The attack on Pearl Harbor

It was the end of the Sunday morning shift on 7 December 1941, and for Privates Joseph Lockard and George Elliott, it had been uneventful – like almost any other shift at the Opana Mobile Radar Station. Situated near Kahuku Point on the northern tip of Oahu, the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands, the station was operated on a part-time basis. Shortly before the clock struck 7am, Elliott reminded Lockard that he needed training in using the oscilloscope.

As Lockard looked at the radar display while he was preparing to teach Elliott, he gave a murmur of surprise. There was something unusual on the oscilloscope. “Must be a flight of some sort,” said Lockard. He and Elliott stared at the image. They agreed the aircraft, which were approximately 137 miles north of the island, numbered “more than 50”.

Elliott called the Information Center at Fort Shafter, 30 miles south, and spoke to Lieutenant Kermit