''§ bap tbat Will lille in infamp" December 7, 1941 Cover painting-a mural, painted in oil on canvas, by New York artist Kipp Soldwedel and unveiled as a permanent part of the Arizona Memorial on Memorial Day, 1969. designed and adjusted long ago for drydock) had been badly damaged. sunk in the channel and block it. the short, shallow runs required in The Japanese had accomplished The destroyer MONAGHAN got Pearl Harbor), the battleship about 90 percent of their ob­ underway at 8:27, rammed, depth­ It began on a battleship 1n Pearl Harbor AR I ZONA was blown apart by a jective- they had wrecked the charged and sank a midget sub­ bomb hit in her forward magazine, Battle Force of the Pacific Fleet." marine which had penetrated the and the battleship OKLAHOMA From 8:25 to 8:40· there was a harbor, and made it safely to sea. and ended on a battleship 1n Tokyo Bay took three torpedoes and began to lull in the action during which most The light cruiser ST. LOUIS got capsize. of the BIG E's Scouting Squadron underway at 9: 31 and just inside By Cdr. Edward Peary Stafford, USN (Ret.) In carefully coordinated attacks was able to dodge or fight its way the harbor entrance dodged two which they had been practicing for into Ford Island. At Pearl Harbor torpedoes and probably sank the three months, the Japanese aviators the shaken sailors on their shattered midget which had fired on them. slashed at the startled Americans on ships tended the wounded and There were many other minor ship and shore. But their prime rushed to get ammunition to their successes within the overwhelming Commander Stafford is a former Pacific Fleet historian and served as the DOD project officer, target was Battleship Row along the defeat but at ten o'clock that naval coordinator and technical advisor for Tora! Tora! Tora!, the historical movie which re-created the guns to meet the next attack. In Pearl Harbor attack. Commander Stafford has written the books The Big E and The Far and the Deep southeast shore of Ford Island Washington, D. C., at 8 :30 Pearl morning when the last Japanese plus numerous magazine articles. He is the grandson of Admire/ Robert E. Peary, Arctic explorer and where seven battlewagons were Harbor time, Japanese Ambassadors planes joined up over northern discoverer of the North Pole. moored. Skimming down East and Nomura and Kurusu met with Oahu for the flight back to their Middle Loch and across Pearl City, Secretary of State Cordell Hull in carriers they had won the most The sun rose over Oahu at 6:26 light northeast trades, surrounded four waves of Kate torpedo continuing negotiations to preserve smashing victory ever achieved at a.m. on December 7, 1941. But the by green cane fields and the white SHIPS PRESENT bombers fanned out and lay their the "peace." the start of a modern war. With a business of that day which mankind puffs of cumulus over the ridge of PEARL HARBOR 7 December 1941 long "fish" in the harbor from alti­ At 8:40 while the "peace" loss of 29 planes, five midget sub­ can never forget had already begun. the Koolaus, it seemed the least ALLEN IDD-661 PT-30 tudes of 40 to 100 feet pointed envoys were consulting with Mr. marines and 64 men they had sunk In exact accordance with a probable place on earth for a war to ANTARES IAKS 31 PT-42 ARGONNE IAG·31 I PATTERSON IDD-3921 straight at the long broadsides of Hull, high level bombers left over four United States battleships, thoroughly worked-out plan start. But at exactly quarter of AR IZONA IBB-391 PELIAS IAS· 141 the battleships. Almost simul­ from the 7:55 attack began criss­ badly damaged three more and prepared months before, 190 Japa­ seven the destroyer USS Ward ~t~c'.~~rlvP41 ~rn~~y15%i~N11~ IBB 381 taneously the Val dive bombers cross ing the burning sh ips and wounded the eighth, demolished nese warplanes from six aircraft AYLWIN IDD-3551 PHELPS IDD-3601 patrolling off the harbor entrance BAGLEY IDD-3861 PHOEN I X ICL461 swooped out of the Sunday sky to installations laying sticks of bombs two destroyers and blown the bow carriers were already boring in from BLUE IDD-3871 PREBLE IDM-201 fired the first shot of that war at BOBOL INK IAM-201 PRUI TT IDM-221 comb the line of heavy vessels fore from 1 O and 12 thousand feet, and off a third, and put several other the northwest. And around the BREESE IDM 181 PY RO IAE- 11 one of the Japanese midget subs CG -8 IUSCGI RA I L IAM 261 and aft with both conventional as they veered away to return to warships permanently or tempo­ island and its approaches 25 Japa­ CACHALOT ISS- 1701 RALE IGH ICL-71 trying to enter. With the second CALI FORNIA IBB-441 RALPH TAL BOT IDD 3901 bombs and converted 16" armor­ their carriers at 9: 15, the second rarily out of commission. In the nese submarines waited to pick off CASE IDD-3701 RAMAPO (A0- 121 shot, half a minute later, WARD hit piercing naval shells. When bombs attack wave came in. Fifty more battered, sunken hulls of ships, in survivors of the air attack. From CASSIN IDD-3721 RAMSAY IDM -161 the midget squarely on the conning CASTOR IAKS- 11 REEDBIRD IAMc-301 and torpedoes had been expended high-level bombers swung in over the oil coated harbor water, on the five of the big subs, two-man CHENGHO llX -521 RE ID IDD-3691 tower and then finished it off with CHEW IDD-1061 RELIANCE IUSCGI all planes banked around and Bellows Field, around Diamond piers and docks and hangars of midgets had already been launched CINCHONA IYN-71 RIGEL IAR -11I her depth charges. Both WARD and COCKATOO IAMc-81 ST. LOU IS ICL491 attacked again, strafing viciously. Head and Waikiki and across Pearl Harbor 2, 113 Navy men and and were converging on Pearl COCKENOE IYN -471 SACRAMENTO !PG 191 the Catalina pilot reported the CONDOR IAMc-141 SAN FRANCISCO ICA 38 1 But only during the first few Hickam Field to make their drops Marines were dead, another 987 Harbor. The carriers had been at sea CONYNGHAM IDD-371 I SCHLEY IDD 1031 incident, but after nearly a quarter­ CROSS81LL IAMc-91 SELFRIDGE IDD-3571 seconds of the shock were the through columns of black smoke wounded. In ARIZONA's blasted since the 26th of November, the century the long habit of peace was CUMMINGS IDD-3651 SHAW IDD3731 CURT ISS IAV-41 SICARD IDM-211 attackers unopposed. Fleet doctrine rising from the burning ships. At hulk, 1, 177 officers and men still submarines since the 20th. hard to break. DALE IDD-3531 SOLACE IAH·51 DETROIT ICL-81 SOTOYOMO IYT-91 called for a quarter of eac h ship's the same time 80 more dive lay where they fel I that terrible Fifty minutes after the sinking DEWEY IDD-3491 SUMNER IAG-321 Two hundred miles southwest DOBBIN IAD-31 SUNNADIN (AT-281 anti-aircraft batteries to be manned bombers roared in over the Koolaus morning. The United States Navy in of the midget, the Japanese air DOLPHIN iSS-1691 SWAN (AVP-71 of Oahu a squadron of Dauntless DOWNES IDD-3751 TANEY IPG -371 (USCGI and ready with ammunition at to attack from the eastward while two hours and four minutes had strike group arrived off Kahuku scout bombers was just launching FARRAGUT (DD 3481 TANGIER IAV-81 hand. As a result the machine gun 40 fighters swooped down to strafe lost three times as many men as it Point at Oahu's northern tip and GAMBLE IDM-15 1 TAUTOG iSS-1991 from the USS ENTERPRISE with GREBE IAM-431 TENNESSEE IBB-431 batteries opened up almost at once and engage the few defending inter­ had lost by enemy action in all of deployed to the attack. "Pearl HELENA ICL-501 TERN (AM 311 orders to search ahead and land at HELM IDD-3881 THORNTON (AVD· 11 1 and within four minutes the first ceptors which managed to get air­ the Spanish-American War and Harbor," the Japanese Commander HENLEY IDD-3911 TIGER (PC -1521 IUSCGI Ford Island. The Bl G E's Air Group HOGA (YT· 1461 TREVER IDMS· 161 five-inch round slammed its lethal borne. World War I combined. leading the first formation of planes HONOLULU ICL-481 TRACY IDM-191 Commander was already well on his HULBERT IAVD 61 TUCKER IDD-3741 black puff into the teeth of the But after 8:40 it was not as Yet in final summation the later wrote, "was still asleep in the HULL IDD 3501 TURKEY IAM-131 way. ENTERPRISE herself, one of JARVIS IDD-3931 UTAH (AG 161 enemy . On al I the ships the general terribly one-sided as before. As late calculated treachery of Sunday, morning mist. It was calm and KEOSANGUA IAT-381 VEGA (AK 171 three aircraft carriers in the Pacific MAC DONDUGH IDD-351 I VESTAL IAR41 alarm was .sounded immediately as 8:05 there had been only iso­ December 7th, 1941, did not pay. serene inside the harbor." But MANUWAI IYFB-17 1 VIREO (AM-521 lated puffs of anti-aircraft fire in Of the 18 warships sunk or and later the spearhead of early MARIN IYN-531 WAPELLO IYN-561 and they began to fight back as best inside that calm and serene harbor U.S.