Mark Scott Smith's Blog: Enemy in the Mirror, page 124
October 21, 2013
Meeting Steve Canyon – Flying with the CIA in Laos
Col. Karl Polifka, USAAF ret. is my Air Force consultant for the book I am writing about a Tejano B-25 pilot in 1942.
His fascinating new book about Raven operations in Laos is available on Amazon.
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December 7, 1941 – I imagine my mother that night
Pregnant woman; Wikimedia Commons
I was born on February 21, 1942. This poem echoes the thoughts I’ve often had.
______________________________________
December 7, 1941 – Pearl Harbor
by
Sharon Auberle
I imagine my mother that night,
listening to the radio,
Glenn Miller’s String of Pearls,
Edward R. Murrow wishing the world
good night and good luck
then breaking news…
the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
My mother’s hands are folded
on the mound that is me,
that pulsating cord connecting us.
I wonder if I know her fear,
feel the tightening, the terror,
the anger, suppressed
because of the child in her belly.
She feels me moving beneath her dress,
and thinks of Japanese mothers
and their babies soon to be born,
as I will be born three months later.
I have not yet lived long enough
to see world peace.
So many never have the chance.
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October 18, 2013
Pearl Harbor Attack – December 7, 1941
Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941; Wikimedia Commons
At 0755 AM on Sunday, December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the U.S. Navy Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In the attack that lasted 110 minutes, 2,386 Americans died (including 48-68 civilians – most killed by unexploded American anti-aircraft shells landing in civilian areas) and 1,139 were wounded. Eighteen ships (including five battleships) were sunk or run aground. The Japanese lost 65 men, with an additional soldier being captured.
Visit this link for an excellent overview of the attack: The Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941.
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October 16, 2013
FDR Appeals to Hirohito – December 6, 1941
December 6, 1941 – President Franklin Roosevelt sent a personal message to Emperor Hirohito urging him to use his influence to preserve the peace.
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October 14, 2013
U.S. Warns Military Commanders of Imminent Japanese Attack – November 27, 1941
Anglo-American co-operation in wartime Britain , Wikimedia Commons
On November 27, 1941, the U.S. government warned the British government and American military commanders of an imminent war with Japan. American intelligence concluded that a Japanese offensive against the Philippines or South East Asia was most likely.
Was there intelligence that more specifically suggested Pearl Harbor was the likely target? Doubtful, but debatable.
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October 11, 2013
Attack Fleet Sails from Japan – Nov 26, 1941
Shokaku Fighter Pilots en route to Pearl Harbor
On November 26, 1941 a Japanese attack fleet of 33 warships and auxiliary craft, including six aircraft carriers, sailed from Hitokappu Bay in the Kurile Islands for Hawaii.
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October 9, 2013
How Much Military Is Enough?
“The United States, a nation founded on opposition to a standing army, is now a nation engaged in a standing war.
Force requires bounds. Between militarism and pacifism lie diplomacy, accountability and restraint.”
How much military is enough? By Jill Lapore; New Yorker January 28, 2013.
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U.S. Occupies Dutch Guiana – November 24, 1941
After the German invasion of Holland in May 1940, the Dutch government operated from London in exile. Dutch colonies remained vulnerable, but still free.
In November 1941, the U.S. occupied Dutch Guiana to prevent the Axis powers from using it as a base of operations.
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October 7, 2013
Diplomacy Fails Nov-Dec 1941
Ambassadors Hull, Nomura and Kurusu December 1941
November 2- Japanese ambassador Admiral Nomura and special envoy Saburo Kurusu propose that the U.S. unfreeze Japanese credits, reopen trade relations, assist Japan in the exploitation of resources in the Dutch East Indies, halt American military build-up in the Western Pacific and end support for China.
November 26 - Secretary of State Cordell Hull calls for Japanese evacuation of French Indo-China and China, official recognition of the Nationalist Chinese government and a multi-lateral non-aggression pact before establishment of a liberal trade policy between Japan and the USA. Special Envoy Kurusu states that this proposal effectively ends the talks, but requests two more weeks to study the offer.
November 29 - Secretary Hull informs the British ambassador to the U.S. that the talks have virtually collapsed.
December 1 – The Japanese government publicly rejects the Hull proposals.
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October 4, 2013
American Ambassador’s Warning – November 17, 1941
On November 17 , 1941 American Ambassador to Japan Joseph Grew cabled Secretary Hull and
Under Secretary Welles as follows:
“In emphasizing need for guarding against sudden military or naval
actions by Japan in areas not at present involved in the China conflict,
I am taking into account as a probability that the Japanese would
exploit all available tactical advantages, including those of initiative
and surprise…”
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