twas the morning of december 7, the year 1941 hawaii was sleeping in bliss. life was good. japan was embroiled in a war to expand their empire and discover badly needed resources. china and other points had become proving grounds for man and machine. the united states was in a bit of a war of its own. to remain neutral or to go to war, with germany. at approximately five am the events which were to answer all the questions began. two aircraft sped their way toward the hawaiian islands. their mission to find out where the american fleet was located. approximately six am a japanese naval armada began to spring to life. planes were readied, men prayed, and planes lifted off the decks of six carriers. the akagi, kaga, soryu, hiryu, shokaku, and the zuikaku all launched aircraft for a very bold, very risky strike. their target. the american fleet based at pearl harbor. at approximately ten oclock thier mission was completed. in their wake ships burned, men were dead and dying, and the course of two countries was etched in stone.
i began to study this famous attack in 1985. a history teacher i had brought in a simple piece of paper one day and said we were going to discuss and try to break down the words on this paper. it was the coded message sent to the japanese consulate in washington, part of the now famous fourteen point message that signalled the end of peace between the united states and the empire of japan. from that moment on i was hooked on this subject. i have spent many hours reading and studying everything from military reports to civilian accounts of the attack. i have studied maps and charts, i have spoken to historians and modelers. i was fortunate enough to meet the grandson of the first commander of the akagi.
why do i write this. well today is december 4th, and at this time every year i begin a personal ritual of in depth study of the pearl harbor attack. it was the dismissal of a potential attack from a percieved enemy that caused the ability for such an attack. i will never forget. my purpose is that the men and women who died shall never be forgotten.
joe