Marines


News

Base Logo
Official U.S. Marine Corps Website
Crossroads of the Marine Corps
Photo Information

Sailors in a motor launch rescue a survivor from the water alongside the sunken USS West Virginia (BB-48) during or shortly after the Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. This year marks the 72nd anniversary of the attack.

Photo by Submitted

December 7th, 72 years later

2 Dec 2013 | Lance Cpl. Samuel Ellis Marine Corps Base Quantico

“Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us,” said President Franklin Roosevelt on Dec. 8, 1941, in a speech concerning the attack on Pearl Harbor a day before.

Although they aren’t the most remembered words from the commander-in-chief’s message that day, 72 years later they still ring true.

“At 7a.m., an alert operator of an Army radar station at Opana, [Hawaii], spotted the approaching first wave of the [Japanese Imperial Navy] attack force,” documented, Overview of The Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941, a Naval History and Heritage Command article. “When the attack ended shortly before 10 a.m., less than two hours after it began, the American forces had paid a fearful price. Twenty-one ships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet were sunk or damaged. Aircraft losses were 188 destroyed and 159 damaged.”

“[The attack showed the American people,] you can be attacked at any time and you probably won’t expect it,” said Charles D. Melson, chief historian with the Marine Corps University. “Damage may be done, but you can also recover from it.”

In 1941, the American naval base, located in the Oahu, Hawaii, was home to soldiers, sailors, civilians and Marines with Pacific defense units, those stationed with the Pacific fleet and those serving with the Marine air group there.

According to Melson, several debates have surfaced concerning the attack, ranging from the ability of the U.S. to defend the harbor, to whether the U.S. was set up for attack by the presidential administration as a way to enter World War II.

What isn’t debated is the complete shock of the event.

“It’s an example of a surprise attack,” said Melson. “They had some signals intercepted, but the Japanese caught them by surprise. The actual air patrols and surface ship patrols didn’t pick up the Japanese.”

The Naval Museum website gives more specific information concerning the attack.

“The attacking forces came in two waves, the first consisting of 183 aircraft which included 40 torpedo planes, 49 level bombers, 51 dive bombers and 43 fighters,” documents the article Pearl Harbor: Fact Sheet, from the Navy History and Heritage website. “The second wave included 170 planes, 54 of them level bombers, 80 dive-bombers and 36 fighters. Over 350 Japanese planes were involved in the overall attack, which surprised the United States.”

According to the Naval History and Heritage Command website, among the more than 2,000 lives taken in the staggering attack, 99 Marines lost their lives that day and two were severely wounded and died later.

“Except for Sept. 11, 2011, it was the biggest loss of life in peacetime,” said Melson. “Psychologically it made a big impact.”

The historian highlights the moral of the story for the current generation.

“On one hand, you can be pessimistic,” said Melson. “But on the other hand, you have to be prepared to react appropriately and also have confidence that in the end, we’ll be able to get organized and overcome any of those things.”

Correspondent: samuel.l.ellis@usmc.mil


Marine Corps Base Quantico