European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 07, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Pearl Harbor air raid Pearl Harbor this is no Drill by Sid Moody the associated press a furtive Moon played tag with Trade wind Clouds As mrs. William Blackmore dropped her husband off for pre Dawn duty on the Navy tug Keosauqua. This is the quietest place in be Ever seen,1�?T she said to the shadows. Thus Pearl Harbor in the Early hours of sunday dec. 7, 1941. America s Quot Gibraltar of the Pacific Quot was sleeping. Washington was sleeping. But 220 mites due North of Honolulu the fliers of Kido Butari a the six Carrier japanese Quot striking Force Quot a were wide awake finishing a ceremonial breakfast of red Rice and red snapper before they reached for infamy. After 50 years of Hindsight the most surprising thing about the Surprise attack on Pearl Harbor is that it was a Surprise at All. Americans had been Reading Japan s Ultra secret purple diplomatic code for a year. The military in Washington had warned president Franklin d. Roosevelt and his Pacific commanders that War was Only Days if not hours away. But in their overconfidence and amid a blizzard of conflicting signals and code intercepts few if any americans thought anything made in Japan a whose products were disdained As synonymous with tin a would be audacious enough to strike at Pearl Harbor. Actually the fret shots that sunday in Hawaii were from the . Destroyer Ward. Her skipper of but two Days it. William Outerbridge radioed at 0651 that his ship had fired on a submarine in forbidden Waters off the Mouth of the huge naval base. At 0700, a plane on patrol around Pearl reported a in code despite orders to signal in Plain text in an emergency a that it had sunk a sub with depth charges. After some delays adm. Husband e. Kimmel commander of the Pacific Fleet was notified. Til be right Down,1�?T he said forgoing a Golf Date with his  counterpart it. Gen. Walter c. Short. There had been another Epiphany. At Kahuku Point on the Northern tip of Oahu pets. Joseph l. Lockard and George e. Elliott had been on duty since 4 a.m., familiarizing themselves with a new Man Al that could Quot see Quot 130 Miles to sea a radar. The National Park service and Hawaii a governor had vetoed placing the new sets on High ground lest they mar the lava escape. At 0702 Elliott saw Quot something completely out of the Ordinary on the screen a huge Blip due North 137 Miles out. Control at fort shatter told them twas a flight of b-17 flying fortresses due in from Calico Winiar Lockard kept tracking for practice. 0715, 08 Miles and coming. The Blip was so to firms Lockard figured the set was broken. They turned it off at 0745. The Blip had disappeared behind Oahu a mountains. The soldiers closed up to get some breakfast. In Washington military leaders and code Breakers waited for the last part of a 14-part message Tokyo began sending to its two negotiators the Day before. The last Section came in Early that sunday morning. It broke off peace negotiations but did not declare War in so Many words. The intent however was Clear. War. Imminently. The message was to be delivered to Secretary of state Cordell Hull by 1300 Washington time 0730 in Hawaii. But it was delayed Over an hour due to an inefficient typist at the japanese embassy. Thus War came from Japan As it had to Russia in 1904, before the declaration of it. That was Why Roosevelt was to Call it infamy. Washington already knew two japanese invasion convoys had been sighted heading for British Malaya. Roosevelt feared there would be other strikes against the this Hynat photo Aroma . Thipa under attack on Osc. 7,1941. Tbs conch to. Str Polo hit wait 9m Amoka in m background is from the foam fed hangars. From a Philippines Guam even Wake and Midway islands. But certainly not Pearl Harbor. Unthinkable. Nonetheless Short was sent a warning a by commercial Telegraph so the japanese  suspect their code had been broken. It was t even marked  on battleship Row at Pearl Seaman Leslie Short clambered up to a for top machine gun station on the Maryland to address Christmas cards. At 0755, the battleship Nevada s band watched the Quot a Quot for a prep Quot Flag Rise Over the sub base water tank and got ready for the 0800 rendition of Quot the Star spangled  Sharp eyed Bondsmen noticed planes converging on Pearl from appoints of the Compass. On the battleship California a crewman noticed red balls on the wings Ollow flying planes a torpedo bombers. Quot the russians must have a Carrier visiting us Quot he said. Cmdr. Logan Ramsey saw a plane diving at Ford Island in the Middle of the Harbor. He thought it was some Hotshot Quot Flat Hatting until he saw a bomb explode. He grabbed a Mike Quot air raid Pearl Harbor this is no Drill Quot Many thought at first some Pilot would catch hell for dropping live  Alt Over the place. The truth was not Long in dawning. Fireman Charles Leahey was easing himself in the head of the destroyer tender Dobbin when Waterman Samuel Cucuk hollered at him Quot you better Cut that Short Charley. The japs Are Here Quot one of the Nevada a musicians finished the National Anthem under strafing and torpedo attack and then shoved his Comet into an  hoist in his excitement. On the destroyer Monaghan Boatswain s mate Thomas Donahue scanned the uproar quizzically Quot hell i did t even know they were mad at  others Mads a Swift transition from a Sabbath Day of rest to America s first Day of world War ii. Quot Praise the lord and pass the ammunition Quot exhorted chaplain Howell Forgy on the Cruiser new Orleans helping Load antiaircraft guns. The most murderous hit came at about 0810 when an Armor piercing bomb crashed through the battleship Arizona s deck near no. 2 Turret and exploded in a fuel tank. Seven seconds later 1.7 million pounds of Gunpowder blew up Ming More than 1,000 of her Crew. Quot looks like they be got Oklahoma Quot said a Navy wife As the Oklahoma turned Turtle. Quot yes i see they have a said her stunned neighbor adm. Kimmel. Later a spent Buret hit him in the Chest smudging his White uniform. Quot it would have been better if it had killed me Quot he said Seaman Short dropped his Christmas cards and began firing a deck officer threw potatoes at the planes in frustration. At Schofield Barracks All the mutes were let out to give them a fighting Chance on their own. In the flaming ruin of Hickam Field a phone rang persistently the caller wanted to know what a the noise was about. P-40 pilots George Welsh and Ken Taylor had been up All night playing poker after coming Over from the Haleiwa fighter strip for a dance. With Taylor still wearing Tuxedo pants they got their fighters airborne and shot Down seven japanese planes before they were through. But the eight dreadnoughts on battleship Row were sitting ducks for the new Shadow diving torpedoes. So were the . Planes. Short had unwisely grouped them in clusters without  or fuel for fear of sabotage a unwarranted As it turned out a by Hawaii s 160,000 inhabitants of japanese descent. One of them Daniel Inouye a senior at Mckinley High school looked skyward As he furiously pedalled his Bike to help at an Aid station. Quot you dirty japs a exclaimed the future  senator. The first wave of 183 attack planes ravaged Pearl Harbor for half an hour. Word reached the White House at about the same time As Arizona blew up. Roosevelt told 2 the stars and Start ass saturday a Cattoor 7,1991