MILITARY LESSON, Do not disturb larger sleeping dogs of war

Over the decades this sleeping giant has turned into a Super Power.

My dad was on the battleship California that fateful morning. Men all around him were killed and somehow he wasn't, so here I am today.
He never talked about it, but my mother told me he saved men bringing them to shore, and when he collapsed on the beach, he was thought to be dead.
He wasn't a big man, but he was tough.

Wow, rcb, I never had seen you say anything about that before. Bless him. I bet he had to swim through a foot of bunker oil floating on top of the water. That sends shivers down my spine b/c I've been covered in oil before and it's a horrible experience and burns the skin.

I read something yrs. ago, before I ever got a computer and I haven't been able to find anything else about it, but in an article - think it was in USAToday - a survey was done of Japanese school children and they were asked if they thought Japan would ever be in another war like WWII and a large majority answered "Yes". When asked with who, over 70% said "The United States".   Their history books are more than a little slanted towards their P.O.V....just as ours are, I suppose.

The Japanese meant to deliver the declaration of war before the attack actually started, but thanks to a slow typist at their embassy, it was given to the U.S. govt. after the attack had taken place. I guess the distinction is a legal one, but even if they HAD given it beforehand, they were timing it to take place while the planes were in the air and on the way. A legal difference, sure, but certainly not ethical.

It has always been my opinion the bombs would never have been dropped on Japan, if Pearl Harbor had not happen.

Mike, the navy might have had time to set the torpedo nets tat were up

10/4 CARBOB

R.I.P,

I doubt they would have had time to do that, but who knows?   The declaration of war was meant to not give the defenders much time.

It wasn't like we didn't have warnings and signs; the radar that was ignored, all the military radio traffic from Japan that suddenly ceased the day before, not to mention the blustering of the Japanese for us cutting off our fuel exports to them.   

As it was, they destroyed a few nearly obsolete battleships and thankfully the carriers weren't in port. They caused a lot of damage, sure, but if they had hit the tank farm full of fuel, Pearl Harbor would have been done as a port for many, many months.

Many people think the film of Pearl Harbor being attacked was real and part of the footage WAS taken during the attack, but not a lot. Nearly all of it was from a recreation done by some now-famous director. The actual "real" footage was nearly lost and what remains is poor quality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeLWNadsQpE