Essay About Japanese Diplomats And U.S.S. Oklahoma

Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
PEARL HARBOR
On December 7, 1941 while the Secretary of State was meeting with two
Japanese diplomats in Washington, DC, a surprise attack was being launched
on the United States by Japanese military forces at Pearl Harbor. This was
the beginning of WW II. The attack killed 2388 people and wounded
approximately 2000. Twenty one American ships and more than 300 planes
were damaged or destroyed. Only 29 aircraft out the 353 that were used in the
attack by the Japanese were lost.
On December 8 President Roosevelt addressed the Congress and called
December 7 “a date which will live in infamy”. Congress then declared war on
Japan.
The following is a time line of events which took place on that memorable
Day, the beginning of WW II:
3:42 am – Personnel of the minesweeper Condor spot a periscope in the
water while patrolling off the entrance to Pearl Harbor. They send a message
to the destroyer Ward by blinking light.
6:10 am – The first wave of Japanese planes leave their aircraft carrier.
6:45 am – The destroyer Ward fires first shot at the sub, misses, fires second
shot and hits. The submarine appears to be slowly sinking so the captain of the
destroyer orders depth charges to be dropped. This was the first shot of WW II.
6:53 am – Message sent from destroyer Ward to Pearl Harbor Naval Station,
“We have attacked, fired upon and dropped depth charges upon a submarine
operating in a defensive sea area.”
7:02 am – Oahu radar station operator sights 50 or more aircraft bearing down
on Oahu.
7:20 am – An Army lieutenant who is in training at Fort Schafer gets the
Opana radar station report which reads “the biggest sightings” the radar
operator had ever seen. He believes that the radar has picked up a flight
of U.S. bombers flying from California to Hawaii. Because of security reasons
He could not tell this to the radio operators so he just tells them not to worry
about it. The planes now are only 70 miles away.
7:33 am – President Roosevelt and General Marshall learn from a decoded
Japanese message that the two negotiators have been told to break off the
talks. Believing this may mean war, they notify the commander of the U.S.
Army forces in Hawaii.
7:49 am – The attack begins. Japanese destroy 27 of the 33 U.S. bombers.
A 55 pound bomb is dropped on barracks killing 35 men while they are eating
breakfast. Another bomb completely wiped out the base chapel. They
destroyed 42 Warhawk pursuit planes. The U.S.S. Oklahoma is sunk. The
U.S.S. West Virginia, hit by several torpedoes, settles on the harbor bottom,
her decks above water but in flames. Torpedoes hit the U.S.S. Arizona while
in dry dock. The U.S.S. Nevada is hit by a torpedo and bombed but still
manages to shoot down the Japanese torpedo plane. The U.S.S. Utah is
mistaken for a carrier and is struck by two torpedoes, cap sizes and kills