This date has forever lived in infamy (12/7/1941)

wnd.com ^ | 12/7/2018 | Bill Federer

[IronJack]

I’d never heard of this.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

It is not widely known. I first heard about it a couple years ago (and I’ve lived in the Bay Area since 1973).

[Pappy Smear]

Never would have happened if Kirk Douglas unleashed the power of the USS Nimitz on Dec 6, 1941. But he just let 'em go.

[CaptainAmiigaf]

Thank you!!!! I’m a self-styled very amateur “historian” and for countless years I have wondered as to utter STUPIDITY of the Phillipine military.
Having heard of and received confirmation of the disaster at Pearl they left themselves completely unprepared for the Japanese onslaught a short time later.
A prepared DEFENSE may have driven off or even defeated the Japanese invasion of the islands.
Yet, this is one aspect of all discussions of this time that is never spoken of or discussed.
Yours is the first time I’ve ever read of it in any part of the “media”

[Snickering Hound]

The surviving American aircraft were cut to pieces by the Japanese over the next several days.

Being caught on the ground meant that more crews actually survived.

American Army Air Force crews and command simply were not ready for conflict in Dec 41’ compared to the Japanese that had been fighting the Chinese and Russians.

American Navy aircrews and command were better off but not by much.

The attempt to relieve Wake Island almost resulted in the loss of 2 American carriers.

The Japanese actually captured the American radar set at Iba and it was one of the first clues that they were technologically far behind.

[GreyFriar]

We did NOT lose 2 aircraft carriers trying to relieve Wake Island. The relief effort ordered by Adm Kimmel was canceled by Adm Pye, who replaced Kimmel after Kimmel was relieved of command of the Pacific Fleet. See this excerpt from the USS Enterprise website.

http://www.cv6.org/1941/wake/wake_2.htm

The Enterprise and the Lexington were the 2 carriers in that effort. The Lexington was sunk during the battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942 and the Enterprise completed the war and was used as a target at Bikini Atoll A-bomb tests.

[GreyFriar]

See my post #35. I recommend both of William Bratsch’s books on the USAAF in the initial Philippine campaign. The official US Army history of the loss of the Philippines can be downloaded for free at: https://history.army.mil/html/books/005/5-2-1/index.html

The depression saw the neglect of the US Army and Navy. The country slowly saw the dangers of war after September, 1939, but there was little enthusiasm to get involved or spend a lot to increase US military readiness. As it was, FDR ordered the reinforcement of the Philippines in the summer of 1941 and some of it had arrived by December, 1941. The pilots of a P-40 group were available but their aircraft had not arrived and would end up being diverted to Australia and a battalion of field artillery was also diverted there and then to Java to help the Dutch.

[CaptainAmiigaf]

You have put forth the REAL reason for our lack of preparedness at Pearl. Gasoline for recon by PBYs was RATIONED, due to budgets so the Japanese fleet closed to well within the range of a “normal” patrol.
A blessing for US, I believe was IJN Admiral Nagumo screwed up when he refused to launch the THIRD wave.
The third wave would have totally destroyed the dry docks and REPAIR facilities as well as the fuel storage area. There would have been NO raising of any battleships, no support for the carriers and the Navy may well have been driven to our West Coast. That distance may have no allowed the Doolittle raid on Tokyo, then no Coral Sea and/or Midway. Then——don’t want to even think of it.

[GreyFriar]

for an “alternate history” scenario read the chapter entitled Pearl Harbor: Irredeemable Defeat” in “Rising Sun Victorious” by Peter Tsouras (editor)
https://history.army.mil/html/books/005/5-2-1/index.html

That chapter is here (hopefully the link works) https://books.google.com/books?id=W_P2XwqhKbwC&pg=PT68&lpg=PT68&dq=frank+shirer+pearl+harbor&source=bl&ots=LCxYAXzStS&sig=cAoYk1hRDyUvoUdLlhNCj1p6nIk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwilsq6q747fAhVs8IMKHW5BCGQQ6AEwCnoECAcQAQ#v=onepage&q=frank%20shirer%20pearl%20harbor&f=false