European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 8, 1964, Darmstadt, Hesse                              At Pearl Harbor were bunched up on the ground to make guarding Thui largely u col Leveni thin a Wai on hostilities Are the message said by Ralph staff writer has been More than 93 Yean since a Young private tint Clau named Wilmer Stevens manned the communications Center alone at Pearl Harbor it shatter on even u col Stevens vividly recalls details of the Day the Japan Ese attacked Pearl Harbor to launch world War in he recalls and is still myst cd by one detail which could have helped the United states keep from being caught with its guard Down when the japanese launched their this was the now famous message from Washington saying hostilities Are imminent it arrived after the first bombing attack too late to keep from being caught the part which still puzzles now signal officer for the 3rd army div and co of the 143rd Sig in in is Why it was not delivered earlier from the radio communications of America Ria office in some 91 Miles of the clerk in the Ria office had no Way of knowing the urgency of the message since it was coded a scramble of letters in code groups of the famous warning message Wai placed in a Pouch along with six or eight other Normal birthday son historical papers today list the Mes sages arrival time in Honolulu As but Stevens claims it was december 1964 and emphasizes i am As sure As the Day i was the japanese first attacked at Hawaii time on that fateful sunday the message arrived by motorcycle courier it and Stevens recalls the second attack started just As he walked in the All the messages were sol aside and it want until later that Stevens had a Chance to go through them and discovered the one that could have Given Uncle Sams forces time to hoist their collective pants into defending another quirk of Fate also paid a cruel trick on the men at Pearl Washington tried to Send the message earlier by regular military radio but  get through and had to resort to commercial who had enlisted in the army coast artillery on his 18th birthday was the Only Man on duty in the communications Center when the rising Sun planes a Little he was Able to Send a Mes Sage to his parents in say ing the attack was Over and he was Safe censorship shut Down All lines except for War he recalls that the message Home Cost him 15 and a few cunts which was quite a sum for a Hiis All took place alter a frantic period which Stevens described As Loo much happening to think about taking As the first wave of Japan attackers struck he walked outside the Rommuno ration building Anil i  believe what Goiny on and then slur Tod to this is n realistic Man Uever All of a to since the a major targets of Ilic Kam Field and the Hushor were on the other Side of the slovene could no what was going pm and ills building did not get hit until Tho second Kirn it was by a strange quirk of Tackack shells were improperly fired and fell Buck on their own forces Defuro Stevens still r Oca in looking under his desk As the second wave struck and thinking maybe you and i Are going to net closer but he never did dive under a second Tak Shehor idea struck when he visited the mess Hall a Short distance away and found All the Cooks in the 1 helped myself to the Chicken and when More Tackack shells comi mod to fall i looked at one the big refrigerators and thought mybo i belter get in he this was about 11 or in the morning and As Stevens All hell was breaking Loose with messages from everywhere so i didst have Lime to seek one of the first Gas to come through was a Navy bit suiting hostilities initiated Between Japan the United slates through the attack of the japanese had completed their crippling Idow Lull didst gel a there wore ski ships in tin1 Hiir Bur and hundreds of planes at Ilic Kam Liui idled up for a maid Pur self vans added that All forces had the stars and stripes been in null sabotage Alert throughout the previous tile Navy lost to planes and the army 97 the battleship Arizona was sunk and the battleships West Virginia and California were severely As were three destroyers and a Printis other Stevens has remained on signal duties virtually his military career of it in Europe with the exception of that one tour in he graduated from pcs in 1943 and look part in five Battles on uie Atlantic Side of world War ills decorations include the brow commendation medal with Oak Leaf Cluster and european theater rib Bon with five Battle who came to his 3rd army div Post from where he was co of the Usa Keur signal has varied hobbles including photography and Camp but no matter where he goes or what he the Maine native will never forget and his role that once he spotted the urgent classification Sian on the it was de coded and passed on to the proper a Slevins Doest recall the full con tents of the Ghoul 100 work except for the hostilities Are expected to be imminent and a portion about the japanese embassy in Washington Burn ing its codes and the planes were warming up or a ready on their Way even then and communications we rent like they Are to