Defenseless: Command Failure at Pearl Harbor

by Jack W. Lambert, Norman Polmar

When these two [authors] combine their considerable experience, the reader has to pay attention. Naval Aviation NewsIn 1999, by a vote of 52 to 47, the U.S. Senate cleared the names of Admiral Husband Kimmel and Lieutenant General Walter Short of blame for leaving Pearl Harbor vulnerable to attack. According to the declaration, Kimmel and Short had performed their duties "competently and professionally," and that America's losses at Pearl were "not the result of dereliction of duty." Revisionist historians have been trying for years to portray Short and Kimmel as innocent scapegoats. However, Major General Kenneth Bergquist is among the many witnesses who went to their graves crying "foul," but not before telling their stories to historians Jack Lambert and Norman Polmar.This book combines the evidence of never-before-seen photos and documents, Lambert's taped interviews with some of the last surviving witnesses, exhaustive research of all remaining evidence, Polmar's perspective as naval warfare commentator for the History Channel, and Barry Levenson's legal experience trying cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, to finally put the case of the tragic failure of command and dereliction of duty leading up to December 7, 1941, to rest.Senator Strom Thurmond called Kimmel and Short "the final two victims of Pearl Harbor." In reality, was the last victim the truth?

Genres: World War II

258 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2003

Reviews

[Emmanuel Gustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of course the attack on Pearl Harbour, 7 December 1941, has been debated already in numerous books and articles, and one would justifiably wonder what new information this short book (just 151 pages without the appendices and photographs) can add. But Lambert and Polmar document how the air defense of the US naval base at Pearl Harbour was organized, what efforts had been made to provide Oahu with an radar network and command center inspired by RAF experience in the Battle of Britain, and how it all came apart at a crucial time. Their work contains much information that I have not seen elsewhere. It shows, above all, that Washington DC was not complacent about defending its fleet base in the Pacific: It supplied the local commanders with the latest technology and a considerable force. Unfortunately, nothing of this was used.

Rarely has the absurdity of history been more sharply highlighted. No less than 15 times in that year had the US forces in Pearl Harbour exercised for the eventuality of enemy air attack. But their commanders were apparently so convinced that this was fundamentally unlikely to happen, that their reaction to warnings of imminent war was to neglect air defense in favour of other priorities.

This is specialist history, however. If you don't know much about the history of the conflct in the Pacific, then this is not a good place to start.

[David]

The subtitle of this book (and what appears on the cover art photo, above) is "Command Failure at Pearl Harbor" -- different from what appears on Goodreads.

12/24/23: Apparently Goodreads now has the correct subtitle, or at least the one on the copy I own. Have noted/learned over the years that subtitles being changed is, if not common, at least not unknown. Suspect this is the work of publishers trying to pump up sales. So not a crime?