Pearl Harbor: The rest of the story

PEARL HARBOR "December 7, a day mhich mill live in infamy!" Early in 1941: November 26, 1941: Outwardly expressing a desire for peace with the USA, the Japanese begin planning the attack. The first code- name for the endeavor is "Operation Hawaii." As the plan developed, the codename was changed to "Operation Z." The Japanese attack fleet sets sail for the staging area, 230 miles north of Oahu, Hawaii. December 2, 1941: Final approval for the attack is given via the coded message, "Climb Mt. Nitaka." Sunday, December 7, 1941 0300 Japanese aviator and officer, Mitsuo Fuchida, awakens on a Japanese aircraft carrier stationed about 230 miles north of Oahu, Hawaii. He will lead the aerial attack on Pearl Harbor. 0330 Larger submarines offshore launch 5 midget subs with orders to infiltrate the harbor and help with the attack. 0600 Led by Captain Fuchida, 183 planes are launched from the aircraft carriers. This is the first wave of the attack. 0630 0702 A U.S. Navy Destroyer, the USS Ward, sights one of the midget Japanese subs at the entrance to Pearl Harbor. It fires on and sinks the submarine. Army RADAR operators at Opana Point detect a large group of incoming aircraft. The officer in charge was alerted, but he decided the planes must be friendly. "Don't worry about it," he told This was the first shot fired in the war. the men. 0705 The second wave of the attack leaves the carriers. 167 additional planes are added to the air strike. 0720 0740 Captain Mitsuo Fuchida flies by Honolulu and orders the first wave of attack planes to take their positions. Fuchida fires a green flare, indicating that the attack is in progress. 0748 To lower the likelihood of a counter attack by American forces, the first bombs are released on the nearby U.S. military airfields. 0749 Fuchida observes the U.S. Naval Fleet still at rest in Pearl Harbor. He broadcasts the message, "To To To" (Charge! Charge! Charge!). Later he would remark, "Like a hurricane out of nowhere..." "... my torpedo planes, dive bombers, and fighters .." "... struck suddenly with indescribable fury." 0753 Fuchida broadcasts the code message, "Tora! Tora! Tora!" to indicate that the element of surprise has been achieved. 0755 The attack is now fully underway and will continue on mercilessly for almost two hours. COLEE 0840 The second wave reaches the island and continues the attack. 0945 The attack is finally over... As a Result of the Attach 2,388 1,178 Americans killed Americans mounded 164 12 U.S. aircraft lost U.S. skips sunken 64 ....&apanese Killed December 8, 1941 U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt declares war on Japan, saying December 7 is "a date which will live in infamy." The USA enters World In Japan, Mitsuo Fuchida becomes a national war hero. War Il and "Remember Pearl Harbor!" is the rallying cry. Spring of 1947 Aft war, Fuchida discovers the Americans had treated their war prisoners much better than Japan had treated theirs. He hears stories about Peggy Covell, an American woman who tended to the needs of Japanese people, even though Japanese soldiers had executed her parents, missionaries to Japan, in 1943. Fuchida struggles to under- stand how these things could be. April 14, 1950 Fuchida converts to Christianity. When remarking on his participa- tion in Pearl Harbor, he says, "I would give anything to retract my actions of twenty-nine years ago at Pearl Harbor, but it is impossible. Instead, I now work at striking the death-blow to the basic hatred which infests the human heart and causes such tragedies. And that hatred cannot be uprooted without assistance from Jesus Christ. He is the only One who was powerful enough to change my life and inspire it with His thoughts." Resources www.ibiblio.org | en.wikipedia.org | www.pacifichistoryparks.org | www.nps.gov