Foreword
In October. 1944, I published an account of the Pearl Harbor episode under the title of THE TRUTH ABOUT PEARL HARBOR, There I brought together such material as could be proved at that time. Now that the war is over it is possible to add many darkly hidden facts which can be fully substantiated. The record of this episode was suppressed by President Roosevelt. Many men, however, were witnesses to these events. They have written books, magazine and newspaper articles and letters. Official reports now published contain other segments of the story. A traction found here, another there, patiently put together, create for us a mosaic which affords us now a complete picture of the scene.
I know, of course, there are those who defend the present order in this country who will object that it is wrong to rake up these old embers now that two of the chief actors--Roosevelt and Knox---are dead. My reply is that they prevented the discussion of them while they lived. I must add also that if they are dead, so ate the more than 5000 men who perished in Pearl Harbor on that tragic day. And, if Roosevelt and Knox are dead, Kimmel and Short still live and still suffer under the weight of odium loaded on them by the late President; are stir silenced by his orders which deprive them of the right to speak up in their own defense: and are still entitled in a country which loves justice to their day in court. The publication of the watered reports of the Army and Navy Boards render this revised pamphlet necessary.
I must repeat here what I said as preface to the former account which I offered of this case, namely that I did not get or seek information from Admiral Kimmel or General Short or their counsel. I meticulously avoided them in order not to add this embarrassment to she injustices which they have already endured. The facts reported here, however, are beyond dispute. If Congress desires the proofs it can obtain them without any difficulty whatever. The American people are entitled to those proofs.
John T. Flynn.
New York City, September. 1945.
Second Edition: Revised
On Wednesday, August 29, 1945, President Truman gave out the reports of the Army and Navy Boards directed by Congress to investigate the responsibility for the great disaster of December 7, 1941, at Pearl Harbor. These Boards had filed their reports nine months ago. Under the pretext that issuance of them would disclose important military secrets President Roosevelt suppressed them. But President Truman has not by any means given out the whole story. Portions of it are still suppressed. He says they will never be given out. And that is the simple truth. They will never be given out by this government until Congress compels the government to release all the information which it is biding from the people and which it hopes to hide from history.
The Roberts Report--which was
also doctored before being released--blamed Admiral Kimmel and General Short
for the defeat. Now the two Army and Navy reports expand the guilt to cover
General Marshall, Admiral Stark and former Secretary of State Hull. Marshall
and Stark were the Army and Navy chiefs in December. 1941. All the top commanders
have now been blamed, plus various lesser commanders. But the greatest commander
of all is left out--the COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. In the 150,000 words of these findings
and comments the name of Franklin D. Roosevelt stands out in almost monumental
conspicuousness by its absence. The Army and Navy chiefs, the former Secretary
of State and Congress have been blamed and the President of the United States
has added to the culprits the l30,000,000 people of the United States. The only
person not blamed is Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was running the whole show.
However, in spite of all the suppressions, the story of Pearl Harbor is known.
And here I propose to tell it. Put in plain terms the tragedy of Pearl Harbor
was the dark fruit of three incredible blunders. First in importance was the
manner in which the crisis was managed. The second blunder was the bottling
of the fleet in Pearl Harbor. The third was the stripping of the defenses of
Pearl Harbor. It was Roosevelt who personally managed the whole crisis. It was
Roosevelt who bottled the fleet in Pearl Harbor. It was Roosevelt who stripped
the base of its defenses. First then, let us look at the crisis as it developed
in Washington. Let us see it now in the light of the facts which this government
has hidden and which I will now reveal publicly for the first time.
We shall have to look at two
battlefields. One was the Pacific, where Kimmel and Short brooded week after
week over their deplorable condition, begging for more weapons, fighting against
the inroads made on what they had and living almost completely in the dark as
to what was happening in that vast, mysterious Pacific world in which they found
themselves. We shall look upon that battlefield later.
There was another battlefield.
It was mostly in the private apartment of Secretary of State Hull to which the
Japanese Ambassador Nomura paid many calls between April and December of 1941.
Japan's ruthless policy of conquest had brought her into deep water. The United
States, Britain and the Dutch East Indies bad cut off all trade with her. Without
the iron, oil, cotton, rubber and other critical materials from these sources
she could not continue the war in China. The situation became desperate. One
party--the militarists---was for seizing the Dutch East Indies which would solve
the supply problem.
But that would mean war with
England and--almost certainly --with the United States. The Counsellor of the
American Embassy in Tokio
3
had so informed the Japanese Foreign Office. Nevertheless the extremists were for the desperate try. 'The other party--the moderates, led by the Japanese Premier Konoye--was for making the best terms possible with the United States and getting out of the China affair as best they could. Admiral Nomura was sent to the United States as Ambassador to see what could be done. From April to the end he sat with Cordell Hull, a few times with the President. They argued endlessly. Then on November 16 he was joined by Ambassador Kurusu to assist in the delicate crisis.
There is no space here to follow these conferences. If you will read the Official reports of them you will see mat as the situation m Japan became more and more desperate, the existing government was willing to make more and more concessions. But the War Party became more and more pressing at home for war. It was a race between the Moderates to get an agreement in Washington and the War-Agitators to produce a crisis in Japan. You will see also that President Roosevelt was not going to make any agreement that the Japanese could accept. The talks got nowhere.
Then on October 14 the Moderates lost
in Japan. The War-mongers won. The Konoye ministry fell and General Tojo became
premier. The President knew that would happen and he knew there could be only
one result--a Japanese attack on the Dutch Indies. But there was also the possibility
- even probability - That Japan would attempt to deal with England first--would
try to reduce Singapore and perhaps attack us in the Philippines. He knew, as
he steadfastly refused to hasten the negotiations, that he was producing a situation
that could end only with an attack by Japan. Why did he want Japan to attack?
By skillful maneuvers and impossible promises he had brought the country far toward war. From benevolent neutrality, selling to the Allies for cash, he had moved to "Aid-short-of-war ; then to the "Aid-at-the-risk-of. war" frame of mind. By October the once "Aid-short-of-war" group was publishing full-page ads demanding an immediate declaration of war. Senator Pepper, a White House spokesman, said the President had drawn a line and that when Japan moved over it he would start shooting. The President was. ready for the final act--the act of open war. Two influences restrained him. His generals and admirals told him we were not ready. Most important was the promise he had made to the American people - solemnly given and repeated--not to send their sons into foreign war unless attacked. He did not mind violating that pledge. He merely feared the political effect of the violation. Alsop and Kintner, White House columnist pets, had written a short time before that "He (Roosevelt) does not feel he can openly violate them (his pledges). But he can get around them the smart way." They explained this meant getting the Germans to shoot first. Then he could shoot back. But it was now clear to him that the Germans, were not going to shoot first. But now the Japanese were about to do so. If they could be provoked to attack, his problem would, be solved.. He would then be in the war safely--not only against Japan but 'all the way,' as he triumphantly announced in his speech to Congress after the attack.
In Japan the war makers were
in a desperate hurry. In the United States, Roosevelt, for some reason, became
impatient of delay. So much so that he actually considered sometime be]ore November
14 an invasion of China which would have put us at war with Japan. He proposed
it to the Army and Navy staffs. They dissuaded him because we were not ready.
So he waited a little longer -babying the Japanese along, but making it plain
that they would get no agreement, save by abject surrender -terms he knew no
Japanese government would dare accept. He did not nave long to wait. By November
14 the sands were running fast, as Grew had warned. Something had happened which
put the play irrevocably in Roosevelt's hands. This is the event or series of
events which have remained locked up in the keeping of the very Inner Circle
of the White House. When you read of these you will know why the White House
has concealed the truth from the world.
4
The hour of Fate had arrived
in Tokio. But the bedevilled ministers seemed terrified at the appalling folly
they were being driven to commit by the violent opinion-makers of Japan. The
Japanese High Command began to move their war machine into position. Their plans
were made. They had to have the great Dutch islands. That-meant they had to
paralyze Britain. But that in turn meant they must, if possible, strike a crushing
blow at the United States before she could throw her weight from into the struggle.
The blow was obvious. This country's naval strength--all the battleships which
were the core of her Pacific sea power--were tied up at Pearl Harbor. Some madman
had done that surely, they must have thought. But there were the great ships
like ducks on a pond waiting for the hunter. Everything depended on the United
States leaving the rich target there for the Jap hunters. It was a giant gamble.
But a safe one, as we will see, because in the White House sat a President who
was satisfied that he knew it all. He had a plan too. And he had made sure,
as we shall see, that those battleships and their auxiliary ships would remain
quite stir and immobilized in the great shooting gallery. But while the Japanese
prepared for this gamble, frightened at the peril of waking the still awkward
and stupidly led giant America into action they sent the astute Kurusu to Washington
to join Nomura in a last effort to get a settlement. Kurusu arrived in Washington
on November 16. But by that time the die was cast.
But now a gift from the gods
had been put into Roosevelt's hands. The British government had broken one Japanese
code. It proceeded to hand over to the State Department the messages between
Tokio and various foreign represemtatives which it intercepted. Roosevelt now
could know what the Japs were saying among themselves. November 4, Roosevelt
knew the Japs would yield no more as he had an intercepted dispatch from Tokio
saying: "International situation makes any further compromise in this matter
impossible.' On November 5 an intercepted Tokio dispatch to Washington said:
"Signing of any U, S.-Japanese agreement must be completed by November 25.'
And the Ambassadors were urged by the government to "save ]apanese-U. S. relations
from chaos." November 6 another intercepted dispatch notified Nomura that Kurusu
was coming and that this was the "Last hope of the negotiations." Therefore
on November 6, Roosevelt knew that the Japanese were playing their last card;
that they would make no further con.cession and he knew also the very date they
had set for action--November 25.
Kurusu seemed to realize quickly enough that he was bucking his head against a stone wall. Troubled by the onrushing deadline he must have appealed to Tokio for more time. Nomura also appealed to the Japanese government. He said in an intercepted dispatch that he "doubted the wisdom of aggressive action." Then on November 22 came a dispatch intercepted by the British saying the deadline had been changed to November 29. But it added: "This time we mean bussiness. Deadline absolutely cannot be changed. After that things are automatically begin to happen." What was going to happen? All this information was in the hands of Hull and Roosevelt. Nothing that could happen could surprise them--save undoubtedly the point of the first assault.
After being dissuaded from the Chinese invasion project,
and seeing the posture of affairs in Japan, the President decided to bring matters
to a head. He did not know where the Japanese would launch their attack. It
might be on Singapore or some Dutch or British island, In that case he had committed
himself--though no one knew it--to join the British in the war on Japan. But
that was not an ideal arrangement. His opponents could still insist the United
States was not attacked. He was apprehensive about the political im-.
5
phications, He had just won a battle to junk the Neutrality Act. But it was
tremendous battle and he won by a very narrow majority. The enemies of a war
declaration were powerful. What was needed was an outright attack on an American
possession. Roosevelt decided therefore, to issue au ultimatum to the Japanese
of such a character that America could not possibly he excluded from the coming
assault. He had been discussing it since mid-November.
Then on November 26, Secretary
Hull did issue an ultimatum to the Japanese. Now he denies it was an ultimatum.
But he cannot escape this charge. Nor can the President escape the fact that
when it was proposed. General Marshall and Admiral Stark said: "For God's sake,
don't send it. We are not ready." Here is what happened. November 25, Knox,
Stimson, Hull, Marshall and Stark met and went to the President's office. Hull
showed a plan for a three-months' truce to be given the Japanese. Stimson said
he thought it was so drastic the Japanese would reject it. But apparently the
group approved it. Hull said he didn't know whether he would offer it "or kick
the whole thing over." The next day Hull handed to the Japanese a very different
plan--the ten-point plan. It demanded that the Japanese (l) get out of China,
(2) get out of Indo-China and (3) repudiate their treaty with the Axis. The
Japanese rightly took this as an ultimatum. And Hull too so regarded it then.
On that day--November 26~-Stimson telephoned Hull. Stimson wrote in his diary:
"He (Hull) told me he had broken the whole thing off. As he put it: 'I have
washed my hands of it and it is in the hands of you and Knox, the Army and Navy.'"
The next day he told the British Ambassador the same thing. General Marshall
and Admiral Stark prepared a joint memorandum to the President urging him not
to send an ultimatum because we were not prepared. An attempt is made to get
rid of this fact by saying it did not reach the President until the 28th, after
he had confirmed the ultimatum to the Japanese Ambassador. The Administration
sponsors are asking you to believe that the President, who was supposed to know
so much, didn't know this fact--that Marshall and Stark knew it but had never
told him before. Of course they had warned him when he talked about an invasion
of China around November 14. They met with him constantly. The lack of readiness
was widely known. Are we supposed to believe that the irreplaceable Commander-in-Chief
alone was ignorant of this fact? When Hull handed that ultimatum to the Japanese
he and Roosevelt knew it was all over. They sat down then and waited for "things
to happen."
What of our two Commanders at Pearl Harbor, inadequately prepared, and in the dark? It is important to remember that Pearl Harbor was 3,500 miles from the points at which the Japanese were preparing their blow· The reconnaissance of the government on these preparations was not in the hands of Short or Kimmel. Other agencies were responsible for that. These agencie reported to Washington. Kimmel and Short had to depend on Washington entirely for their information about the at international negotiations and the physical preparation of the Japanese for an attack.
They were not getting information.
Here is an example. As far back as July 26, Kimmel wrote Stark asking to be
informed of the plans of the government if the Japanese attack the Maritime
Provinces and England declares war on her. July 31, Stark wrote another naval
officer making an amazing confession. He---Chief of Naval Operations, charged
with the plans for eventual war --wrote that he could not get an answer to Kimmel's
question, that when he advances it to Roosevelt all he gets is a "smile or 'Betty,
please don't ask me that.'" As late as October, Kimmel has not yet been able
to get an answer to his question. There is no answer until November 14, when
the fuse is already lighted. Then Admiral Stark wrote him saying: "Just what
we will do in the Far East REMAINS TO BE SEEN." He was never informed what the
U. S. would do in case of war between Japan and Britain in the Pacific. On November
25, after Stark knew an
6
ultimatum would be sent, that the war was only a few days off, he notified Kimmel that the possibility Kimmel had been worrying about was now about to happen, that the Japanese were about to advance in Indo-China, Thailand and the Burma Road most likely. But as to what we will do, he writes a sentence almost beyond belief, unparalleled in the annals of grand strategy: "l WILL BE DAMNED IF I KNOW WHAT THE UNITED STATES WILL DO--ANYTHING OR NOTHING."
The President knew without delay
the Japanese reaction to his ultimatum. On November 28 a coded Japanese message
intercepted by the British said that "negotiations are ruptured," that the United
States proposals are humiliating but that Nomura and Kurusu are not to give
the impression that negotiations are off. On November 30, an intercepted code
message from Tokio to the Japanese Ambassador in Berlin directs him to notify
the German government that U.S.-Japanese relations are ruptured and that war
may break with a clash. May come quicker than anyone dreams with the ANGLO-SAXON
POWERS. And the following day a British intelligence report came that the Japanese
carriers had left the home waters.
What were Kimmel and Short told
about all this? Literally nothing. Marshall was not in Washington, he left on
the 27th to watch army maneuvers in North Carolina. Stimson, acting as Chief
of Staff, sent Short a brief message. He called it a war warning. He said negotiations
with Japan had ended--thus adopting the interpretation of Hull's note as an
ultimatum which would be rejected. But he did not say we had given Japan an
ultimatum. He said an aggressive move was expected in a few days. He warned
"the United States desires Japan to commit the first overt act." He said: "Prior
to hostile action you are directed to undertake such reconnaissance and other
measures as you deem necessary, but these measures should be carried out so
as not to alarm the civil population or disclose intent. Report measures taken."
The whole message was cryptic and inadequate. But this was the fault of Stimson,
not Marshall. Next day, Short, who was told to report what he was doing, sent
a long message describing in detail the measures he had taken. The Army-Navy
plan for defense of Hawaii called for three different types of action--called
Alerts. Alert No. 1 was preparation against internal sabotage. Alert No. 2 was
mobilization against external attack. Alert No. 3 was a signal for battle positions,
when attack begins. Short put into effect Alert No. 1--against sabotage and
internal disorder. He had been warned several times about this. He had been
warned that all Japanese movements indicated an attack thousands of miles from
Pearl Harbor. During the next ten days, though he reported his course, he received
no word from Washington ordering a different one.
Why the alert against sabotage, instead of against external air or submarine attack? The reader must have this very clearly in mind. Hawaii had 160,000 Japanese living there. It swarmed with Japanese spies. While the General Staff felt certain the attack would come at least 3,000 miles from Hawaii, they were profoundly frightened lest an internal movement of suicide Japanese patriots would destroy planes and essential installations, crippling the base. Protection against sabotage called for a very different arrangement than from external attack. Short, and all his officers, were certain that is what the High Command indicated and he felt they knew more of the whole Pacific situation than he did. Kimmel, too, was warned not to do anything that would excite the civil population. Whatever he did must be done secretly. Both were warned not even to let their own officers in on these facts save where essential. And they were told "hostilities would begin soon --but against the Kra Peninsula, Guam, Singapore, Malay.
What was Kimmel doing? It is
forgotten that Kimmel's fleet was not there to protect Pearl Harbor. The Harbor
was there merely as a fuel and supply base for it. That fleet had a task assigned
to it in case of war. The protection of the base would be the duty of the army
and the base naval installations. We do not know what the task assigned to Kimmel
was, But it is certain that had the
7
Japanese overlooked Pearl Harbor and struck at the Philippines or Singalore alone, Kimmel and his fleet would have been off to sea instantly. Kimmel was preparing for the war task assigned to him. not merely for the protection of Pearl Harbor. We must also bear in mind that after November 27, General Snort never received another message giving him any information about the international situation, That is difficult to believe, but it is true. And, we must ask, why was Short told to alert against sabotage while MacArthur in the Philippines was told to alert all out against instant attack?
Roosevelt, the Commander-in-Chief, who was now assured of the attack which would bring him safely into the war, went off to Warm Springs to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday.
We now come to the night before Pearl Harbor in Washington. The President had returned from Warm Springs because of the crisis. The Japanese envoys had held during the week several meaningless sessions with the State Department. But the formal answer of the Japanese government to the ultimatum had not come. But Roosevelt knew what it would be. The stage is all set for the attack on British or, better still. British and American territory in the Pacific. The scenery is beautifully arranged.
The President is widely advertised
as seeking peace. That night at nine o'clock he sends a dramatic message to
Hirohito appealing for peace. He knows this to be as futile as the breeze around
the White House grounds. The Japanese navy is putting to sea; Japanese troops
are pouring southward. The intercepted codes, of which the public knows nothing,
have told the full story.
Luck now played again into Roosevelt's hands.
Our Army Intelligence Service broke the Japanese code and learned what they
were saying among themselves. On that fateful battle eve it got possession of
a document of extraordinary importance. You will recall that the next day---Sunday--the
Japanese asked for an appointment at 1 P.M. with Hull They arrived a little
late--when the bombs were falling on Hawaii--.and presented a note breaking
off relations with us. The incident has been presented to us in shockingly false
colors, We were told how the President was in his study on Sunday for a day
of rest, confident nothing would happen after his appeal the night before to
Hirohito not to precipitate war. He was chatting with Harry Hopkins and fiddling
with his stamp collection, while Mrs. Roosevelt entertained in another quarter
one of her innumerable groups of uplifters. Then--all of a sudden--out of a
clear sky, came news of the attack on Pearl Harbor It's a goodlv picture, but
utterly fraudulent. That is not the way things happened. The preceding night--
Saturday--the government had got hold of the text of that very document which
the Japanese would present the next day. It went to Mr. Roosevelt at 10 P.M.
Hull. Knox and Stimson had it. They knew now what was to happen. Hull telephoned
Knox and Stimson to meet him next morning for a conference at 10.
Consider the situation that
night. The President and his three aged and slow-moving cabinet members knew
everything--all save the hour and point of attack. Far out in the Pacific the
blow would fail. What, in the name of simple common sense, would men of ordinary
intelligence do? They knew at that very moment the Japanese ships and planes
and subs and troops, under cover of
darkness, were moving to their appointed targets. They knew that out in that
vast Pacific were two commanders, wretchedly equipped, depending solely on them
for information. Would you not suppose the very first act would be to notify
General Marshall and Admiral Stark and then, instantly, Admiral Kimmel and General
Short? Would you not think that if Marshall and Stark were not in their offices,
they were to be hunted through the town, roused from their slumbers to give
them this tremendous news? No. The old gentlemen called a conference among themselves
for the next day and went home for the slumbers so essential in their advanced
years. The President had the news at 10 P.M. He, too, did nothing, Worse than
this, a naval aide wag told not to give Admiral Stark his
8
copy o£ the Japanese note until next morning. Why? I think Congress ought to ask for some explanation of this.
The next morning-Sunday- Admiral
Stark, because of the tense situation, went to his office. There he found the
now completed copy of the Japanese note. "My God!"' he cried, "This means war.
I must get word to Kimmel at once." For some reason that word did not go at
all. Another Japanese code message arrived and was decoded. By 8:20 A.M. the
text was in hand. It gave the hour at which the envoys were to present their
note to Secretary Hull. The hour was 1 P.M. Washington time. Just as it was
decoded another message was intercepted. It advised the twelve Japanese consuls
in the United States that
Japan was breaking with this country. All were hurried to Knox, Stimson
and the President. They were in the hands of Hull's conference at 11 A.M. The
bombs would not fall on Pearl Harbor for another two and three-quarters hours.
Lieut. Com. Kramer gave a memorandum
to Secretary Knox of transcendent importance. The memorandum pointed out that
I P.M. Washington time was sunrise over Honolulu and dark night at Manila. Sunrise
would be the moment for air attack. As a surprise attack was indicated, the
hour of presenting the dispatch indicated an air attack on Pearl Harbor. In
other words, we fared an air attack on Pearl Harbor in a little over two hours.
Can we believe that, thus warned,
the High Command in Washington, on the edge of such a precipice, would not with
whatever speed science had yet devised get this tremendous news and its implication
to the Commanders in Hawaii? Instead the three aging secretaries sat down to
a conference. General Marshall did not get the news until 11:25 A.M. He then
sent a warning message to General Short. There was yet an hour and three-quarters
before the explosion. The most precious hour and three-quarters the War Department
had ever lived through. Time to get many of the ships in motion. Time to get
every available man mobilized. Time to get every available plane off the ground.
General Marshall had a scrambler phone which would reach Short instantly. He
had also the Navy's powerful shortwave transmitter. Instead of using these he
sent the message to General Short by commercial radio at or near 12:18 P.M.,
Washington time. That would be 6:48 A.M. Honolulu time. It reached Honolulu
at 7:33 A.M. The Japanese planes were at that moment winging to their kill.
The message was sent through the streets as the bombs were falling. Thus delayed
it reached Army Intelligence office at 11:45 A.M. to be decoded. It was delivered
to General Short at 2:58 P.M., hours alter the great base had been destroyed.
Why did not General Marshall use the government's short-wave apparatus? Why
did he not use his scrambler phone which would have put this information in
the hands of General Short from two and a half to an hour and a half before
the attack? His explanation to the Roberts Commission was that he was afraid
it might be intercepted, What difference? If intercepted the Japs would merely
know what they knew already. But Short would have known it also.
While the American public was
still stunned by the news of the Pearl Harbor attack, three ideas were promptly
fed to the people by the government One was that the damage was slight. The
second was that Kimmel and Short were responsible. The third was that the President
was taken completely by surprise. Naval Secretary Knox, after a quick visit
to Hawaii, returned and told us we had lost one battleship, the Arizona, three
destroyers, a mine layer and an old target ship. Some others were damaged. But
the balance of the fleet, he said, including battleships, carriers, heavy and
light cruisers, destroyers and submarines were at sea seeking contact with the
enemy, Newspapers praised his
frankness and the President for making good on his promise ol "full information."
But this statement was a carefully phrased falsehood. The Secretary juggled
with the word "lost." Few ships, indeed, were permanently lost beyond u!timate
salvage. But they were lost utterly so far as having any striking power against
the enemy was concerned.
The majestic Pacific Fleet
had been put out of action as an effective sea weapon. We had eight battleships
in Pearl Harbor. The Arizona was blown up. The Nevada, with a hole in her side,
was settled in the mud. The California lay on her side. The West Virginia, torpedoed
six times, rested on the bottom. The Pennsylvania and Maryland were badly bombed.
The Oklahoma sank on her side in the shallow water. Three cruisers were badly
bombed. Three destroyers were sunk. A large drydock was destroyed. The Utah
and the Ogalala were sunk. The Army and Navy had had nearly 5000 casualties.
They lost 197 planes. In time nearly all of these vessels were reclaimed. A
few were out in a month. But generally the damage had not been repaired until
the Japanese had completed the conquest of the Philippines, Malay and Singapore
and much of the rich Indies of the British and Dutch and stood at the gateway
to Australia, Why had Knox lied? To deceive the Japanese? Hide from them the
extent of our losses? The Japanese knew them only too well He lied to deceive
the American people who had been led to believe the Japanese would be a pushover
and who, had they known the full extent of the losses, would have been more
clamorous for the heads of the guilty.
Not only was it necessary to
conceal the losses. It was necessary to find a scapegoat. Somebody had committed
a blunder of historic dimensions. Was it the commanders? Or was it the High
Command in Washington? Or was it an even more eminent personage? Of course there
had to be an investigation. It was important. therefore, that the investigation
be controlled. Congress was clamoring for a congressional inquiry. The Administration
blocked that. The President and Knox, along with the Commanders were, pending
inquiry, equally suspect. But the President named Knox to do the investigating.
Meantime
the mud began to fly at Kimmel and Short. Congressman Dingell, New Deal stalwart,
let fly in the House. Knowing nothing of the facts he demanded that Kimmel and
Short be court-martialled. New Deal newspapers took up the cry. Stories were
told of how most of the sailors and marines were ashore after a Saturday night
drunk, how all the officers even, were sleeping off the fatigue of late Saturday
night parties, how Short and Kimrmel themselves were at late parties and of
how the two commanders, divided by professional jealousies. seldom spoke to
each other and conferred but little about the defense of the island.
In five days Knox was back with
the inevitable "report." Of course Knox pointed no accusing finger either at
himself or the President. He said: "The United States services were not on alert
against the surprise attack. The fact calls for a full investigation which will
be initiated immediately by the president." All indignant outcry broke out against
the smeared officers in Congress. Then came the "investigation." The President
named a five-man commission. Four were officers who could be depended on not
to blame the War and Naval Secretaries or the President. But Justice Roberts
was a Republican. This was a master stroke. What the public overlooked was that
Roberts had been one of the most clamorous among those screaming for an open
declaration of war. He had doffed his robes, taken to the platform in his frantic
apprehensions and demanded that we immediately unite with Great Britain in a
single nation. The Pearl Harbor incident had given him what he had been yelling
for--America's entrance into the war. On the war issue he was one of the President's
most impressive allies. Now he had his wish. He could be depended on not to
cast any stain upon it in its infancy.
His commission went to Pearl
Harbor and investigated. But it was specifically enjoined from investigating
the other segments of the story in Washington. Certain essential documents were
deliberately concealed from it. It came up with the ex-
10
pected indictment--putting the blame on Kimrel and Short and calling for their court-martial. That fixed the black spot on the Commanders. They were relieved of their posts. They were forbidden to make any statement or enter into any discussion of their innocence. And it was then announced there would be no court-martial. The black spot was fastened on the two helpless victims to stay. The White House took over the management of the whole affair. Army and Naval officials, when asked for statements, said: "The White House is doing the talking." And it did none. It wanted to forget the case. It said: "Let's get on with the war."
From time to time voices rose in Congress to ask some degree of justice for the accused men. Finally Congress, by resolution, ordered the Army and Navy to make formal inquiry of the indicted officers. Boards were named in each Service and the inquiries were made. The Boards reported to their Army and Navy Secretaries in November, 1944. The reports were suppressed by the President on the pretense that military safety required it. Now nine months later President Truman, without knowing enough of the whole intrigue, has given out the reports when it is realized that an angry Congress is about to demand them. The reports have been subjected to alterations and deletions. Kimmel and Short are again smeared and with them Hull, Marshall and Stark. The reports still withhold the gravest facts---those revealed here. And Kimmel and Short, thus dishonored, are still denied a court martial and even a chance to speak up in their defense.
The next bead in the bracelet
of defense of the Administration has been that the Army and Navy and the President
himself were taken completely by surprise. While they look upon this as a defense
for themselves, they apparently do not think it a defense for Kimmel and Short.
The theory, endlessly repeated by radio and press, is that we were at peace,
that we were actually negotiating for a peaceful settlement and that the President
was waiting in complete security for the Japanese answer to his last proposal
for peace when, out of a clear sky, the bombs began to fail on Pearl Harbor.
Here is the government's whole case. Our government, while trying to induce Japan to enter upon a peaceful settlement, was taken by carefully studied surprise. But, notwithstanding the surprise, that Government had adequately warned Kimmel and Short of the attack which it did not expect; the Admiral and General did not put their commands on the alert required, and as a consequence the great naval base was exposed to the full fury of the Japanese treachery.
There is a story of profound
importance yet to be told about the state of peace so far as America was concerned
before Pearl Harbor. Certainly we had not de-clared war. But we had sent an
army across the sea to Iceland to join the British army there; we had been sending
arms, ammunition and destroyers and planes as a gilt to Britain and France and
China. We had been with our warships hunting down German submarines for British
planes and even bombing them. On November 25. W. Averill Harriman, the President's
agent in London, said: "The United States Navy is shooting the Germans--German
submarines and aircraft at sea." And on September 20, 1941, a dispatch from
Hyde Park reported that "More than half of the United States Navy is forced
to remain in the Pacific at a time when the United States is operating against
German and Italian submarines and air raiders in the Atlantic." In the Pacific
we had cut off all shipments and trade of essential materials with Japan and
frozen and seized here $130,000.000 of her funds, which Walter Lippmann called
"a declaration of economic warfare." We had sent an American military mission
to China and an American economic adviser to Chiang Kai-shek. We had sent General
Chennault with a large number of American army
11
fliers to China to fight with Chiang's army. At the Atlanttic Charter meeting,
Churchill had urged Roosevelt to send an ultimatum to Japan at once. He replied
saying: "Let me baby her along for another three months."
Mr. Grew, our Ambassador to Tokio, had advised Roosevelt in December, 1940, that the hope of peace had vanished in the East and that it was no longer a question of whether we would have war with Japan but WHEN. The United States must decide whether it should be later or now. And he, Grew, was for NOW. To this on January 21, 1941, Roosevelt replied that he completely agreed Mr. Grew. And a few weeks later Admiral Stark notified Admiral Kimmel that "war with Japan is no longer a question of whether but of when."
There is no room here to discuss
these interesting features of what is now a section of history. I do not wish
to enter into any consideration here of whether the warlike acts of the President
listed above were wise or not. Certainly he was supported in them by large and
important groups. I recall them now merely to supply certain features of the
international scenery in which the events I am describing took place.
The Commander of all our military forces was General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff. The Commander of the Navy was Admiral Harold R. Stark, Chief of Naval Operations. Both, of course, were subject to the President who had by now got into the habit of referring to himself as the Commander-in-Chief. This was not a mere peccadillo. He was already performing directly that function, issuing orders to Stark which the Secretary of the Navy knew nothing of and issuing orders to Marshall without consulting the Secretary of War. His intrusions into operations of the Navy were more frequent because, while Roosevelt had, under the influence of flatterers who surrounded him, come to think of himself as a master of diplomacy, an expert in political economy, an adept in political manipulation, a wizard in public finance, a profound student of foreign affairs and a military strategist of large dimensions, he regarded himself as little less than a genius in naval organization and direction. This obsession led to the habit of secrecy to avoid the annoyance of hostile advice upon projects he wished to manage.
Thus in June, when he directed
the transfer of naval vessels from the Pacific to the Atlantic, the Secretary
of the Navy heard about it first from the Secretary of War. Later, when Hull
was asked what had happened to the proposals submitted by the Japanese Premier
directly to the President, he said: "I am wondering myself." We have seen that
the Chief of Naval Operations could not find out what our plans for the Pacific
war were and an American Admiral first learned of certain plans of our government
in his theatre from a British admiral. We have seen this headstrong man, surrounded
by subservient and obsequious courtiers like Harry Hopkins, Henry Wallace, Sam
Rosenman and others, playing secretly the devious game of diplomacy with the
Japs and running, often behind the backs of his admirals and generals, segments
of a rapidly developing war in two vast oceans.
The point upon which all the
forces we have been examining were converging was the small island of Oahu and,
in particular, its great naval base near Honolulu--Pearl Harbor. It was supposed
to be one of the strongest in the world. The commander of the military establishment
in Hawaii was General Walter C. Short. The Pacific Fleet was based at Pearl
Harbor and it was under the command of Admiral Husband E. Kimmel. Responsibility
for the defense of the island was in the hands of General Short. Admiral Kimmel
was expected to give whatever assistance was required from the Navy. But Admiral
Kimmel's are of operations
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extended over the whole Pacific. Further to the West was the Asiatic Fleet
based in the Philippines and under the command of Admiral Thomas C. Hart.
Here we must note a fact of great importance. The Pacific Fleet had always been based on our West Coast. Pearl Harbor was a supply and repair base m event, of operations m the mid-Pacific. It was Roosevelt who forced the change of bringing the Fleet into Pearl Harbor. In 1940, Admiral Richardson was made Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet. He was one of the Navy's foremost figures. Since his earliest days , after leaving Annapolis, he had made the study of Japanese warfare his life work. He was beyond question the Navy's outstanding authority upon Pacific naval warfare and Japanese strategy.
He was the logical man for the
post. As the war clouds darkened over the Pacific he was in the spot for which
his whole professional life had been a training. Richardson was ordered to berth
the Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor. This he refused to do--an act no one but
a very distinguished officer could risk. He was ordered a second time and again
refused. It was Richardson's belief--and indeed generally supported by the Navy--that
the Fleet should never be berthed inside Pearl Harbor where it would be a mark
for attack. This was particularly true in such troubled times when the airways
of the East were hot with rumors of approaching conflict. What is more Richardson
held the belief that Pearl Harbor was the logical first point of attack for
the Japanese High Command, wedded as it was to the theory of undeclared and
surprise warfare.
But Richardson was overruled
by Roosevelt, the amateur admiral. Whether Richardson was relieved of his command
or resigned in protest I do not know. Certainly he departed from it. At this
point, Admiral Husband E. Kimmel was placed in command. What his views were
on the berthing of the Fleet in Pearl Harbor I do not know. But in time he came
to look upon the Harbor as extremely vulnerable. He arrived at the conclusion
that the Fleet should not be held in Pearl Harbor, that it was a mistake to
keep it there for political rather than naval reasons and that the longer it
was kept there for political reasons the more difficult it would be to withdraw
it without creating further international political repercussions. His advice
on this was disregarded, as was Richardson's. He soon learned that neither he
nor the Navy Command was running the United States Navy. This was another terrible
blunder responsible for the tragedy at Pearl Harbor.
In November, 1941, just before the battle, the United States had in its Navy 216 major surface combat ships. The Pacific had always been the home of the greater portion of these vessels. But as the menace grew in Asia where the President looked upon war as certain, he began transferring war vessels to the Atlantic.
By June there were 114 major
surface combat vessels in the Atlantic and only 102 in the Pacific. Moreover
by this time the President had given away 50 destroyers to the British and these
were desperately needed by Kimmel as the crisis neared. While some of our pulp-paper
generals and statesmen were telling the people that Japan was a pushover, the
United States, Britain and the Dutch combined had m the Pacific 152 major combat
vessels against Japan's 180--perhaps more. The advantage of surprise lay with
her and the battlefield was thousands of miles closer to her shores than to
ours. I should add that nearly 40 of the vessels we had were laid up for repairs.
Much of the trained personnel had been taken away for service in the Atlantic,
leaving the Pacific Fleet manned heavily by raw recruits, These required constant
training: Admiral .Kimmel wrote to the Navy begging to be kept informed of the
international situation so that he could know when to convert from training
to service routines.
Despite all this, while the
President was ordering Kimmel to "keep ships popping up here and there to worry
the Japanese" and Stark was instructing him to make plans for bombing inflammable
targets in Japan, the President in May
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transferred from the Pacific to the Atlantic three battleships, six cruisers,
18 destroyers, six transports with all the trained marines on the West Coast.
The Commanders in the Pacific protested without avail. Then in June the President
ordered the transfer of three more battleships, four more cruisers, and two
squadrons of destroyers to the Atlantic. The naval defenses of the Pacific were
being stripped by the President. Stark protested in vain. Then Kimmel went directly
to the President and succeeded in dissuading him from this last raid upon his
Fleet.
By this time the President's
chief adviser on such matters--where he wanted advice--was Harry Hopkins, whose
carefully taken policy was always to please the President. On one occasion a
distinguished admiral had to go to Mr. Hopkins' bedroom where Hopkins, redining
in his pajamas, gave him a curt "no" to his appeal not to take away any further
vessels from his area. Next Admiral King demanded the transfer of more ships
from the Pacific to his Atlantic command. Knox was agreeable. It was prevented
by Stark's resistance.
The islands' inadequacy in planes was deplorable. The Navy was responsible for long-distance reconnaissance. This meant observations 800 miles all around from Oahu. To do this properly Kimmel would need not less than 180 patrol planes. Kimmel had only 80 or 90 long-distance patrol planes. He had-a couple of squadrons of marine planes. He had two carriers - a third was up for repairs. The Army was much worse off. If the Navy were called away the Army would have to take over long-distance reconnaissance. It should have had 180 B-17 s for long-distance patrol. It had six. It had had 12 but was forced to dismantle six to keep the other six supplied with parts for flying. It should have had at least 200 fighter planes. It had few old P-36's not suitable for combat, ten A-20's good for 600 miles flight (300 miles out and back) and a bunch of old B-18's which could not be used against an enemy without inviting suicide.
Less than ten days before Pearl
Harbor, the Army and Navy proposed to ship 50 planes from Hawaii to Wake and
Midway and a similar movement of marines and Army personnel. It would have depleted
the Army's already pitiful fighter strength by 40 per cent. General Short continually
begged for more planes, more men, more detection equipment. Instead of getting
reinforcement in the imminent peril of war, the two men had to fight continually
to hold what they had. Kimmel too had protested frequently. He advised against
"backing into war. If we have decided on war it would be better to take direct
defensive action."
The stripping of the naval and
airplane and military defenses of Hawaii---particularly of the naval defenses--was
another great cause of the disaster at Pearl Harbor. And this was done by the
amateur Commander-in-Chief over the advice and protests of his military and
naval advisers and of Admiral Kimmel and General Short.
This pathetic tragedy of blunders may be summed up as follows:
1. By January l, 1941, Roosevelt had decided to go to war with Japan.
2. But he had solemnly pledged the people he would not take their sons to foreign wars unless attacked. Hence he dared not attack and so decided to provoke the Japanese to do so.
3. He kept all this a secret from the Army and Navy.
4. He felt the moment to provoke the attack had come by November. He ended negotiations abruptly November 26 by handing the Japanese an ultimatum which he knew they dared not comply with.
5. Immediately he knew his ruse would succeed, that the Japanese looked upon relations as ended and were preparing for the assault. He knew this from the intercepted messages.
6. He was certain the attack would be against British territory, at Singapore
14
perhaps, and perhaps on the Philippines or Guam. If on the Philippines or Guam
he would have his desired attack. But if only British territory were attacked
could he safely start shooting? He decided he could and committed himself to
the British government. Rut he never revealed this to his naval chief.
7. He did not order Short to change his alert and he did not order Kimmel to
take his fleet out of Pearl Harbor, out where it could defend itself, because
he wanted to create the appearance of being completely at peace and surprised
when the Japs started shooting. Hence he ordered Kimmel and Short not to do
any thing to cause alarm or suspicion. He was completely sure the Japs would
not strike at Pearl Harbor.
8. Thus he completely miscalculated. He disregarded the advice of men who always
held that Pearl Harbor would be first attacked. He disregarded the warning implicit
in the hour chosen for attack and called to Knox s attention. He disregarded
the advice of his chiefs that we were unprepared.
9. When the attack came he was appalled and frightened. He dared not give the
facts to the country. To save himself he maneuvered to lay the blame upon Kimmel
and Short. To prevent them from proving their innocence he refused
them a trial. When the case was investigated by two naval and army boards, he
suppressed the reports. He threatened prosecution to any man who would tell
the truth.
Now, if there is a shred of decency left in the American people they will demand
that Congress open the whole ugly business to the light of day.
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E-mail Mark Willey: pha1941@hotmail.com.
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