Friday, December 7, 2012

Day of Infamy



71 years ago Japan launched an attack on Pearl Harbor and sank or damaged a number of U.S. warships and airplanes.  History books say this was a surprise attack and as a result the U.S. entered WWII.  A few years ago I was looking up the role that Admiral Patrick Bellinger played during this time.  Admiral Bellinger was the father of my boss when I worked for the Navy in the 1960s and I'd heard of him through his son.  Admiral Bellinger was one of the first U.S. Navy pilots and set many records for flight back around 1914.  Check him out, he was an interesting person.  The gov't tried to make him and a few others in Pearl Harbor scapegoats for not being prepared for defending the Naval base there.  He actually warned Washington about how poorly defended Pearl Harbor was and they ignored him.  He was exonerated and so were most of the others and the Naval inquiry placed the blame on Washington military leaders and  politicians,  including President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

I then became very interested in what really happened out there in 1941 and began to read about the inquiry and events that lead up to the attack.  In addition, I was on a TDY at Ford Island while they were filming the movie "Tora Tora Tora".   I believe that Roosevelt knew ahead of time about the attack and let it happen so the U.S. would be drawn into war with Germany.  There are numerous clues, documents, etc., that firmly support my belief.

I am not a historian and the above is just what I believe is the truth.  We got rid of a lot of old outdated airplanes and WWI battleships, plus the American public was incensed and were ready to go to war with Japan who was an ally of Germany, therefore both countries declared war on the U.S.

I know this isn't the usual tone of my blog, but I wonder what really happened.

We stopped by to visit with Ron & Dee C and joined them for happy hour.  Good conversation, beer and cookies were on the menu for the visit.  We had to leave after a couple drinks since we were riding our bikes.  We left after dark and checked out the Christmas lights around the park.  Nice to see everyone getting in the spirit of Christmas.

      

1 comment:

  1. Hi Dad! I also think there was a cover up, if you will. I think we didn't want to give away that we could "spy" on the Japanese & that certain people did want us to get into war, too. So sad that some would decide the fate of so many unwitting victims.
    Still, I'm proud to be an American!
    BTW, I did notice your different spelling of Cherry,...but knowing you, realized it was a play on words. You're too clever and too good at spelling for it to be anything else! Love, Barbara

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