December 7, 1941
By
Michael The Libertarian
A date that will live in infamy.
Seventy-six years ago a swarm of Japanese zeros launched from
their carriers with only one desire: wipe out the American Pacific
fleet (PacFlt).
This would accomplish two goals.
First, obviously, it would reduce the U.S.'s ability to defend
itself from Japanese attack to territories in the South Pacific.
Second, it would mean the United States would have to
reinforce the PacFlt with ships and resources from the Atlantic fleet
(AtFlt.) which would imperil our ability to make war against the
Nazis on that front.
It was a move that was meant to defeat us as swiftly as
possible because the Nazis knew they didn't want us entering into the
war in Europe. In fact, the pacifist movement not with-standing, had
we not been sucker-punched by Hirohito and Hideki Tojo, we might
have entered into the war in Europe earlier, saving a few more lives
than we did.
It's interesting to note: the architect of the battle plan at
Pearl Harbor, Admiral Yamamoto, was not eager to attack the U.S. and
was horrified to find out the declaration of war was delivered late,
turning his “master stroke” into nothing more than what he
considered a dishonorable exercise.
In
The Reluctant Admiral,
Hiroyuki Agawa gives a quotation from Admiral Yamamoto to
Ogata Taketora on January 9, 1942, which stated: "A military
man can scarcely pride himself on having 'smitten a sleeping enemy';
it is more a matter of shame, simply, for the one smitten. I would
rather you made your appraisal after seeing what the enemy does,
since it is certain that, angered and outraged, he will soon launch a
determined counterattack."
It's
difficult not to believe that since Japan was allied with Germany,
this foolhardy strategy might have been hatched in Berlin; rather
than Tokyo. Hitler was not known for his military prowess and a good
portion of Japanese commanders realized that if the slightest thing
went wrong with the plan and the PacFlt wasn't
wiped out, Japan would have found themselves in a perilous situation
much earlier on than eventually ensued.
When
I was a wee scad and lived in New York, I lived next-door to a
Japanese family. I won't give their last name, but I think I once
read that its commonality in Japan puts it on a par with “Johnson”
here, in the U.S.
This
was a proud family. The father, “Ken” had been born in Japan. His
wife, “Sally” had been born in the U.S. They met in an internment
camp in Oklahoma.
In
this country's history, certainly slavery and how we treated Africans
is our biggest sinful shame, but the treatment of the Japanese,
during this period in history, has to rank a close second (arguably,
but this is “Pearl Harbor Day” so give me a break).
I
was lucky enough to be able to hear first-hand stories from Ken and
Sally about the state of this country from the perspective of people
who weren't in the military, but who were still affected in a major
way by WWII. Some of the stories I heard were down-right awful, but
none were horrifying. We're not talking Nazi Concentration Camps,
here, but neither are we talking a weekend in the Borscht Belt.
What
has always amazed me was that thirty years after the fact, these
people were staunch supporters of the U.S. and even defended the
treatment they received, while not defending the actions that brought
them to the camp.
I
mention this because, while I might despise the tactics of December
7, 1941, when I think about Ken and Sally and their children (one of
whom was a dear friend of mine), I find my anger and rhetoric are
natural tempered.
When
it comes to issues surrounding our war in the Pacific, neither side
can claim to have walked with the angels after that horrible day in
Hawai'i.
So,
on a day like today, as I remember the honored dead, laying on the
floor of Pearl Harbor, I also tend to give a thought to Ken and Sally
and thousands like them who paid a price for looking a certain way,
but also went on to live the American dream.
-
Michael
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