That was the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. As you all know, Hawaii was not yet a State of the United States of America. It was vying to become a State, but it wasn't one yet.
When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, it attacked American soil on the nation of Hawaii by attacking the US naval base there. Like an embassy, an armed forces base is considered the territory of the occupying nation. I'm just stating that in case anyone out there looks at the attack as being anything but a military strike on a military target.
Cocky old Japan thought that if it could catch the USA essentially unaware, it would cripple them and make their eventual total conquest of the Pacific an easier job.
It was speculated that this attack would allow Japan an easier pathway to conquer the rest of Asia, including India - and this is according to some history war buffs. Personally, I doubt that. India was the property of Great Britain... and really... did they also want to take on the Brits and the rest of the Commonwealth? Along with us Crazy Canucks (Canadians), the Aussies (Australians) and Kiwis (the bird, the fruit and the New Zealanders) would have kicked some major butt! But... who knows? Japan was crazy enough to take on the US!
Okay.... enough of that. I was going to write an article on how the time of attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese was to be the same as the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, but those plans fell apart.
Y'see... I was listening to a comedian on the radio the other day, and he talked about how the American's atomic bomb drop was the exact same time of day as Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor.
Wow, I thought... that's a pretty big F.U. to Japan, along with all of the radiation and death. Instant Karma's gonna get you.
But then I wondered why I had never heard of that before. You would think that the same time for the two attacks would have been noticed and mentioned before... and there's a good reason it was not.
The comedian either was spouting incorrect facts, or he was creating a joke by making up data. Who knows.
The point is... while the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan a couple of times may indeed have been a big F.U. to Japan, there was no synchronicity regarding the time of day of both attacks.
And that's why you should never believe everything you hear... except on this blog... you can believe everything I tell you... unless I tell you I am making things up. I am very much aware of the power of the blog and all of the misinformation out there.
It's why when I write an article on something historical, I will investigate multiple news sources and try and separate the wheat from the chaff and present to you the most accurate information I can. And... if you know better, you are always welcome to correct me.
And that's why I chose not to present a blog on Pearl Harbor this year. Except for this one.
Never, ever use a comedian to teach you about history, unless George Carlin is involved.
Cheers
Andrew Joseph
PS: As for the photograph above, it was taken by a Japanese plane during the torpedo attack on ships moored on both sides of Ford Island shortly after the beginning of the Pearl Harbor attack. View looks about east, with the supply depot, submarine base and fuel tank farm in the right center distance.
A torpedo has just hit USS West Virginia on the far side of Ford Island (center). Other battleships moored nearby are (from left): Nevada, Arizona, Tennessee (inboard of West Virginia), Oklahoma (torpedoed and listing) alongside Maryland, and California.
On the near side of Ford Island, to the left, are light cruisers Detroit and Raleigh, target and training ship Utah and seaplane tender Tangier. Raleigh and Utah have been torpedoed, and Utah is listing sharply to port.
Japanese planes are visible in the right center (over Ford Island) and over the Navy Yard at right. U.S. Navy planes on the seaplane ramp are on fire.
Japanese writing in the lower right states that the photograph was reproduced by authorization of the Navy Ministry.
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