Quincy

Quincy McDougal Wiki Post #1 04/07/10

At 7:55 AM December 7, 1941 the most devastating attack against the US that has ever taken place on American soil began. Shielded by the dense mountains of Oahu, Pearl Harbor was completely unaware of the impending attack until it was upon them. A total of 360 Japanese attack aircraft, having taken off from 6 aircraft carriers several hundred miles away bombarded Pearl Harbor in two different waves ending shortly before 10:00 AM. 96 US Ships (the bulk of the US Pacific Fleet) where stationed in Pearl Harbor. By the end of the morning Japanese bombers had crippled or sank18 ships, including three destroyers, three light cruisers and eight battleships. Fortunately all aircraft carriers where at sea. However, 161 airplanes where destroyed and combined the Army and Navy suffered a daunting 2,896 casualties, all within two hours. How could a major military base which was home to the bulk of the US Fleet in the Pacific be so vulnerable and unprepared for such a threat? Pearl Harbor had a lack of training facilities, a lack of support craft (tugboats and vital repair ships), a lack of overhaul facilities (dry-docking and machine shops), and a lack of large-scale ammunition and fuel supplies critical to anti-air defense. However these faults are miniscule compared to those left in washington. The United States Government knew that once war was declared, an attack was impending, however, they didn't know where the target would be. Days prior to Pearl Harbor a transmission intercepted from a Japanese weather station contained the message “east wind, rain”. United States intelligence knew that this phrase was the code signal for war with the US. On December 4, three days before the attack on Pearl Harbor Australian intelligence spotted a Japanese fleet of 30 ships (the fleet that was to carry out the attack on Pearl Harbor) in the pacific heading east (towards Hawaii). Urgent warning messages where sent to Washington but where dismissed as Republican rumors. The day before the attack, December 6, 1941, the US Navy Intercepted a message in the Japanese Military's top secret “Purple Code” that stated that the Japanese Government was going to end relations with the United States. The intercepted messages, and many other warnings from various informants all pointed to one thing, an attack was about to be launched against the United States. The spotting of the Japanese fleet of aircraft carriers and other attack vessels in the pacific heading west pointed to one probable target, Pearl Harbor. However, none of the Commanders in charge of Pearl Harbor and very few government and Military officials where privy to this information. Franklin Delano Roosevelt knew all of this information and acknowledged that war with Japan was upon them. After reading the deciphered 13 page “Purple Code” he stated “this means war”. This arouses a horrible thought; did top government officials including the President know about, or have information that could have prevented Pearl Harbor before it happened? There is convincing evidence on both sides of the argument. Government officials knew that war was coming long before it was declared, however the citizens of the Unites States were less convinced. Much of the voting body of the country still clung to isolationist views and resisted the idea of taking part in “Europe's war”. An attack on US soil gave FDR all the reason and support he needed to enter the war with all the resources of the United States. It unified the country and gave us a common goal and a common enemy. In many ways, beyond the horrible loss of life and resources, the attack on Pearl Harbor pushed America to do the right thing; enter the war with full force, however, at what cost? There is evidence on both sides of the argument that top officials intentionally allowed an attack upon the US to take place. However, it is a fact that our government had clear information of what was going to take place. It is also a fact that much of this intelligence was subdued and dismissed. This pushes any responsible citizen to wonder; what is it about our government, whether conspiracy or functional failure, that would allow such a terrible wound to be inflicted upon our nation?

Bibliography so far:

Stinnett, Robert. //Day of Deceit; The Truth About FDR and Pearl Harbor//. New York: Free Press, 1999


 * Journal Entry 1:** Topic and ideas -- What are you investigating? What are the questions that are guiding your investigation.

Wiki #2 04/13/10

Upon further investigation I have found that many widely know published works, both online and in print, omit certain facts about intercepted transmissions to make it look like the government explicitly knew about the attack on pearl harbor. Upon studying the actual transmissions and transmission records as provided by The Department of the Navy it appears clear that there was much less clear intelligence available to the military than previously thought. It had become clear by November 1941 that war was imminent. All involved military commanders knew this (including the commanders of Pearl Harbor). Warnings based on Japanese diplomatic messages were sent to Philippine and Hawaiian commanders on 24, 27 and 29 November 1941. Based on other diplomatic and military messages intercepted from Japan the United States military was expecting an attack, however the probable target was thought to be the philippines, not Pearl Harbor. Philippine Commanders where informed of this and some pre-attack measures where taken. After July 1941 no intelligence material regarding the imminent attack was sent to Pearl Harbor commander Admiral Kimmel or to the Philippines. Intelligence was not relayed “as a matter of policy and probably as a practical security precaution” according to the Department of the Navy. Intercepted messages containing vital military information which could have prevented the attack on Pearl Harbor where intercepted by Naval Intelligence prior to the attack, however the bulk of these messages where not deciphered until September 1945-May 1946 during a congressional investigation of the attack on Pearl Harbor. It is worthy to note that these messages where not translated until the congressional investigation demanded it.

Questions: (1)Admiral Kimmel was not overly concerned with an attack on Pearl Harbor and was focusing instead on the Naval fleet in the pacific. Although he had very little if an warning of the attack in terms of intelligence, he as well as Admiral Short where found derelict of duties and stripped of their commands, essentially serving as scapegoats for the attack. Why weren't these military commanders made aware of diplomatic and military intercepts that where available before the attack? (2)Why weren't the intercepts that contained vital intelligence of the impending attack decoded prior to the attack? Why were they not translated for 4 years after the attack? (3)Although specific military intercepts where not available prior to the attack, the government knew an attack was coming. Why wasn't the sighting of the Japanese fleet near australia (heading towards Hawaii) addressed as a threat by the US Military?

Although it appears that military commanders and government officials where less aware of the situation than previously thought, there are still many unanswered questions. Why was a government and military so advanced as ours so inefficient and incompetent? Many of the Intercepts where uncovered by NSA Historian Mr. Henry Schorrec 4 years after the attack in an NSA Intelligence database which to some extent, scrambled the data, making impossible to know certain facts about the intelligence. Why was data so important to National Security and National History a) mishandled to the extent that is was and b) allowed to be lost? Are these shortcomings functional failures of intelligence services? Or might they masque a conspiracy that would judge government, intelligence or military officials in a much more negative light? At this point my research and attention is being directed toward the actual raw data (diplomatic and military intercepts and United States military intelligence records) as provided by the Department of the Navy and the NSA Historical Archives. Some of these questions may not be possible to answer, however going forward I look to uncover some truth on the issue and discover why such an important event in American History is clouded by such confusion, controversy, and conflicting data.

Appendix A. “Naval Messages Intercepted between 6 September and 4 December 1941,” Department of the Navy United States Cryptologic History August 8 2006. http://www.history.navy.mil/books/comint/ComInt-A.html (accessed april 14, 2010)

Appendix B. “Summary of Diplomatic Messages July-November 1941,” Department of the Navy United States Cryptologic History June 22 2001. http://www.history.navy.mil/books/comint/ComInt-B.html (accessed april 14, 2010)

Stinnett, Robert. Day of Deceit; The Truth About FDR and Pearl Harbor. New York: Free Press, 1999

Doenecke, Justus. Review of Day of Deceit; The Truth About FDR and Pearl Harbor, by Robert Stinnett. The Journal of American History (2002). http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/jah/89.1/br_102.html (accessed april 12, 2010)

Zelikow, Philip. Review of Day of Deceit; The Truth About FDR and Pearl Harbor, By Robert Stinnett. Foreign Affairs (April 2000). http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/55671/philip-zelikow/day-of-deceit-the-truth-about-fdrand-pearl-harbor (accessed april 12, 2010)

Doenecke, Justus. Debating Franklin D. Rosevelt's Foreign Policies, 1933-1945 (Debating Twentieth-Century America) (Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, July 2005), 106 - 108.

Gordon W. Prange, Donald M. Goldstein and Katherine V. Dillon. Pearl Harbor: The Verdict of History. :Penguin (non-classics), 1991.
 * Journal Entry 2:** A comment on your process to date, a brief discussion of your sources, and a listing of sources you are currently working with (correct Turabian format). This should be a significant step forward from your initial bibliography.


 * Journal Entry 3:** What is your Thesis?

At 7:55 am on December 7th 1941 America was rudely awakened from an isolationist dream. This historic date was anything but the lazy sunday which was expected, rather Pearl Harbor - the Naval base located in Oahu Hawaii - suffered the worse military defeat the United States has lost to date. A surprise, two wave attack by Japanese bombers crippled America's naval fleet in the pacific, resulted in the loss of 2,403 American lives and suddenly pushed the United States into Wold War II. It was an event which caught the United States Military unprepared and by surprise, and the appalling news of Pearl Harbor shocked but united an American public who previously, for the most part, believed that the United States should refrain from Europe's war. December 7th effectively resolved any domestic dispute over the matter, changing an issue of neutralism into and issue of national defense. The Roosevelt Administration, having attempted to take action previously, was finally given the critical green light for war. After the horror of Pearl Harbor American industry began to flourish, the production of war supplies provided jobs for millions and jump started the economy. America experienced a sweeping amalgamation which put the hearts and minds of Americans in the trust of their President and the war effort. Pearl Harbor served as a terrible national awakening to certain global realities, and provoked a military response crucial to the outcome of the war.