Let their sacrifice never be forgotten
It was December 2, 1941. Aboard Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's flagship, the Nagato, a coded message was sent to Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo. It translates as "Climb Mount Niitaka 1208." It was the command to launch the attack on Pearl Harbor, as scheduled, on December 7, 1941.
As outlined in the seminal book on the subject, At Dawn We Slept by noted historian Gordon Prange, the tension between the U.S. and Japan; and Japan's preparations for this attack, had been going on for quite some time.
The attack began at 7:48 a.m. local time, before the Japanese Ambassador in Washington, D.C. had an opportunity to deliver the message announcing that the Japanese were breaking off the peace talks. In point of fact, the so-called 14 Part Message does not contain a formal declaration of war. An entry in Japanese documents discovered after the war says, "...our deceptive diplomacy is steadily proceeding toward success." The Army and Navy of Japan did not want there to be a formal declaration of war prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Fortunately, the two U.S. carriers assigned to Pearl Harbor were at sea, ferrying aircraft to Wake and Midway at the time of the attack. But the Japanese air assault sank four battleships and damaged four more. Two of the four that were sunk were salvaged and put back into service. But the USS Arizona and the USS Oklahoma were a total loss.
Every time I stopped on Oahu and was able to leave the airport; during my tours of duty on Guam and in South Korea, I went to the Arizona Memorial.
2,335 military personnel were killed, along with 68 civilians. Another 1,143 military personnel and 35 civilians were wounded.
Heroism was the order of the day for the U.S. military personnel during the attack. There were 15 Medals of Honor, 51 Navy Crosses and 53 Silver Stars awarded for actions on that day. Reading the citations for these awards shows incredible bravery and self-sacrifice. Here is one of those citations:
"For conspicuous devotion to duty, extraordinary courage, and complete disregard of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor, by Japanese forces on 7 December 1941. Ens. Jones organized and led a party, which was supplying ammunition to the antiaircraft battery of the U.S.S. California after the mechanical hoists were put out of action when he was fatally wounded by a bomb explosion. When 2 men attempted to take him from the area which was on fire, he refused to let them do so, saying in words to the effect, "Leave me alone! I am done for. Get out of here before the magazines go off."
Those were the actions of Ensign Herbert C. Jones. RIP to him and all of the others who died on that day of infamy.
As outlined in the seminal book on the subject, At Dawn We Slept by noted historian Gordon Prange, the tension between the U.S. and Japan; and Japan's preparations for this attack, had been going on for quite some time.
The attack began at 7:48 a.m. local time, before the Japanese Ambassador in Washington, D.C. had an opportunity to deliver the message announcing that the Japanese were breaking off the peace talks. In point of fact, the so-called 14 Part Message does not contain a formal declaration of war. An entry in Japanese documents discovered after the war says, "...our deceptive diplomacy is steadily proceeding toward success." The Army and Navy of Japan did not want there to be a formal declaration of war prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Fortunately, the two U.S. carriers assigned to Pearl Harbor were at sea, ferrying aircraft to Wake and Midway at the time of the attack. But the Japanese air assault sank four battleships and damaged four more. Two of the four that were sunk were salvaged and put back into service. But the USS Arizona and the USS Oklahoma were a total loss.
Every time I stopped on Oahu and was able to leave the airport; during my tours of duty on Guam and in South Korea, I went to the Arizona Memorial.
2,335 military personnel were killed, along with 68 civilians. Another 1,143 military personnel and 35 civilians were wounded.
Heroism was the order of the day for the U.S. military personnel during the attack. There were 15 Medals of Honor, 51 Navy Crosses and 53 Silver Stars awarded for actions on that day. Reading the citations for these awards shows incredible bravery and self-sacrifice. Here is one of those citations:
"For conspicuous devotion to duty, extraordinary courage, and complete disregard of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor, by Japanese forces on 7 December 1941. Ens. Jones organized and led a party, which was supplying ammunition to the antiaircraft battery of the U.S.S. California after the mechanical hoists were put out of action when he was fatally wounded by a bomb explosion. When 2 men attempted to take him from the area which was on fire, he refused to let them do so, saying in words to the effect, "Leave me alone! I am done for. Get out of here before the magazines go off."
Those were the actions of Ensign Herbert C. Jones. RIP to him and all of the others who died on that day of infamy.
posted by me at 2:56 PM
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