Man, it’s cold out here today. But, if I thought there was a nip in the air today….well….75 years ago it was even worse.
The attack on Pearl Harbor is interesting because I really can’t think of any event since then that was so abrupt and world-changing. At least, up until 9/11. Think about it…you wake up one morning, everything is normal, and by dinner that evening you’re in a global war that would change the political landscape for the the next hundred years. All with (supposedly) no warning. (And, yes, I think FDR knew.)
Point being, world-altering stuff can happen without warning and with unbelievable consequences. Best you can do is be as ready as you can be. Could be Japanese torpedo bombers over Hawaii, could be a nuclear artillery shell in the backseat of a Cessna detonated over the Pentagon, could be The Big One that creates Nevada beachfront property….you never know. But it can happen and it can happen like that :::snaps fingers:::.
Pearl Harbor Day is a great day to remember the sacrifices and bravery of World War Two, but it’s also an excellent reminder that big stuff happens, and it can happen so fast you won’t know what hit you.
Japan was doing nasty military things in China in 1938, Hitler & Co. were exerting their military might in Europe around the same time. We finally got off our Hillarys and started aiding the Brits when they were threatened by Nazis. We knew there was going to be a world wide conflict, just didn’t (supposedly) have any knowledge of a Pacific sneak attack. Things were in a slow motion decline.
Interesting little historical tid-bit: Japan’s torpedo attack on Pearl Harbor was, tactically speaking, nearly identical to their torpedo attack on Port Arthur (now China, but then a Russian naval base) 36 years earlier. The tactic itself, really shouldn’t have ‘surprised’ anyone.
Enjoyed the “nips in the air”reference, although I must confess my first thought was, we were going to see some hotty’s nipples!
Actually, the attack on Pearl Harbor was modeled on the British Fleet Air Arm’s attack on the Italian Naval Base at Taranto in 1940. While the torpedo attack on Port Arthur was similar, it was no more closely modeled than Nelson’s attacks at Copenhagen or the Nile. Inspiration can even be drawn from Drake’s use of fire ships at Calais. Surprisingly, Admiral Isoruki Yamamoto, the architect of the attack, basically worshiped Admiral Horatio Nelson of the Royal Navy, and patterned much of his tactics and strategy after him. It was from him that Yamamoto learned to attack the enemy in harbor.
Billy Mitchell predicted it in 1924!!!!
“In 1924, Gen. Patrick again dispatched him on an inspection tour, this time to Hawaii and Asia, to get him off the front pages. Mitchell came back with a 324-page report that predicted future war with Japan, including the attack on Pearl Harbor.”