69 years ago today
Pearl Harbor. One of those names that immediately evokes a whole pallet of images and feelings. None of them very pretty, in spite of the pretty name. These photos arrived in an email a few weeks ago. I thought today was the right day to share them with you.
According to the person who forwarded these photos, they were taken by a sailor on the USS Quapaw ATF-110, using a Brownie camera that was stored in a foot locker and discovered recently. [This story appears to be an internet myth, but the photos–no matter what camera used, no matter who took them–are still extraordinary.]
In case you’ve forgotten, this is what an old Brownie looked like:
You’ll find more about the events of December 7, 1941 at the end of the series of photographs.
Pearl Harbor (also check here for more information)
On Sunday, December 7th, 1941 the Japanese launched a surprise attack against the U.S. Forces stationed at Pearl Harbor , Hawaii By planning this attack on a Sunday, the Japanese commander Admiral Nagumo, hoped to catch the entire fleet in port. As luck would have it, the Aircraft Carriers and one of the Battleships were not in port. (The USS Enterprise was returning from Wake Island , where it had just delivered some aircraft. The USS Lexington was ferrying aircraft to Midway, and the USS Saratoga and USS Colorado were undergoing repairs in the United States .)
In spite of the latest intelligence reports about the missing aircraft carriers (his most important targets), Admiral Nagumo decided to continue the attack with his force of six carriers and 423 aircraft. At a range of 230 miles north of Oahu , he launched the first wave of a two-wave attack. Beginning at 0600 hours his first wave consisted of 183 fighters and torpedo bombers which struck at the fleet in Pearl Harbor and the airfields in Hickam, Kaneohe and Ewa. The second strike, launched at 0715 hours, consisted of 167 aircraft, which again struck at the same targets.
At 0753 hours the first wave consisting of 40 Nakajima B5N2 ‘Kate’ torpedo bombers, 51 Aichi D3A1 ‘Val’ dive bombers, 50 high altitude bombers and 43 Zeros struck airfields and Pearl Harbor Within the next hour, the second wave arrived and continued the attack.
When it was over, the U.S. Losses were:
Casualties
US Army: 218 KIA, 364 WIA.
US Navy: 2,008 KIA, 710 WIA..
US MarineCorp: 109 KIA, 69 WIA.
Civilians: 68 KIA, 35 WIA.
TOTAL: 2,403 KIA, 1,178 WIA.
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Battleships
USS Arizona (BB-39) – total loss when a bomb hit her magazine.
USS Oklahoma (BB-37) – Total loss when she capsized and sunk in the harbor.
USS California (BB-4 4) – Sunk at her berth. Later raised and repaired.
USS West Virginia (BB-48) – Sunk at her berth. Later raised and repaired.
USS Nevada – (BB-36) Beached to prevent sinking.. Later repaired.
USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) – Light damage.
USS Maryland (BB-46) – Light damage.
USS Tennessee (BB-43) Light damage.
USS Utah (AG-16) – (former battleship used as a target) – Sunk.
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Cruisers
USS New Orleans (CA-32) – Light Damage..
USS San Francisco (CA-38) – Light Damage.
USS Detroit (CL-8) – Light Damage.
USS Raleigh (CL-7) – Heavily damaged but repaired.
USS Helena (CL-50) – Light Damage.
USS Honolulu (CL-48) – Light Damage…
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Destroyers
USS Downes (DD-375) – Destroyed. Parts salvaged.
USS Cassin – (DD -3 7 2) Destroyed. Parts salvaged.
USS Shaw (DD-373) – Very heavy damage.
USS Helm (DD-388) – Light Damage.
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Minelayer
USS Ogala (CM-4) – Sunk but later raised and repaired.
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Seaplane Tender
USS Curtiss (AV-4) – Severely damaged but later repaired.
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Repair Ship
USS Vestal (AR-4) – Severely damaged but later repaired.
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Harbor Tug
USS Sotoyomo (YT-9) – Sunk but later raised and repaired.
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Aircraft
188 Aircraft destroyed (92 USN and 92 U.S. Army Air Corps.)
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Tags: pearl harbor
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Never forget.
Thanks for the photos.
I’m away – seeing family, in Hawaii, as it happens.
Flying in on Dec 4th, pilot of our commercial flight made a point of mentioning the Pearl Harbor attack and acknowledging the two survivors on board our flight. (Passengers applauded.)
On Tuesday, December 7th itself, at the 69th anniversary observance, a new visitor’s center was dedicated. (Built at a cost of just over $63 million. The old one basically got visited to death.)
More details here (my apologies, but I don’t know how to embed the ULR nice & neatly when posting as a commenter):
http://www.staradvertiser.com/specialprojects/10/pearlharbor/20101205_rally_crys_echoes_resonate_in_displays.html
http://www.staradvertiser.com/specialprojects/10/pearlharbor/20101205_guided_tour_to_the_new_pearl_harbor_visitor_center.html
That event was logistically challenging (much demand, limited space) so I didn’t even try to attend. Instead I was visiting old friends, hearing about what they experienced attending Monday’s inauguration of Hawaii’s new Governor, Neil Abercrombie. And the (huge) Honolulu Marathon takes place this Sunday — a busy week in that city.
But I’m now on Maui and I digress.
My point, and I do have one, is the account of the Dec 7th photos recently found on a Brownie camera long stored in a foot locker…well, that’s been circulating for a while now. It appears to be one of those internet myths.
http://www.snopes.com/photos/military/pearlharbor.asp
It was a terrible & historic event, not to take anything away from that fact. And the photos are real enough. But the ‘taken by one guy’ part doesn’t seem to hold up.
If there is comfort to be found in the passage of time, one could look at the strong alliance that now exists between the U.S. and Japan, despite the intensity of what each side experienced in WW II.
Lastly, I have to share that local residents here are grumbling about how cold the overnight lows are. (In the upper 60’s, Oh my, grab the extra blankets!)
I find it quite comfortable. Sigh! After eleven years away I must be becoming ‘mainland-ized’.
Thanks, Lucy. Actually I was hoping someone (like you) would de-bunk the Brownie camera story. I had a feeling it might not be quite accurate. But, yes, I agree, the photos are still quite extraordinary. We do forget so easily. These days, history is anything that happened last week.