Dec 7 - Attack on Pearl Harbor

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7 Dec 1941"A DATE THAT WILL LIVE IN INFAMY"​

Burning battleships Arizona, West Virginia, and Tennessee
In June 1940, President Franklin Roosevelt of the United States moved the American Pacific Fleet from San Diego to Pearl Harbor as a response to Japan's aggression toward China, followed by the embargo of vital raw materials to the newly industrialized Japan. It was meant to put pressure on Japan to ease the aggression on her neighbors, but it instead made Japan to eye the South Pacific with even greater desire: islands rich with oil, rubber, tin, and tungsten. The presence of the American fleet at the center of the Pacific Ocean did not do much to calm the Japanese military, which essentially controlled the government at that point. Instead, it threatened Japan into striking first.

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the commander of the fleet, was tasked with constructing a plan to strike down the American fleet in surprise, crippling the fleet so much that Japan would be able to dominate the Pacific. While Yamamoto truly believed that it was possible to surprise the American Pacific Fleet and destroy all the battleships and carriers with one quick strike, he was an opponent to the idea of attacking the United States. He believed that unless Japan had a way to march her armies straight to Washington DC, it was not wise to engage in war with United States for an extended period of time. Nevertheless, he carried on his duties and devised a plan with his staff. In October 1941, the Japanese naval general staff gave final approval to Yamamoto's general plan of attack. In November 1941, he added Pearl Harbor to the list of targets. Yamamoto's strike plan, with much contribution from Commander Genda, called for fighters, torpedo bombers, and dive bombers from six carriers, in other words it would be the largest air strike the world would have seen to date. The plan called for multiple waves of attack, systematically targeting and destroying specific ships, airfields, aircraft, and drydocks. In order to effectively use torpedoes in the shallow Pearl Harbor, the torpedoes were fitted with fins so that they would run closer to the water's surface without diving into the mud. Yamamoto assigned the task of attacking Pearl Harbor to Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo. A total of 24 vessels supported the six aircraft carriers in its journey from Tankan Bay of Kuril Islands in Japan toward Hawaii via a northern route on 26 November 1941.

Pearl Harbor was a complex body of water on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, which was annexed by the United States in the early 1900s after a need for a navy base in the center of the Pacific arose (actual base construction started as early as 1887 when Hawaii was still under the sovereign of the Hawaiian Kingdom). In 1908, the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard was established, and Schofield Barracks of the Army in 1909. It was one of the largest military bases of the United States at the time WW2 started; less than two years ago it became the base of the Navy's Pacific Fleet, and the Army at this time maintained 43,000 soldiers here. In April 1941 the Army Chief of Staff assured President Roosevelt: "The Island of Oahu, due to its fortification, its garrison, and its physical characteristics, is believed to be the strongest fortress in the world".

When the Japanese fleet departed from the Kuril Islands, Nagumo had ordered any non-Japanese vessel that came in contact with the strike fleet was to be quickly destroyed before they could warn anyone of the attack. On 5 Dec 1941, the situation happened. Packed full with M2 medium tanks and other supplies needed in the war against Germany, the Russian transport Uritsky was en route for the eastern Russian port city of Vladivostok. All guns of the Japanese fleet were trained on the transport, but Nagumo decided not to give the order to open fire, for he knew the top officials at Tokyo wished to maintain the non-aggression pact between Russia and Japan. It was never proven, but some sources indicated that the Uritsky did indeed radio Russian authorities of the finding, and the Russians notified the Japanese fleet that if Uritsky was to be spared, Russia would not report the incident to anyone, namely, the United States. Had this exchange really taken place, it appeared that both sides held their ends of the bargain; Urtisky arrived at Vladivostok safely, while the Japanese fleet sailed otherwise undetected across the Northern Pacific. Some speculated that the Russian silence might be due to Moscow's wish for the United States to enter WW2, thus eliminate Japan as a threat on Russian Siberia.

On 7 Dec 1941, the first contact was made by United States Coast Guard ship Condor at 0350 less than 2 miles southwest of the Pearl Harbor entrance buoys. After receiving visual warning from Condor at 0357, USS Ward began patrolling the harbor entrance. At 0637, Ward sighted the periscope of a Japanese submarine. Ward attacked the area with depth charges as destroyer USS Monaghan set sail to join her in the submarine hunt. At 0740, a telephone call was made to the office of United States Navy Pacific Fleet commanding officer Admiral Husband Kimmel to notify the submarine contact; by that time. In hindsight, it was the last chance for the Americans to prepare against the attack, but to Kimmel's defense, he had not been give many clue what was to come.

Just before 0800, the Japanese aircraft arrived over Hawaii. When the mass of dots appeared on the American radar screens, it was thought that they were friendly bombers coming in from the mainland. At 0755, the now-well-known message "ENEMY AIR RAID - NOT DRILL" was sent from the Navy Yard Signal Tower. As that message was sent, Japanese torpedo bombers were already lining up to battleship row.

The first targets were air fields. At 0755, Japanese dive bombers dropped bombs (mainly incendiary) and strafed Hickam Field and the Naval Air Station on Ford Island. Many American aircraft were caught on the ground, unable to take off to take off to meet the attackers in the air. At 0758, "AIR RAID, PEARL HARBOR. THIS IS NOT DRILL!" was broadcast to all ships in the area. Nearly simultaneously, another group of attack aircraft attacked the battleships moored on the south side of Ford Island in the center of Pearl Harbor. The torpedoes and bombs hit with precision. The most spectacular hit was the armor piercing bomb that exploded deep within the belly of the battleship USS Arizona, which ignited the forward ammunition magazine, engulfing the ship in a fierce ball of fire. Anti-aircraft machine gun fire commenced very quickly after Japanese aircraft were sighted, while larger caliber weapons took anywhere from three to seven minutes before they began firing. At 0812, the Pacific Fleet received word that "HOSTILITIES WITH JAPAN COMMENCED WITH AIR RAID ON PEARL HARBOR", but it was no news to those present.

Between 0825 and 0840, Japanese aircraft continued to dominate the skies over Pearl Harbor, although bombing activities largely ceased.

At 0840, 30 Japanese horizontal bombers appeared, mostly still targeting battleships, supported by 18 dive bombers. Damage from this attack was reported as "serious".

With careful planning on part of Yamamoto and his staff, and perfect execution of Nagumo and his air command, the surprised Americans suffered greatly. More than 90 ships were present at Pearl Harbor, and few larger warships escaped unharmed. Battleship USS West Virginia sank very quickly, while the USS Oklahoma turned over before sinking. The 0810 bomb hit on USS Arizona previously mentioned took the lives of 1,000 sailors. Battleships California, Maryland, Tennessee, and Nevada all suffered various degrees of damage during the raid. At 0830, the Nevada attempted to get underway, but realized if she was sunk at the harbor opening, it would disable the base for months to come; USS Nevada's captain changed his mind of fleeing the harbor, and changed course to beach the ship at Hospital Point.

By 0940, most Japanese aircraft had left the vicinity, but American anti-aircraft fire continued to fire at any sign of hostile movement; tense atmosphere led to a few friendly fire incidents where American fighters that finally got a chance to take off were shot down. By 1000, the skies over Pearl Harbor were clear. Final tally revealed that five of eight battleships at Pearl Harbor were sinking, sunk, disabled, or heavily damaged. A total of 21 American ships were sunk. 188 aircraft were destroyed, and 159 were damaged. Over 2,400 American were killed (this figure includes civilian deaths of 68 caused by friendly fire: American anti-aircraft shells were landing in the city of Honolulu), with minimal Japanese casualties (29 planes shot down and 6 midget submarines lost).

In hindsight, the Americans could had been more vigilant, therefore the ships might possibly be able to sortie out of the harbor so that they would have a fighting chance. However, it should also be noted that had they sortied, and if the Japanese were to still have won the battle, the American ships would be sunk in deep water where they would be lost forever. As actual history had turned out, the five battleships sunk in the harbor during the attack were sunk in shallow water, allowing them to be raised, repaired, and underway to fight the Axis powers merely months later.

The United States was lucky that the aircraft carriers were not in port. Admiral William Halsey and the Enterprise were en route back to Pearl Harbor after delivering fighters to Wake Island. Rear Admiral Newton was en route with the Lexington toward Midway Atoll, delivering 25 scout bombers. And finally, the Saratoga left Pearl Harbor for maintenance in the continental United States. The carriers were among the primary objectives to destroy in Yamamoto's plan.

While the attack on Pearl Harbor took place, a Japanese detachment near Philippines were preparing to launch an invasion force on American bases at Philippines, starting the Japanese advance toward the South Pacific.

On the diplomatic side, Japan was supposed to declare war on the United States at precisely 30 minutes before the attack started. However, due to decryption difficulties, the Japanese embassy was not able to deliver the message until the attack had already started. President Roosevelt took advantage of the sequence of events, and marketed the concept that the attack was a unprovoked sneak attack, and used that marketing concept to rally the previously isolationist Americans into war against the Axis powers.

Blame for the total surprise of the attack was placed on the shoulders of Admiral Husband Kimmel and Lieutenant General Walter Short, the top commanders at Pearl Harbor at the time. The attack on Pearl Harbor faced nine investigations, with the conclusion of dereliction of duty by Kimmel and Short. The United States Senate cleared their names in 1999, after both commander's deaths, but to this day the Department of Defense continue to lay blame on these two scapegoats.

Sources: Armchair Reader World War II, The Pacific Campaign, US Army-Pacific, US Navy Naval Historical Center, US Navy Report of Japanese Raid on Pearl Harbor, Wikipedia.

 

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BY KATIE DUNN
Times regional staff

Images of Pearl Harbor attack are burned into survivor’s memory
Jefferson man was stationed at Hickam Field on Dec. 7, 1941​

JEFFERSON — Vernon Carter still remembers seeing the smiling face of a Japanese pilot as the attack on Pearl Harbor unfolded the morning of Dec. 7, 1941.

Carter, who was stationed at Hickam Field in Hawaii with the U.S. 7th Army Air Corps, awoke at 8 a.m. that day to a war zone outside his barracks.

"‘I jumped up and looked out towards Pearl Harbor and saw the dive bombers diving at the big oil storage tanks. Several of them went up in flames and smoke,’" Carter said, reading from a letter he wrote to his parents, J.Z. and Nora Carter, soon after the attack.

"We had two raids, about a half an hour apart, the first was Pearl Harbor, (and) the second was Hickam Field."

As he hurriedly tried to get to his office, Carter, who was 21 at the time, said a Japanese plane flew toward him,
buzzing the barracks.

"I backed up under the eave of the barracks, and of course he wasn’t trying to shoot me, but as he went by, just barely over the top of the barracks, he looked down and grinned at me," Carter said.

Today marks the 68th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor — the day that President Franklin D. Roosevelt said "will live in infamy," and the event that propelled the U.S. into World War II.

Carter, 90, said there are only an estimated 100 Pearl Harbor survivors still alive today in Georgia. And, as far as Carter knows, he is the only living survivor in Jackson County.

Japan’s aerial assault, now well-documented in an untold number of history books, began shortly before 8 a.m. and ended less than two hours later.

In that time, 2,403 Americans lost their lives, including 68 civilians, while another 1,178 were injured, according to U.S. Department of Defense records.

Twenty-one of the U.S. Pacific fleet’s ships were either sunk or damaged in the attack, and 188 aircraft were destroyed and 159 damaged, according to records.

The memory of that morning — the unmistakable hum of aircrafts overhead, bombs falling, engulfing Pearl Harbor in a fiery deluge, and the sight of his comrades dying — remains with Carter.

As reminders, a Pearl Harbor survivor license plate and war medals adorn a wall in Carter’s home near downtown Jefferson.

He joined Jefferson’s American Legion Albert Gordon Post No. 56 in 1946 and also joined a local Pearl Harbor survivors club, where he marched in parades in Atlanta and Gainesville, bearing a banner that read "Pearl Harbor Survivors."

A letter Carter wrote home to his parents, dated Dec. 7, 1941, is perhaps the most telling account of his experience in Hawaii.

The letter, penned in cursive writing, describes the horror that Carter and others endured that day on Hickam Field.

Last week, at the urging of his wife, Ruth, Carter reread the letter he sent home so many years ago.

"‘The dead was piled all around. Some of the boys in the barracks were blown to pieces, they couldn’t identify them,’" he read from the letter to his parents. "‘It was so quick, we didn’t know what happened.’"

Carter’s letter also notes that a shell crashed through his room, just 3 feet from his bed, and the closest bomb fell 500 yards from him. Hickam Field, he wrote, was "pretty well wrecked."

"We had our planes lined up side by side and we thought that maybe that’d protect them from sabotage, but of course the Japanese planes came in just barely over the top of the runway there and they destroyed our planes and started bombing the hangars and barracks," he said.

The attack happened not long after Carter arrived in Hawaii. Knowing he was going to be drafted, Carter voluntarily joined the U.S. Army Air Corps to avoid the infantry.

The lifelong Jefferson resident was sent to Hawaii in June 1941 and remained in the Hickam Field Ordnance, stationed at the Army Air Corps’ Hickam Field, for four years.

Immediately following the attack, Carter said U.S. forces remained on edge, anticipating another assault.

"It was several days before we realized that maybe they weren’t coming back," he said.

And while he can no longer attend reunions with other Pearl Harbor survivors, there is a good chance that today his thoughts may drift back to that morning.

"Anybody that was over there, I’m sure they will never forget that day and what they saw," he said. "It don’t leave, it just don’t leave you."






gainesvilletimes.com - Images of Pearl Harbor attack are burned into survivor?s memory

 

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On Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, veterans think about what could have been
By T.W. BURGER, The Patriot-News
December 07, 2009, 12:00AM

Pearl Harbor survivor Joseph Lockard lives in Lower Paxton Township.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Pvt. Joseph L. Lockard, a 19-year-old from Williamsport, was one of two soldiers manning the brand-new radar station at a hilltop at Opana Point on the northern tip of Oahu.

Radar technology was so new that many in the military command in the region knew little, if anything, about it. To save manpower, the units were manned only four hours per day, and were shut down by 7 a.m.

Lockard, now 87 and living in Lower Paxton Township, said he left the unit on after 7 a.m. to allow Pvt. George Elliott some practice. On the screen, where normally an approaching aircraft or two would make a small blip, something was popping up that sent the shimmering light all the way to the top of the glass. “I had never seen anything like that. But that’s not unusual, because I never had 180 planes coming at me before,” Lockard said.

It was the first wave of what would turn out to be 360 Japanese aircraft, and the beginning of an attack on Pearl Harbor that would bring America into World War II. More than 2,400 U.S. servicemen were killed in the attack, roughly half of those dying aboard the battleship USS Arizona. In all, 18 U.S. ships were sunk or heavily damaged.

The Japanese planes were first detected 137 miles out, near the outer limit of the 150-mile limit at Lockard’s radar station.

Lockard called in a warning, but his immediate supervisor was not answering. He called his unit’s administrative office, finally reaching a lieutenant. The lieutenant told him not to worry. It was probably a flight of B-17 Flying Fortresses due in that morning from California.

At about 7:45 a.m., Lockard turned off the radar because the truck that was to take them back to their camp had arrived. About 10 minutes later, the first bombs were falling on Pearl Harbor. “We were facing the harbor on the way down, and we could see the big billows of black smoke and knew something had happened," he said.

Lockard eventually became a key witness in panels convened by the military and Congress investigating the attack at Pearl Harbor. He would later be appointed to officer candidate school and earn the Distinguished Service Medal.

He said he is not angry that his warning of the aircraft went unheeded. “If anything, it made me sad,” he said.

Lockard figures his part in the events of that “Day of Infamy” comes out to a “what-if” footnote for the history books. “What if it hadn’t been a Sunday? What if the Jap planes had left their ships 15 minutes earlier? What if they had taken our warning seriously? They couldn’t have gotten the ships out of the harbor, but maybe they could have had the bigger anti-aircraft guns manned and kept the bombers at more of a distance,” he said.

Pearl Harbor survivor Ralph T. Tierno Jr., 86, lives in Carlisle.

Ralph T. Tierno, 86 and living in Carlisle, was 18 years old on that morning long ago. He was a private first class in the U.S. Army, serving with Company A of the 3rd Engineer Battalion on Oahu. He was walking back to his digs from Mass when the attack began.

“It was pretty obvious who they were,” he said. “They hit several infantry quadrangles, looking for the fuel tanks. The basic thing was, we weren’t ready. The night before had been Saturday night after payday, and after dances at the club ... We had radar, but when the kid that was on the radar warned there were aircraft approaching, they told him they thought it was our own planes.”

The following morning, Tierno was on the harbor, manning an anti-aircraft gun. “That was the first time I saw the devastation,” Tierno said. “A battleship, I think it was the West Virginia, rolled over. One of the sounds that is still with me is the sound of all the guys trapped inside beating on the hull.”

Mike Randazzo, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy Naval Support Activity base in Mechanicsburg, is one of the organizers of a memorial program at the state Capitol today to mark the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack.

Whenever the U.S has been threatened, Randazzo said, Pennsylvanians have been among the first to answer the call to duty. More than 925,000 sons and daughters of Pennsylvania responded in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, and more than 26,000 of them made the ultimate sacrifice during World War II.

To mark the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, officials at the Naval Support Activity Mechanicsburg will hold a memorial program to honor local survivors. The program is slated to take place at the Capitol East Rotunda in Harrisburg at 12:55 p.m. Monday. Survivors, family members, veterans and the public may attend attend this free event.

© 2009 PennLive.com. All rights reserved.

 

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Waller County man recalls the attack on Pearl Harbor​

The USS California begins to list early during the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese on Dec. 7, 1941. Waller County resident Ed Halcrow was serving aboard the California at the time. She ship was later raised, refurbished and returned to duty in the war.
Waller County News Citizen
By Joe Southern
Published: 12.06.09
It was only two hours of his life and most of that time all Ed Halcrow could do is wait and watch as the world blew up around him. The Waller County resident served aboard the USS California when it was sunk by the Japanese in Pearl Harbor that fateful morning of Dec. 7, 1941.

“It was a good ship and you speak with reverence when you talk about her,” Halcrow said, thinking back to that day 68 years ago that changed his life and the world forever.

Although he was a signalman at the time, his battle station aboard the California was in the lower loading room under the third gun turret.

“A big gun like that is useless in the harbor when you’re shut in,” he said.

Unable to fire at the enemy, the crews just waited for orders.

“We were sitting there waiting to blow up,” Halcrow recalled.

Now 86 years of age, Halcrow was 17 when he enlisted in the Navy on Dec. 6, 1940.

“It was a year and a day before Pearl Harbor,” he said.

Halcrow was born and raised in California and his mother, when she was a child, helped collect pennies for a milk fund for the crew of the USS California so they could buy fresh milk whenever they made port.

“As a Californian on the California, I wanted the California … We were proud that I got on the vessel,” he said.

Having finished boot camp in San Diego, Halcrow was assigned to the destroyer, which was in Washington State at the time. He and his future shipmates were shipped there on the aircraft carrier Enterprise, via a stop in Pearl Harbor.

“The Navy wouldn’t pay for the train fare,” he said.

On the way from Pearl Harbor to Washington, Halcrow came down with the measles. He was placed in the contagious ward, where another man convinced him that signalmen got paid the best rate in the Navy. During the trip, a severe storm battered the Enterprise, causing “tens of thousands of dollars of damage to the vessel.”

Halcrow spent about six months on the California before getting a 10-day leave in San Francisco to see family before sailing for Hawaii. Once they reached Pearl Harbor, Halcrow got caught in the first wave of a diarrhea epidemic that swept the fleet. He was in the infirmary when the call came out for volunteers to be signalmen. He signed up from his hospital bed.

“I got accepted but I didn’t go through my division leader. They got all bent out of shape because I didn’t go through the chain of command,” he said. “I was transferred to the signal gang with the provision that I maintain my battle station in the powder room.”

On the Sunday morning of Dec. 7, Halcrow had just come off watch and was assigned to assist the mess cook. He had just finished clearing dirty dishes and was headed to the quarterdeck when I saw planes coming in.

“I could see them drop things and they blew up. I could see a second wave come and they dropped things. They dropped the second ones before I realized the first bombs had blown up,” Halcrow recalled.

He immediately went to battle stations. Once there he could do nothing but listen to reports and wait for orders. As he sat in the powder magazine, the California took four torpedo hits.

After two hours, as the attack was ending, the California was sinking and the order given to abandon ship. The men were brought topside, told to remove their shoes and jump overboard and swim for Ford Island 150 feet away.

Once ashore, Halcrow headed to muster with the rest of the signalmen when a lieutenant took him in a Jeep to a road near a hospital. He was to guard the road and order all medical personnel he met to report to the hospital. He was finally relieved of the guard duty 24 hours later. He went to the hospital to find a place to sleep. All they had was a bloody mattress and that was fine for a couple hours.

Because he failed to muster with the rest of his crew, the Navy sent his mother a letter saying he was missing in action.

Within days Halcrow was stationed aboard the USS Astoria. He served aboard her through several battles until the cruiser was sunk Aug. 9, 1942, in the Battle of Savo Island. Halcrow had been wounded by shrapnel in the back of his neck and head and he was evacuated aboard the Bagley.

In all, Halcrow served on 29 different ships and stations before the war ended. He served five years, 11 months and five days total.

After the war, Halcrow tried his hand as a salesman but eventually joined the border patrol. He was stationed in Laredo on Dec. 5, 1949. He later transferred to Houston, where he met his wife, Versia. “And we’ve been fighting ever since,” he joked.

“I was worse than Pearl Harbor,” she added.

They’ve been married 57 years and had four children. Long retired, they run some cattle in rural Waller County.

Though he has a license plate on his car identifying him as a Pearl harbor survivor, he never did put in to receive any of the medals he earned. “They don’t mean a lot to me,” he said.

What matters more to him was watching two of his sons go into the Navy and serve on destroyers.

“My crowing achievement was that I had two sons that went into the Navy and did four years each,” he said.










Copyright © 2009 - Houston Community Newspapers

 

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Random images from the attack

Kaga
(Japanese Aircraft Carrier, 1921-1942)

Steams through heavy north Pacific seas, en route to attack Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, circa early December 1941. Carrier Zuikaku is at right.
Frame from a motion picture film taken from the carrier Akagi. The original film was found on Kiska in 1943.

NHHC Photograph.

Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

Japanese naval aircraft prepare to take off from an aircraft carrier (reportedly Shokaku) to attack Pearl Harbor during the morning of 7 December 1941. Plane in the foreground is a "Zero" Fighter.
This is probably the launch of the second attack wave.
The original photograph was captured on Attu in 1943.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives Collection.

Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

Japanese Navy Type 99 Carrier Bombers ("Val") prepare to take off from an aircraft carrier during the morning of 7 December 1941.
Ship in the background is the carrier Soryu.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives Collection.

The Commanding Officer of the Japanese aircraft carrier Shokaku watches as planes take off to attack Pearl Harbor, during the morning of 7 December 1941.
The Kanji inscription at left is an exhortation to pilots to do their duty.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives Collection.

 

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more images

Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

A Japanese Navy Type 97 Carrier Attack Plane ("Kate") takes off from a carrier as the second wave attack is launched. Ship's crewmen are cheering "Banzai"
This ship is either Zuikaku or Shokaku.
Note light tripod mast at the rear of the carrier's island, with Japanese naval ensign.

NHHC Photograph.

Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

A Japanese Navy Type 97 Carrier Attack Plane ("Kate") takes off from the aircraft carrier Shokaku, en route to attack Pearl Harbor, during the morning of 7 December 1941.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives Collection.

Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

A Japanese Navy "Zero" fighter (tail code A1-108) takes off from the aircraft carrier Akagi, on its way to attack Pearl Harbor during the morning of 7 December 1941.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives Collection.

 

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salvage after the attack

USS Oklahoma (BB-37)

Ship righted to about 30 degrees, on 29 March 1943, while she was under salvage at Pearl Harbor. She had capsized and sunk after receiving massive torpedo damage during the 7 December 1941 Japanese air raid.
Ford Island is at right and the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard is in the left distance.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives Collection.

USS West Virginia (BB-48)

In drydock at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, 10 June 1942, for repair of damage suffered in the 7 December 1941 Japanese air raid. She had entered the drydock on the previous day.
Note large patch on her hull amidships, fouling on her hull, and large armor belt.
Photographed by Bouchard.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives Collection.

USS California (BB-44)

Just after she was placed in the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard's Drydock # Two, 9 April 1942. California had been sunk as a result of the 7 December 1941 Japanese air raid and was refloated on 24 March 1942.
Note the mud on the ship's propeller shafts and struts and on the drydock floor below them.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, NHHC Collection.

USS Nevada (BB-36)

Entering Drydock # Two, at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, 18 February 1942. Sunk as a result of damage received in the 7 December 1941 Japanese air raid, she was refloated on 12 February 1942.
Note oil staining along her hull, marking her waterline while she was sunk.

Collection of Vice Admiral Homer N. Wallin, USN (Retired).

NHHC Photograph.

USS California (BB-44)

Floating crane removes the sunken battleship's "basket" mainmast, while she was under salvage at Pearl Harbor on 13 February 1942.

Collection of Vice Admiral Homer N. Wallin, USN(Retired).

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, NHHC Collection.

 

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genaral views of the attack

Pearl Harbor Raid, 7 Decmeber 1941

Chart showing the positions of ships inside Pearl Harbor at the time of the Japanese Attack, at about 0800 on 7 December.
The orientation of the compass direction arrow in the chart's center is turned approximately 45 degrees too far in a counterclockwise direction. Some of the ships moored in "nests" in the northern part of the harbor are listed in incorrect order.

Collection of Vice Admiral Homer N. Wallin, USN(Retired), 1975.

NHHC Photograph.

Pearl Harbor Raid, 7 Decmeber 1941

Chart showing battleship moorings and positions of ships in the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard drydocks, the direction of the initial Japanese torpedo plane attack, and the direction of movement of USS Nevada (BB-36) and USS Vestal (AR-4).
The chart was prepared by the Bureau of Ships.

Collection of Vice Admiral Homer N. Wallin, USN(Retired), 1975.

NHHC Photograph.

Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

Halftone reproduction of a photograph taken from a Japanese plane during the torpedo attack on the ships moored on both sides of Ford Island. View looks about southeast, with Honolulu and Diamond Head in the right distance.
Torpedoes have just struck USS West Virginia and USS Oklahoma on the far side of Ford Island.
On the near side of the island, toward the left, USS Utah and USS Raleigh have already been torpedoed.
Fires are burning at the seaplane base, at the right end of Ford Island. Across the channel from the seaplane base, smoke along 1010 Dock indicates that USS Helena has also been torpedoed.
Japanese inscriptions at the bottom indicate that this view was published by Osaka University.

NHHC Photograph.

Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

Photograph taken from a Japanese plane during the torpedo attack on ships moored on both sides of Ford Island. View looks about east, with the supply depot, submarine base and fuel tank farm in the right center distance.
A torpedo has just hit USS West Virginia on the far side of Ford Island (center). Other battleships moored nearby are (from left): Nevada, Arizona, Tennessee (inboard of West Virginia), Oklahoma (torpedoed and listing) alongside Maryland, and California.
On the near side of Ford Island, to the left, are light cruisers Detroit and Raleigh, target and training ship Utah and seaplane tender Tangier. Raleigh and Utah have been torpedoed, and Utah is listing sharply to port.
Japanese planes are visible in the right center (over Ford Island) and over the Navy Yard at right.
Japanese writing in the lower right states that the photograph was reproduced by authorization of the Navy Ministry.

NHHC Photograph.

Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

Panorama view of Pearl Harbor, during the Japanese raid, with anti-aircraft shell bursts overhead.
The photograph looks southwesterly from the hills behind the harbor. Large column of smoke in lower right center is from the burning USS Arizona (BB-39). Smoke somewhat further to the left is from the destroyers Shaw (DD-373), Cassin (DD-372) and Downes (DD-375), in drydocks at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives Collection.

Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

View of Pearl Harbor looking southwesterly from the hills to the northward. Taken during the Japanese raid, with anti-aircraft shell bursts overhead.
Large column of smoke in lower center is from USS Arizona (BB-39). Smaller smoke columns further to the left are from the destroyers Shaw (DD-373), Cassin (DD-372) and Downes (DD-375), in drydocks at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard.
This view appears to be a cropped version of Photo # 80-G-32792.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives Collection.

Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

View looking toward the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard from the Aiea area, in the morning of 7 December 1941, during or soon after the end of the Japanese air raid.
USS Nevada (BB-36) is in the center distance. Large column of smoke to the left of her is from USS Shaw (DD-373), burning in the floating drydock YFD-2.
"Battleship Row" is in the right center. Largest mass of smoke there comes from USS Arizona (BB-39).

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, NHHC Colleciton.

Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 Decmeber 1941

Japanese war art painting, in oils, by Tsuguji Fujita, 1942, depicting attacks around Ford Island.
The original painting measures about 2.7M by 1.7M.

Courtesy of the U.S. Air Force Art & Museum Branch (their accession # 277.53), 1978.

NHHC Photograph.

Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

View taken around 0926 hrs. in the morning of 7 December, from an automobile on the road in the Aiea area, looking about WSW with destroyer moorings closest to the camera.
In the center of the photograph are: USS Dobbin (AD-3), with destroyers Hull (DD-350), Dewey (DD-349), Worden (DD-352) and MacDonough (DD-351) alongside. The ship just to the left of that group is USS Phelps (DD-360), with got underway on two boilers around 0926 hrs.
The group further to the right consists of: USS Whitney (AD-4), with destroyers Conyngham (DD-371), Reid (DD-369), Tucker (DD-374), Case (DD-370) and Selfridge (DD-357) alongside.
USS Solace (AH-5) is barely visible at the far left.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives Collection

 

[bengalraider]

Battleship row during the attack

Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

Torpedo planes attack "Battleship Row" at about 0800 on 7 December, seen from a Japanese aircraft. Ships are, from lower left to right: Nevada (BB-36) with flag raised at stern; Arizona (BB-39) with Vestal (AR-4) outboard; Tennessee (BB-43) with West Virginia (BB-48) outboard; Maryland (BB-46) with Oklahoma (BB-37) outboard; Neosho (AO-23) and California (BB-44).
West Virginia, Oklahoma and California have been torpedoed, as marked by ripples and spreading oil, and the first two are listing to port. Torpedo drop splashes and running tracks are visible at left and center.
White smoke in the distance is from Hickam Field. Grey smoke in the center middle distance is from the torpedoed USS Helena (CL-50), at the Navy Yard's 1010 dock.
Japanese writing in lower right states that the image was reproduced by authorization of the Navy Ministry.

NHHC Photograph.

Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

Vertical aerial view of "Battleship Row", beside Ford Island, during the early part of the horizontal bombing attack on the ships moored there. Photographed from a Japanese aircraft.
Ships seen are (from left to right): USS Nevada ; USS Arizona with USS Vestal moored outboard; USS Tennessee with USS West Virginia moored outboard; USS Maryland with USS Oklahoma moored outboard; and USS Neosho, only partially visible at the extreme right.
A bomb has just hit Arizona near the stern, but she has not yet received the bomb that detonated her forward magazines. West Virginia and Oklahoma are gushing oil from their many torpedo hits and are listing to port. Oklahoma's port deck edge is already under water. Nevada has also been torpedoed.
Japanese inscription in lower left states that the photograph has been officially released by the Navy Ministry.

Donation of Theodore Hutton, 21 September 1942.

NHHC Photograph.

Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

Vertical aerial view of "Battleship Row", beside Ford Island, soon after USS Arizona was hit by bombs and her forward magazines exploded. Photographed from a Japanese aircraft.
Ships seen are (from left to right): USS Nevada; USS Arizona (burning intensely) with USS Vestal moored outboard; USS Tennessee with USS West Virginia moored outboard; and USS Maryland with USS Oklahoma capsized alongside.
Smoke from bomb hits on Vestal and West Virginia is also visible.
Japanese inscription in lower left states that the photograph has been reproduced under Navy Ministry authorization.

NHHC Photograph.

 

[Soham]

Great pictures.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[bengalraider]

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release December 04, 2009
Presidential Proclamation - National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

A PROCLAMATION​

President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared December 7, 1941, a "date which will live in infamy." With over 3,500 Americans killed or wounded, the surprise attack by the Imperial Japanese on Pearl Harbor was an attempt to break the American will and destroy our Pacific Fleet. They succeeded in doing neither. On National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, we pay tribute to the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, and we honor all those who selflessly served our Nation at home and abroad during World War II.

On a tranquil Sunday morning, as war raged around the globe, the attack on Pearl Harbor effectively ended American isolation -- thrusting our Nation into action. Japanese airplanes had launched an unprovoked assault on our military with immense firepower, and our service members valiantly answered the call. They defended their positions, fought back against the attackers, and cared for the wounded. In that darkest hour, men and women who had considered themselves ordinary found within themselves the ability to do something extraordinary. And in the months and years that followed, Americans all across the country would respond to Pearl Harbor with firm resolve, many joining our Armed Forces to defend our shores and our freedom.

This courage is not uncommon in the story of America -- a story of heroes whose sacrifice and valor speak to their love of comrades and country; and whose goodness guides our quest for lasting peace. Today, and every day, we draw strength from the moment when the best among us defended an island and a Nation from the onslaught of tyranny, and forever altered the course of our history.

The Congress, by Public Law 103-308, as amended, has designated December 7 of each year as "National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day."

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Monday, December 7, 2009, as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. I encourage all Americans to observe this solemn day of remembrance with appropriate ceremonies and activities. I urge all Federal agencies and interested organizations, groups, and individuals to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff this December 7 in honor of those American patriots who died as a result of their service at Pearl Harbor.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourth day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA
Presidential Proclamation - National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day | The White House

 

[bengalraider]

The USS Arizona war memorial

PR-12 The forward superstructure and Number Two 14" gun turret of the sunken USS Arizona afire after the attack.

PR-364 The forward magazines of the USS Arizona ignite after Japanese bomber attack

PR-511 Imperial Japanese Navy Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

PR-552 FDR delivers the "War Message" on December 8, 1941 to a joint session of Congress.

This aerial view shows the sunken remains of the battleship Arizona, straddled by the USS Arizona Memorial. The white blocks to the right depict mooring quays that once secured the great warships in 1941. Photographer: John Wagner. Courtesy Impact.

Known to the Hawaiians as Puwaina, the Hill of Sacrifice, Punchbowl, the National Cemetery of the Pacific, is the final resting place for veterans of WWII, Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf War. Among the notables are casualties of December 7, 1941, Wake Island, the Japanese-American Veterans of the 442nd and 100th Battalion. It is also the final resting place for the WWII Combat Correspondent Ernie Pyle and Astronaut Ellison Onizuka. Photographer: Bill Dasher. Courtesy Impact.

Salvaged from the floor of Pearl Harbor, the anchor of the battleship USS Arizona is displayed at the entrance of the USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center operated by the National Park Service. The anchor was cast in Chester, Pennsylvania, and weighs 19,585 pounds. Photographer: Bill Dasher. Courtesy Impact.

A relief map of Oahu and the tablets marking the names of those killed in the Pearl Harbor attack are part of a dramatic and poignant exhibit that records the tragic loss of those who gave their lives on December 7, 1941. The Rememberance Exhibit was dedicated at the USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center on the 50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor in December 1991. Photographer: Bill Dasher. Courtesy Impact

 

[Sridhar]

December 7, 2009

Photos: Armed Forces Flag Day Celebrated-- Dec 7th

 

[bengalraider]

PEARL HARBOR (Dec. 7, 2009) The sun rises over the USS Arizona Memorial on the 68th anniversary of the attck on Pearl Harbor. The National Park Service and the U.S. Navy hosted a joint memorial ceremony to commemorate the 68th anniversary of the attack. (US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class N. Brett Morton/Released)

PEARL HARBOR (Dec. 7, 2009) Musician Kristen Snitzer, assigned to the U.S. Pacific Fleet Navy Band, performs "Victory at Sea" during a National Park Service and U.S. Navy ceremony commemorating the 68th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Mark Logico/Released)