Contents Foreword 1 Introduction 4 World Map 11 Chapter 1 Historical Background on the Attack on Pearl Harbor 1. The Attack on Pearl Harbor 15 Michael J. O Neal On December 7, 1941, Japanese planes and submarines attacked the U.S. naval and army base at Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The offensive resulted in numerous American casualties and provoked the United States to declare war against Japan. 2. Japan Weighs Its Options in Pursuing War in the Pacific 25 Giichi Nakahara In the months preceding the attack on Pearl Harbor and following the successful assault, an executive in the Japanese navy writes about international events, Japan s relationship with the United States, and the potential for Japan to take the offensive against the U.S. in the Pacific. 3. The President Asks Congress to Declare War Against Japan 35 Franklin D. Roosevelt The day after the attack on Pearl Harbor,
President Roosevelt addresses Congress, petitioning the legislators to declare a state of war against Japan in response to the surprise attack against the Hawaiian base and other U.S. holdings in the Pacific. 4. U.S. Citizens React to the Attack on Pearl Harbor and Their Country s Entry into the War 40 Interviews by Paul Martin An Indiana radio broadcaster conducts a series of interviews reporting the views of Bloomington college students and townspeople following the attacks on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent declaration of war. 5. The U.S. Government Interns People of Japanese Descent 51 Western Defense Command, U.S. Army In his final report on the recommendation to relocate Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans living along the Pacific coast of the United States, the U.S. Western Defense Commander outlines the circumstances leading up to the evacuation of these individuals as well as the specific military considerations influencing the government s decision. Chapter 2 Controversies Surrounding the Attack on Pearl Harbor 1. The Roosevelt Administration Made Scapegoats of the Military Commanders in Hawaii 67 George Morgenstern An American journalist makes the case that
the Roosevelt administration knowingly and deliberately concocted a plan to blame the extensive casualties and destruction at Pearl Harbor on the military commanders at the base. 2. All U.S. Citizens Must Take Responsibility for the Lack of National Preparedness 82 Thomas E. Dewey A former New York district attorney responds to the publishing of the Pearl Harbor report that laid blame for the attack on the two head military commanders at the base. He contends that all Americans must stop looking for scapegoats for the attacks, accept that their own complacency left the nation unprepared, and do what they can to help support the war effort. 3. The U.S. Government Did Not Receive Warning Messages Until After the Attack on Pearl Harbor Began 92 Kendrick Frazier An American magazine editor refutes the conspiracy theory that the U.S. government received and withheld critical warnings that could have prevented or lessened the casualties resulting from the attack on Pearl Harbor. 4. President Roosevelt Did Not Provoke the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor 100 Kevin Baker An American journalist contests the notion that President Roosevelt and his administration purposefully withheld vital information that would have lessened the devastation at
Pearl Harbor. He maintains that the commanders at the Hawaiian base had received enough warnings from Washington to have prepared better for imminent attack. 5. Japanese Naval Blunders Followed the Pearl Harbor Attack 110 Masataka Chihaya Following the end of World War II, a former Japanese naval officer criticizes the Japanese navy for planning only one attack on Pearl Harbor. He further chides them for being overconfident in their victory and not preparing properly for war in the months after the assault. 6. The Lessons of Pearl Harbor Drove Cold War Policy in the United States 118 Takuya Sasaki A Japanese professor of politics contends that the attack on Pearl Harbor served as a guide for U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War. He claims the U.S. government repudiated any notion that it would initiate a sneak attack and used Pearl Harbor as an example of the treachery that might again befall the nation if it was not prepared for war. 7. The Pearl Harbor Memorial Is a Space of Conflicting Histories 125 Liz Reed An Australian historian argues that the memorial tour at Pearl Harbor encourages visitors to accept a one-sided, nationalistic view of the event that paints the United States as a non-aggressor protecting its vital inter-
ests. The author states that a similar rhetoric is being used in light of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the subsequent invasion of Iraq. 8. The Pearl Harbor Memorial Evokes Sorrow and Solidarity for Japanese Visitors 132 Yujin Yaguchi A Japanese history professor finds that Japanese tourists who visit the Pearl Harbor memorial express condolences for the attack committed by their government. However, he also reports that many feel more information should be included regarding the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to present a more complete picture of the destructive nature of war. 9. Parallels Between Pearl Harbor and 9/11 141 Emily S. Rosenberg An American history professor explores the similarities in the discourse surrounding the Pearl Harbor and 9/11 surprise attacks and the ways in which each event informs understanding of the other. Chapter 3 Personal Narratives 1. A Veteran Describes the Attack on Pearl Harbor and Its Aftermath 152 L.E. Rogers The son of a Pearl Harbor veteran retells his father s dramatic story of surviving the attack as a young man.
2. A Japanese American Recounts the Impact of Pearl Harbor on His Parents 163 Charles Shiro Inouye The son of Japanese Americans relocated during World War II recalls his parents experience and discusses the United States official apology and attempt at reparations in the 1980s. 3. A Young Seaman Recounts the Sinking of the USS Arizona 171 Martin Matthews A veteran recalls that, as a fifteen-year-old sailor, he was visiting a friend aboard the USS Arizona when the Japanese planes descended on Battleship Row. Caught in the confusion and not sure where to station himself, he made his way up on deck, where either an explosion or sheer panic propelled him into the water with numerous other seamen swimming for their lives. 4. A Japanese American Citizen Describes Internment and His Decision to Join the Army 181 Minoru Masuda A second-generation Japanese American recollects his initial reaction to the Pearl Harbor attacks, the evacuation and relocation of his parents and later he and his wife to internment camps, and his eventual decision to join the segregated regimental combat team in the U.S. Army. Chronology 188 For Further Reading 193 Index 197