How Did Pearl Harbor Preventable
Was Pearl Harbor Preventable?
Bobby Owens
Robert Owens
Mr. Bush
APUSH
26 May 2017
Was Pearl Harbor Preventable?
On the morning of December 7th, 1941 on the sunny island of Oahu in Hawaii, sailors aboard ships in Pearl Harbor woke up to the deafening sound of planes, bullets, and bombs above them. Little did they know, those sailors would witness one of the most horrific days in human history. Those sailors also didn’t know that their government was betraying them, allowing them to die by the hands of the Japanese. The catastrophic bombing of Pearl Harbor saw thirteen ships damaged and two destroyed, as well as 159 planes damaged and 169 destroyed. Also, the surprise massacre by the Empire of Japan forced over 2,000 men to …show more content…
Pearl Harbor is a lagoon harbor in Southwest Oahu which was used as a whaling port for many years until 1887, when the United States began using it as a Naval Base to protect American citizens who held jobs in the whaling business. The Navy was not sure if the harbor was a suitable place for a base, considering how shallow the water is. Eventually, the military presence grew until today, where Pearl Harbor is one of the two main Naval bases of the Pacific Fleet. The weather there is usually warm and sunny with common afternoon showers, which makes it a popular vacation destination. Even though Pearl Harbor and the surrounding Honolulu may be a getaway, the history sitting just below the water is harrowing and somber. The prevention of Pearl Harbor abroad should have began months before the initial attack. With the growing monster of Japan raging on, the United States should have been wary of attack since the war’s infancy. In 1937, Japan embarks on …show more content…
Mistakes and horrid actions by the government lead to the death of thousands of young boys. Not only was there an accidental communication failure, but there was a conscious withholding of vital information. The communication during the war is not sufficient for time constraints, and that is what occurred. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt gets his first report about the battle at 2:28 PM which would be 8:28 AM in Hawaii, about half an hour after the attack began. The chain of information began from an Admiral in Hawaii and then to the Secretary of the Navy. From there in Washington, the information went to the President. Not only did the communication take time, but the Admiral in Hawaii withheld information for fear that the Japanese were listening. It took 6 hours for the President to fully learn about this attack. This created a major discord between the battlefront and the Military Leaders in Washington D.C. This was a horrendous communication problem that could have been easily solved. If resolved on time, this surely would have prevented the many casualties and all of the destruction in the harbor. In the previous weeks and days to this attack, President Roosevelt was having bad sinus issues, and as a result, visited his physician very frequently. As any other physician would have done at the time, he gave FDR the common medicine of his day, which was cocaine. This treatment would not only relieve
Bobby Owens
Robert Owens
Mr. Bush
APUSH
26 May 2017
Was Pearl Harbor Preventable?
On the morning of December 7th, 1941 on the sunny island of Oahu in Hawaii, sailors aboard ships in Pearl Harbor woke up to the deafening sound of planes, bullets, and bombs above them. Little did they know, those sailors would witness one of the most horrific days in human history. Those sailors also didn’t know that their government was betraying them, allowing them to die by the hands of the Japanese. The catastrophic bombing of Pearl Harbor saw thirteen ships damaged and two destroyed, as well as 159 planes damaged and 169 destroyed. Also, the surprise massacre by the Empire of Japan forced over 2,000 men to …show more content…
Pearl Harbor is a lagoon harbor in Southwest Oahu which was used as a whaling port for many years until 1887, when the United States began using it as a Naval Base to protect American citizens who held jobs in the whaling business. The Navy was not sure if the harbor was a suitable place for a base, considering how shallow the water is. Eventually, the military presence grew until today, where Pearl Harbor is one of the two main Naval bases of the Pacific Fleet. The weather there is usually warm and sunny with common afternoon showers, which makes it a popular vacation destination. Even though Pearl Harbor and the surrounding Honolulu may be a getaway, the history sitting just below the water is harrowing and somber. The prevention of Pearl Harbor abroad should have began months before the initial attack. With the growing monster of Japan raging on, the United States should have been wary of attack since the war’s infancy. In 1937, Japan embarks on …show more content…
Mistakes and horrid actions by the government lead to the death of thousands of young boys. Not only was there an accidental communication failure, but there was a conscious withholding of vital information. The communication during the war is not sufficient for time constraints, and that is what occurred. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt gets his first report about the battle at 2:28 PM which would be 8:28 AM in Hawaii, about half an hour after the attack began. The chain of information began from an Admiral in Hawaii and then to the Secretary of the Navy. From there in Washington, the information went to the President. Not only did the communication take time, but the Admiral in Hawaii withheld information for fear that the Japanese were listening. It took 6 hours for the President to fully learn about this attack. This created a major discord between the battlefront and the Military Leaders in Washington D.C. This was a horrendous communication problem that could have been easily solved. If resolved on time, this surely would have prevented the many casualties and all of the destruction in the harbor. In the previous weeks and days to this attack, President Roosevelt was having bad sinus issues, and as a result, visited his physician very frequently. As any other physician would have done at the time, he gave FDR the common medicine of his day, which was cocaine. This treatment would not only relieve