was sworn into the Navy as a
Seaman Second Class. Just a scared and nervous kid, learning how
to fly the "low and slow" torpedo bombers
...
I named my Grumman
Avenger for Barbara. I was shocked at my first sight of Pearl
Harbor in April of '44: we came into port on the San Jacinto, and
docked right behind the Essex. Nearby, the Utah was still on her
side, and parts of the Arizona still poked through the water.
Everywhere the skeletons of ships reached out, as if to demand
remembrance -- and warn us of our own mortality.
2
Heading out with Admiral Mitscher's Fleet, we quickly saw
the face of battle -- I wrote letters to the families of crewmen
who didn't return from bombing runs, and I prayed for my buddies
when their planes got hit. I lost friends. We all did.
A thousand men died in a matter of minutes on this site, a
half century ago. Many more died that same day as Japanese
forces assaulted the Philippines, Guam, Wake Island, Midway
Island, Malaya and Hong Kong. The first blasts at Pearl Harbor
annihilated our national illusions. They demonstrated to one and
all the futility of isolationism, the stupidity of complacency,
and the importance of preparedness. In "the two hours that
changed the world," Pearl Harbor propelled each of us into a
titanic contest for mankind's future. It galvanized the American
spirit as never before into a single-minded resolve that could
produce only one thing: victory.
Churchill knew it as soon as he heard the news that night.
After the loss at Dunkirk, the Fall of France, the blitz of
London, the scourge of the U-boats, he said that once America had
been attacked, there was "no more doubt about the end. " He knew
then that the American spirit would not fail.
The next day, President Roosevelt proclaimed the singular
American objective: "With confidence in our armed forces -- with
the unbounding determination of our people -- we will gain the
inevitable triumph -- so help us God." It was the steadfastness
of the American people that would "win the war" and "win the
peace that follows."
3
We triumphed in both, despite the fact that the American
people did not want to be drawn into the initial conflict -- "the
unsought war," it's been called. Ironically, isolationists
gathered together at an "America First" rally in Pittsburgh at
precisely the moment that bombs here were sending Americans to
early, violent deaths. Before nightfall, our Nation discovered
that isolationism really boils down to defeatism, defiant self-
doubt -- it involves a childlike fear that evil will go away if
we just avert our eyes. You cannot defeat tyranny by avoiding
it. You cannot meet the challenges of world leadership by
retreating from the world. Fifty years after Pearl Harbor, we
know that despite our two oceans, no nation is an island.
Those who call today for an "America First" isolationism,
like those who rallied in Pittsburgh 50 years ago, don't see the
danger -- military and economic -- that isolationism invites. As
science and technology change, so do the means and methods of
warfare. Sneak attacks -- from terrorists, military strongmen,
and renegade nations bent on aggression -- now occupy our
attention, just as superpower tensions did a couple of years ago.
Events in the Persian Gulf, Yugoslavia, the Middle East and
elsewhere prove that the post-Cold War world is a volatile place.
Isolationists also overlook the gains from engagement. The
United States is a Pacific nation. Next month in Asia, I'll
discuss with our Pacific allies their responsibility to share the
burdens of leadership with us in the new world order. We will
discuss our economic and political responsibilities; our roles as
4
trading partners and political allies. Together, we will
continue our march to secure free markets and free people.
Fifty years ago, we paid a heavy price for complacency and
overconfidence. We failed to make proper use of new radar
technology that day in Pearl Harbor, and hundreds of people died
for it. The people of Hawaii learned the hard way the importance
of defense technologies. Today they stand at the forefront of
developing the Strategic Defense Initiative, to protect America
from future surprise attacks. In fact, this year's defense
budget increased funding for SDI, and we have, for the first
time, committed to deployment of a ballistic missile defense
system. We will never know where our next enemy lurks. But we
do know the absolute importance of employing 21st Century
technologies to deal with the 21st Century world.
Pearl Harbor proved the value of unity and the strength of
America's resolve. The unity that made us invincible in war, now
makes us secure in peace. To the brave men and women who have
defended our country -- in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Grenada,
Panama and the liberation of Kuwait -- I say this: we will always
remember you -- with gratitude and with pride. We will always be
prepared -- prepared to take on aggression, prepared to step
forward in reconciliation, and prepared to make peace.
It is important to come to grips with the past. No nation
can fully understand itself or find its place in the world if it
does not look with clear eyes at all the glories and degradations
of its past. We in the United States have come to realize the
5
great injustice in our history: that when the rights of any
individual are taken away -- even in time of war -- we are all
threatened. The internment of Americans of Japanese ancestry was
a disgrace to America that will never be repeated.
But despite the internment of their families, thousands of
young men -- including Senator Inouye and the late Senator
Matsunaga -- volunteered in the 100th Infantry Battalion and the
442nd Regimental Combat Team -- nicknamed "Go For Broke." As one
man put it, they placed duty before human rights. In liberating
dozens of French and Italian towns, they ultimately went on what
may be the most decorated unit in U.S. Army history. Nowhere did
mothers display their sons' gold stars more proudly than in the
bleak surroundings of the internment camps. We owe these heroes
a debt of gratitude to this day, and we honor them by working to
end the cultural misunderstanding that separates Japan and
America. Those who use caricature and racial stereotypes for
domestic political ends dishonor these proud Americans. //
The values we cherish as a Nation -- equality of
opportunity, freedom of religion, speech and assembly, free and
vigorous elections -- have become revered by many Nations. Our
greatest victory in World War II took place not on the field of
battle, but in nations we once counted as foes. The ideals of
democracy and liberty have triumphed in a world once threatened
with conquest by tyranny and despotism.
Who would have thought in 1941 that our mortal enemies --
Germany, Japan and Italy -- would now stand with us, as strong
6
allies? Five decades ago we waged a war to banish the shadow of
evil from the world, to let men and women of every country live
in the bright light of liberty. Our victory was great -- and now
Germany, Japan and Italy belong to the community of free nations.
But the struggle for freedom is not complete. We look
forward to the day when the peoples of China, North Korea,
Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Cuba and Burma can enjoy the freedom of
democracy and open economies, and can experience the excitement
of engagement in the community of free nations.
Economic security comes not through aggression but through
shared values -- free people and free markets. Today we
celebrate much of the world's evolution to democracy, as we
commemorate its fallen heroes -- the defenders of freedom -- as
well as the victims of dictatorship, who never saw the light of
liberty. Earlier this year, when former enemies joined us in the
fight against aggression in the Persian Gulf, they joined us to
fight for the values upheld by the Heroes of the Harbor.
Together, we said to those entombed in the Arizona, and buried in
fields around our great land: You did not die in vain.
Earlier this morning, I paid my respects at the Arizona,
where it all began. Behind us stands the Missouri -- where it
ended, where the Japanese signed the Articles of Surrender. But
the Missouri was also the birthplace of democracy in Japan. Soon
after, Emperor Hirohito went to call on General MacArthur, who
noted that the Emperor had a "more thorough grasp of the
democratic concept than almost any [other] Japanese. He played a
7
major role in the spiritual regeneration of Japan." Their
meeting made history, and the postwar era began to take shape.
I thought of the meeting with MacArthur the day in 1989 when
I attended the Emperor's funeral. I thought of it this morning,
too, as I visited the National Cemetery and the Arizona. I was
proud to have served my country, and I understand the anger that
lingers to this day. But this morning I also thought about
Japan's remarkable recovery and about her democracy. I thought
of this as the birthplace of the new world order.
The friends I lost -- we all lost -- upheld a great cause.
Because of their sacrifice, the world now lives in freedom and
peace. It is right that we are here today. And it is right that
we go on from here.
The first time I came to Pearl Harbor, I was a cocky young
Navy pilot who had never even been in a war zone. I had been
trained to appreciate the gravity of war. I saw the wreckage
here. But I had yet to really understand the horrors that
awaited.
By my second visit, I wasn't much older, but I had grown up
fast. I remember flying over the island, trying to imagine the
scene that day three years earlier, when Japanese planes made
their way through the mountain passes and swooped down upon the
harbor. Having faced death and been given another chance to
live, I spent the time in Pearl thinking about the things that
were important to me -- faith and family among them. As you
look back on life, and retrace the steps that made you the person
8
you are, you pick out defining moments, crucial events. Over the
years, Pearl Harbor still defines a part of who I am.
Today, I come as a grown man, a father and a grandfather.
Recently a letter arrived from the son of a Pearl Harbor
survivor, a Navy man named Bill Leu who is here today. His son
writes from his home in Tokyo: "A half century ago, my father's
thoughts were on surviving the attack and winning the war. He
could not have envisioned a future where his son would study and
work in Japan. But he recognizes that the world has changed,
that America's challenges are different. His attitude represents
that of the United States: Do your duty, and raise the next
generation to do its."
I come today as President, to lead the Nation in honoring
the last fifty years, its lessons and its heroes -- and to dream
of the next fifty years, the next generation, and the beginning
of the Next American Century. We must answer our call to destiny
-- because it is America's destiny to lead, to strive -- to be
"man's last best hope on Earth." Today we dream of gaining "that
inevitable triumph ... so help us God."
Today, remembering those we loved and thinking about those
in whom we place our hearts' hopes, we know -- as we knew then
-- that we will not fail. God bless these United States of
America. Thank you.
# # #
November 20, 1991
MEMORANDUM FOR THE FILE
FROM:
BOB SIMON 128
SUBJECT:
PRESIDENT'S VIEWS ON PEARL HARBOR
The President does not want to attack or demonize Hirohito. He
acknowledged that Hirohito tried to make up for the war
afterwards, and noted that he went to see MacArthur.
Make sure we call Japanese-Americans "Americans of Japanese
ancestry."
He definitely does not want to equate dropping the atomic bomb as
equivalent in any way to Pearl Harbor, although we can say
something like "we hope there will never be another nuclear
attack on any city."
The President gave us some language written by former Ambassador
to Japan Mike Mansfield, but said he didn't agree with everything
in it.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
November 29, 1991
MEMORANDUM FOR MARY KATE GRANT
FROM:
BOB SIMON
RS
SUBJECT:
PEARL HARBOR
I read Tony's memo to you and want to whole-heartedly
endorse his idea in the final paragraph about contrasting GB's
first, second, and latest visits to Pearl. I could kick myself
for not thinking of it.
To give you the right feel for the first two, I got this
book for you. Read pp. 72-75 and 134-135 to get the feel for his
first two trips through Pearl. In fact, I'd recommend reading
the whole book. It's interesting and a quick read. You should
also read the epilogue starting on p. 157.
I am also giving you an old, but good short article on GB's
war career.
I would suggest trying to put yourself in Bush's shoes to
capture the emotional impact of those visits to Pearl. In May of
44, Bush had been in the Navy for almost 2 full years but had
never been to the war zone. He went to pre-flight school in
Chapel Hill, NC, took his first flight lessons in the winter of
42-43 in Minneapolis. From 2/43 to 6/43, he flew in sunny Corpus
Christi, which he said was the first place he had ever landed
that wasn't covered with ice and snow. He finished his training
in Florida and Chincoteague on the Eastern Shore. After all
that, plus a shake down cruise to the Caribbean on the San
Jacinto, a trip through the Panama Canal and finally, the last
stop in Pearl, he must have been pretty excited and anxious to go
into battle.
By the time he returned to Pearl five months later, he had
ditched a plane loaded with bombs in the ocean, been shot down by
Japanese next to an island run by a Japanese cannibal, lost two
crewmen, had his roommate killed, watched a pilot crash onto the
deck, with body parts flying everywhere, and spent 30 days in a
submarine getting depth-charged. After all that, his two weeks
of R&R in Pearl playing volleyball on Waikiki must have seemed
like heaven. Remember, too, that after having been shot down, he
didn't have to go back to his ship. He could have avoided future
combat, but chose not to. Instead, he "hitchhiked" back to the
San Jacinto for another month's duty (and what turned out to be
the liberation of the Philippines).
Grant/Simon
A:Kilo-8 Draft one
November 26, 1991
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: ADDRESS WWII VETERANS AND FAMILIES
PEARL HARBOAKILO EIGHT, HONOLULU, HAWAII
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1991
8:30 a.m.
[Acknowledgements]
I remember exactly when I first heard the news about Pearl
Harbor -- as I'm sure all of you do, too. I was seventeen years
old, walking across the grounds at Andover. Things would never
be the same again, I thought -- the whole course of history had
changed. It was, the later news reports said, "a moment when the
impossible happened, when warfare suddenly spread, for the first
and only time in history, to virtually the whole world."
I decided right then to join the service.
And so, on my 18th birthday, I was sworn into the Navy as a
Seaman Second Class. Just a scared and nervous kid, learning how
to fly the "low and slow" torpedo bombers
...
named my Grumman
Avenger for Barbara. I saw Pearl Harbor for the first time in
April of '44, just before heading out with Admiral "Bull"
Halsey's Third Fleet.
We saw very quickly the face of battle -- the gut-wrenching
inhumanity of war. I lost friends. We all did. A thousand men
died in a matter of seconds that day in Pearl Harbor. Despite
the carnage, the shallow water of the Harbor saved most of the
stricken ships, to go on to fight and win other battles in the
cause of freedom. Their salvage is an incredible testament to
the Hawaiian people and the surviving military, working round the
2
clock while watchmen looked out. All but two battleships -- the
some
Arizona and the Oklahoma -- went back to sea in no time.
Pearl Harbor propelled each of us into the titanic contest
for the future of mankind -- the war then raging in Europe and
Asia. It galvanized the American spirit as never before into a
single-minded resolve that could produce only one thing: victory.
Churchill knew it as soon as he heard the news that night. After
the loss at Dunkirk, the Fall of France, the blitz of London, the
scourge of the U-boats, he said that once America had been
attacked, at last there was "no more doubt about the end."
The next day, President Roosevelt proclaimed the singular
American objective: "With confidence in our armed forces -- with
the unbounding determination of our people -- we will gain the
inevitable triumph -- so help us God. " It was the steadfastness
of the American people that would "win the war" and "win the
peace that follows. "
We triumphed in both, despite the fact that the American
people did not want to be drawn into the initial conflict -- "the
while the while the attach
unsought war," it's been called. In fact, the very afternoon of
on Pearl Hurba was still going on
just starting
the attack, an "America First" rally was being held in
Pittsburgh. Before nightfall, America discovered that
isolationism is never an acceptable response to tyranny. Fifty
years later, the lesson endures: that despite our two oceans, no
nation is an island. Isolationism -- whether military or
is impossible
economic -- has no place in the world of today.
^
3
We also learned that complacency is nothing short of
devastating and that overconfidence can be disastrous. The
people of Hawaii learned the hard way. Today they are at the
forefront of developing the strategic defense initiative to
protect America from future surprise attacks. In fact, this
increased
year's defense budget includes over $4 billion in funding for
for the first
SDI, and we have committed to deployment of a ballistic missile
defense system.
From that terrible day another moral prevails: the value of
unity and the strength of America's resolve. The same unity that
made us invincible in war, now in peace makes us secure. To the
brave men and women who have defended our country -- in all of
America's wars -- I say this: we will always remember and we
will always be proud. Most of all: we will always be prepared
-- prepared for aggression, prepared to step forward in
reconciliation, and prepared for peace.
It wasn't until much later that we realized the greatest
injustice of all: that when the rights of any individual are
taken away -- even in time of war -- we are all threatened. The
internment of Americans of Japanese ancestry was a disgrace to
America that will never be repeated.
But despite the internment of their families, thousands of
young men volunteered in the 100th Infantry Battalion and the
442nd Regimental Combat Team -- nicknamed "Go For Broke" -- and
as one put it, placed duty before human rights. [Is Sen. Inouye
present? He was in this unit]. They liberated dozens of French
No where did mother dispring unen your
in the bleak surrounding
Even of the interment camps,
4
gold stars were proudly
displayed on barracks'
and Italian towns and ultimately went on what may be the most
doors.
decorated unit in U.S. Army history. We owe them a debt of
gratitude still to this day, and we honor them by celebrating the
tremendous diversity that is America. //
The love we have for those who fought and died for America
is not diminished in any way by our current relations with Japan.
It's a sad fact of history that tragedy exists. But the
knowledge also exists that out of the ashes comes hope -- from
the horror of the past comes peace and reconciliation between
peoples.
men. Out of the ruins of battle grows the promise of peace.
Who would have thought in 1941 that our mortal enemies --
Germany, Japan and Italy -- would now be our strong allies?
Five decades ago we waged a war to cast away the shadow of evil
from the world, to let men and women of every country live in the
bright light of liberty. Our victory was great -- and now
Germany, Japan and Italy belong to the community of free nations.
But the struggle for freedom is not complete. We look
forward to the day when the peoples of China, North Korea,
Cuba
Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Burma can also enjoy the freedom of
democracy and open economies, and the challenge of engagement in
the community of free nations.
Economic security comes not through aggression but through
shared values -- free people and free markets. Democracy is the
only safe alternative to dictatorship -- and the proof lies in
the fact that Japan is now one of the most stable democracies in
the world. Today we celebrate much of the world's evolution to
5
democracy, as we commemorate its fallen heroes -- the defenders
of freedom, yes, but also the victims of dictatorship who never
saw the light of freedom in their own lands.
Earlier this morning, I paid my respects at the USS Arizona,
where it all began. Behind us stands the USS Missouri -- where
Japan
it ended, when Emperor Hirohito signed the Articles of Surrender.
But the Missouri was also the birthplace of democracy in Japan.
The Emperor, according to MacArthur, had a "more thorough grasp
of the democratic concept than almost any [other] Japanese. He
what
played a major role in the spiritual regeneration of Japan.
/
decision
Their meeting made history, MacArthur's difficult decision proved
correct, and a whole new direction was set for the postwar era.
I thought of the meeting with MacArthur the day in 1989 when
I attended the Emperor's funeral. I thought of it this morning,
too, as I visited the National Cemetary and the Arizona. I
thought about Japan's remarkable recovery and about her
democracy. I thought of Japan and I thought of forgiveness.
The friends I lost -- we all lost --- did not die in vain.
It is right that we are here today. And it is right that we go
on from here. We honor the last fifty years, its lessons learned
and its heroes hailed -- and we dream of the next fifty years
...
the beginning of the Next American Century. We must answer our
call to destiny -- because it is America's destiny to lead, to
strive -- to be man's last great hope on Earth. Today we dream
of gaining "that inevitable triumph ... so help us God."
God bless these United States of America. Thank you. # # #
from
Mike
Mans- -
field
Pearl Harbor! What does it recall? A sneak attack? Yes. A
day of infamy? Yes.
Fifty years ago, an act of aggression -- Pearl Harbor -- was
followed by retaliation against Japan. It is true that if there
had been no Pearl Harbor, there would have been no Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. Out of Pearl Harbor came a war and the occupation of
Japan and then the beginnings of a deep friendship between our two
countries. This friendship, which replaced the horrors of war, has
drawn us closer together and has developed into a partnership -- a
partnership SO important that it will influence the course of
history for generations to come. Today -- half a century later --
that partnership has established a relationship based on equality,
cooperation, and mutual understanding which will determine the
future of the Pacific Basin and, in large part, the future of the
world
Peace and cooperation have replaced aggression and retaliation
and laid the groundwork for the present and the future. Let us
remember the past, learned the lessons of Pearl Harbor, and VOW
that there will be no more Pearl Harbors, Hiroshimas and Nagasakis.
Let us look ahead together to make certain that peace and not
confrontation will be the hallmark of our future in the next
- century -- the century of the Pacific.
Pearl Harbor -- Hiroshima -- Nagasaki, never again!
Five decades later, Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki are
reminders of a past we would like to forget, but will always
remember, because we do not want them to happen again. They are
inextricably bound together through aggression on the one hand and
retaliation on the other. They serve as examples of what has been
done and what now should not be done.
After these three catastrophes, all of us in both our
countries should have learned the futility of war and that no one
really wins and everyone loses. The misfortunes of war have
brought Japan and the United States closer together. The fortunes
of peace have brought us many blessings. As we draw even closer as
friends, let us appreciate each other more, let us understand each
other better and let us realize that each needs the other. It is
a time to pray and a time to heal.
Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Never again.
-
OFFICE OF
PRESIDENTIAL ADVANCE
COVER PAGE
TO:
BoB simon
202/456.6218
FROM: BCAD BIAKEMAN
TOTAL NUMBER OF PAGES:
(including cover page)
DATE:
12.3.91
TIME:
7:40 AM
MESSAGE:
Here are some of the
Bio's. Be ase.
HW
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR PROBLEMS WITH THE TRANSMISSION PLEASE CALL.
TELEPHONE NUMBER:
10'd
12024566218
01
DEC-03-1991 07:39 FROM HONOLULU STAFF OFC
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF CAPTAIN DONALD K. ROSS, USN (Ret.)
REPRO AT GOVT EXP-3043
Donald Kirby Ross was born in Beverly, Kansas, December 8, 1910. He en-
listed in the Navy in Denver, Colorado, June 3, 1929, graduated company Honor
man from bootcamp,San Diego, completed Machinist Mates School, Norfolk, Virg-
inia,first in his class, and was assigned to USS HENDERSON on & China service
run.
Transferred to the hospital ship RELIEF, Roas saw his first action (with
the Marines) in Nicaragua in 1931. Advancing through the rates, he served on
minesweep BRANT, destroyer SIMPSON and cruiser MINNEAPOLIS to attain the rank
of Warrant Officer and was assigned to USS NEVADA.
It was on NEVADA Ross distinguished himself on 7 December 1941 by respon-
ding to responsibility under untenable conditions to furnish power to get the
ship underway, the only battleship to do so during the Japanese attack. For
this action he received the Congressional Medal of Honor; Admirai Chester N1-
mitz decorated him on USS VESTAL in Pearl Harbor not far from the 7 December
action.
Ross served out World War Two in NEVADA, performing often as Acting Chief
Engineer, and as chief Engineer en route and at the Bikini Atom Bomb tests.
Further sea service found him in oil tanker PLATTE and aircraft carrier KEAR-
SARGE during the Korean Conflict.
Other duties included Recruiting and officer Procurement in Kansas City,
Missouri, for four years; staff duty with ComServPac, ConCincPac and the
Board of Inspection and Survey on the Staff of Naval Operations.
After over 27 years spent in almost every major type of US surface ship
then afloat, and having advanced from Recruit, ROSE retired as Captain, to
raise, with wife Helen's help, four children and a prize winning herd of dairy
and show cattle. Twenty-five years of youth organization work has been capped
by co-authoring, with Helen, two books about the Medal of Honor and the Pearl
Harbor attack.
not
These days, if Ross is/involved in public speaking and singing, or tele-
vision, he is at his ranch, struggling with the written word to produce his
own colorful memoirs.
August 1, 1991
P.02
12024566218
01
DEC-03-1991 07:39 FROM HONOLULU STAFF OFC
Mrs. Lenore Rickert
REPRO AT GOVT EXP-J043
For most of you in the audience who are R part of my generation,
to hear the remarkable story of Mrs. Lenore Rickert is to recall
GO many of the moving experiences of life during and after Pearl
Harbor.
Lenore Terrell entered nurses training in California in 1934, and
joined the Navy Nurse Corps at San Diego in 1939. She was
transferred to the Naval Hospital in Hawaii in December 1940, and
was making her rounds there at what is known as Hospital Point
that Sunday morning a year later when the attack began. Like all
of us who were here that day, her recollections of the event are
as clear as they are enduring.
Almost concurrent with Pearl Harbor, another event was taking
place miles away that was to intrude itself on Lenore Terrell's
life. Her future husband, a U. S. Marine, was taken prisoner on
Wake Island and would spend the next 45 months in a prisoner of
war camp. Eventually, they would marry and have two children and
six grandchildren. They both left military service in December
1945.
P.03
12024566218
01
DEC-03-1991 07:40 FROM HONOLULU STAFF OFC
DOUG - SOME IDEAS
I like P5 of Hitcheocks paper and his cloning
which could he a good opening. (attuched)
PEARL HARBOR SPEECH
Themes and Objectives
-- To appropriately recognize the sacrifices made by those who
died - and those who survived - the attack
--
To note the significant events put in place by the attack:
--
America's abandonment of isolationism and assumption of
the mantle of the world leader of the forces for
freedom (America's assumption of global
responsibilities and rise to superpower status)
--
The beginning of one of the most unfortunate chapters
of American history: The internment of some of its
most loyal citizens because of racial ancestry
--
To announce that America will never forget the lessons of
fighting and winning not only the war, but also of fighting
and winning the peace:
--
America will not be caught unprepared
--
America can not retrench into a false cocoon of
isolationism and fear
--
The President and the American people will not be
manipulated by the prophets of doom and gloom into an
anti-foreign hysteria nor will they allow legitimate
concerns over free trade to become the tool of those
who would blame others rather than themselves for a
lack of competitiveness.
--
To mark December 7th, 1991 as a day not to "rekindle old
anger or open aging wounds. It is rather to combine the
perspective of the years which have passed with our
knowledge of history to look with increased understanding
into the future. "
--
America faces the past squarely, the history of the war
and the history of the peace
-- There is much America should be proud of:
--
A lasting stability in the Asia-Pacific region
which has promoted vigorous growth in trade and
democracy
-- Trade:
2
--
For ten years trans-Pacific trade has been greater
than Trans-Atlantic trade. It is now one-third
greater
--
Over the last five years, U.S. manufactured
exports to East Asia have grown by 150 percent,
making it the fastest growing region in the world
for our exports
--
In 1990, thirty percent of U.S. exports went to
East Asia, compared to less than 25 percent of our
exports to Europe
--
Asia is the largest customer in the world for
American farm products
--
Japan is by far the largest foreign market for
American aircraft
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Democracy:
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Compared to 50 years ago, the gains of democracy
are indeed impressive
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Out of the ruble of the complete defeat of a
totalitarian military regime has grown a vibrantly
democratic and peace-loving Japan
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South Korea has made tremendous strides, as have
Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Hong Kong