December 7, Remember Pearl Harbor...

[SteyrAUG]

This is what happens when you don't have the TV on and don't get a news feed on your phone or computer. I just happened to look at my watch and noticed Dec. 7 and remembered.

http://wp.production.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/files/2016/12/Pearl_harbour.png

[Doc Safari]

Probably the first attempt at "shock and awe" in US history was the Doolittle Raid, intended to be a fast response to Pearl Harbor.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doolittle_Raid

In my opinion, that fast retaliation sent shockwaves that helped more than any other counterattack to establish that the US would not simply "join the war" with conventional tactics.

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

Interesting historical thread on the Pacific war. I don't think it was a clear cut of a strategic lapse. Sure Truk was a good attempt at setting up lines of control and infrastructure.

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2018/12/07/blame_alfred_thayer_mahan_for_pearl_harbor_and_thank_him_for_its_failure_114010.html

[AKDoug]

Interesting historical thread on the Pacific war. I don't think it was a clear cut of a strategic lapse. Sure Truk was a good attempt at setting up lines of control and infrastructure.

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2018/12/07/blame_alfred_thayer_mahan_for_pearl_harbor_and_thank_him_for_its_failure_114010.html

That was a good read. Thanks for the link.

[SteyrAUG]

Probably the first attempt at "shock and awe" in US history was the Doolittle Raid, intended to be a fast response to Pearl Harbor.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doolittle_Raid

In my opinion, that fast retaliation sent shockwaves that helped more than any other counterattack to establish that the US would not simply "join the war" with conventional tactics.

I think the most significant event was Midway, it's where Japan lost the war and it could have gone either way. The Doolittle raid was more of a thumb in the eye to show Japan they weren't as insulated as they believed.

[26 Inf]

I looked at a map of Pearl Harbor showing where the various ships were anchored and denoting whether they were sunk, damaged, or unscathed. I spent most of the afternoon and evening googling the various vessels and reading their histories.

Amazing things were done in the aftermath of December 7th. Ships were raised and repaired, some to get underway on war patrols, and others to Puget Sound for rebuilding and modernization.

Reading about the USS Vestal (AR-4) really brought home to me how important every job was in ensuring or victory.

America was staggered, but not beaten.

[SteyrAUG]

I looked at a map of Pearl Harbor showing where the various ships were anchored and denoting whether they were sunk, damaged, or unscathed. I spent most of the afternoon and evening googling the various vessels and reading their histories.

Amazing things were done in the aftermath of December 7th. Ships were raised and repaired, some to get underway on war patrols, and others to Puget Sound for rebuilding and modernization.

Reading about the USS Vestal (AR-4) really brought home to me how important every job was in ensuring or victory.

America was staggered, but not beaten.

All true but LUCK was a major factor, had our carriers been at Pearl it might have been a different story. If they were lost at Pearl, Coral Sea or Midway we'd have been in serious trouble. Thankfully Navy code breakers kept us a step ahead before Midway developed and we didn't take the bait in the Aleutians.

That is where Japan lost the war, it just took a lot of Marines and two atomic bombs to make them realize they had lost.

[RetroRevolver77]

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[Moose-Knuckle]

I had a great-grandfather who went to Pearl Harbor for the recovery effort after the attack, he was a steel worker.

One of the greatest days of my life was when I was finally able to go and visit the memorials in person, after reading the books, watching the documentaries and films it was surreal.

[Firefly]

We should never forget the core lesson of Pearl Harbor:

You can still catch an A-Bomb if you get too uppity

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

We should never forget the core lesson of Pearl Harbor:

You can still catch an A-Bomb if you get too uppity

Don't poke the bear.

In some book on warfare or strategy, the forward for a chapter has the example of a sign in a zoo, French I believe. It says something to the effect. "This animal is very dangerous. When provoked it is capable of incredible violence." I thought it was Von Clausewitz, but it's not.

[Artos]

One of my favorite books is Fly Boys which tells the rest of the story of how owning the air played such a major roll after PH...I never realized there was so much resistance to Mitchell in getting the brass to understand this. What I found most amazing was how we went from design to launch at light speed. I worked in mfg / Mexico for 15 years making wire harnesses & electronic assemblies for consumer, professional, medical, automotive, etc. A new DeWALT cordless circular saw could take a couple years to get from idea to production using auto-cad, emails & all our fancy crap. P51 did it like 3-4 months without even a fax machine!!