We Were There the Day Pearl Harbor Was Bombed (The USA Back Then Series - Book 2): The USA Back Then Series, #2

By Janice Schmidt and Felix Sutton

Mike Morrison tacked to starboard, and the Mister Mike sailed around the giant prow of the U.S.S. Nevada. The whole of Pearl Harbor was filled with the mighty ships of the United States Pacific fleet. It was early morning, Dec. 7, 1941.

 

Later Mike remembered that he had grinned at his big brother Jeff, Lt., USAF, then at Mary Jane, his shadow from next door. He had checked his watch --- 7:55 exactly. Then he had glanced up at the sky to watch a small black speck grow larger and larger. It couldn't be, but it was—a Jap Zero! In seconds the harbor was a fiery inferno of sinking ships. The Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor!

 

What happened in the next few hours will never be forgotten by them—or by any Amer­ican. The Air Corps fought back from crip­pled planes. Jeff, one of the lucky few, man­aged to get his P-40 fighter into the air to strike back. But those on land and sea did their jobs, too. Explosions rocked Wheeler Field, and Mary Jane pitched in with nurses and soldiers alike to save the lives of the injured.

 

It was Mike, however, who volunteered for the strangest assignment of all. As he paused on the edge of the boat ready to dive down to the men in the sunken ship, he knew that what happened next would be his greatest adventure.

 

This USA Back Then book is an exciting story about the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. It is based on true historic events, and it provides an entertaining way to learn more about the amazing history of the United States of America.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Storyhour Publishing
• Release date: Nov 25, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215787298

Book preview

WE WERE THERE

THE DAY

PEARL HARBOR

WAS BOMBED

THE USA BACK THEN SERIES – Book 2

By JANICE SCHMIDT and FELIX SUTTON

Illustrated by FRANK VAUGHN

We Were There the Day Pearl Harbor Was Bombed [The USA BACK THEN Series Book 2] © 2022 by Storyhour Publishing

All Rights Reserved

Table of Contents

Foreword

I. A Quiet Sunday Morning

II. Fiery Inferno

III. The Navy Fights Back

IV. On Wheeler Field

V. Jeff Gets Into the Air

VI. The Hospital Is Hit

VII. A Real Little Navy Brat

VIII. You Ought to Be in the Navy!

IX. The 1010 Dock

X. Torpedo Boats in Action

XI. The Japs Are Coming Back!

XII. Underwater Death Trap

XIII. Inside the Sunken Ship

XIV. Home Again

XV. The First Jap Prisoner

XVI. Purple Heart and Navy Cross

Foreword

R eal planes, real bombs ; this is NOT a drill! The quiet routine of that Sunday morning aboard the US battleships was over as the loudspeakers blared. Sailors who just minutes before were eating breakfast and planning how they would occupy themselves on their day off were now suddenly and irrevocably thrust into war. Bursting bombs and fiery explosions shattered the peacefulness of Pearl Harbor as the Japanese war planes, first appearing as just specks on the horizon, came zooming in right overhead, dropping bombs and destroying the unprepared US Pacific fleet and airfields.

In December of 1941, the Hawaiian Islands were a US territory in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Earlier, in May of 1940, President Roosevelt had moved the main base of the US fleet from southern California to the Hawaiian island of Oahu. At the southern end of the island was a natural sheltered bay, making it an excellent choice for a naval harbor.

In the middle of Pearl Harbor, around a small island called Ford Island, lay the US Pacific Fleet. Anchored in pairs along Ford Island were the big, powerful battleships – the pride of the fleet. This line of ships, each bearing the name of a state, was known as Battleship Row.

Also located on Oahu Island was Wheeler Field, the army air base.  More than 60 new P-40 fighters were lined up neatly in rows. At Hickam Field, close to Pearl Harbor, the Army’s bombing planes were also arranged in neat rows. And at Kaneohe Bay was a large naval air station, with a whole new fleet of seaplanes stationed there.

Halfway across the world, many of the European countries were already at war. Under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, German soldiers had invaded the countries of Poland, Norway, Denmark, France, Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg. Japan and Italy were allies of Germany, making those three countries united against the rest of the world.

The United States was very hesitant to get involved in the war. The American economy was benefiting from the war by manufacturing military equipment and vehicles for the Allied forces in Europe. But most Americans were not ready to actually join the war; they were still getting over the turmoil of World War I. And the United States military was not prepared for another war; the military lacked forces and weapons. Many Americans viewed the war as a European problem. But this was all about to change.

Several months before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States had cut off US oil exports to Japan. Since Japan relied on the US for eighty percent of its oil, this meant that their plans to take control of European and United States colonies in the Pacific would be greatly hindered. By attacking Pearl Harbor and destroying the US Pacific fleet, the Japanese navy could have free reign in the Pacific. They could then take over certain countries in southeastern Asia and use their oil to fuel Japan’s military vehicles, planes, and ships.

The attack on Pearl Harbor on that quiet Sunday morning took many people by surprise, but the Japanese had been planning the operation for many months. On November 26, 10 days before the attack, the Japanese fleet of 31 warships (including 6 aircraft carriers) slipped from Japan and moved silently toward the Hawaiian Islands. In the early morning hours of December 7, a small Japanese scout plane made a loop around Oahu and radioed back: Pearl Harbor sleeps. At dawn 350 fighter planes and bombers launched in two waves from Japan’s aircraft carriers. The bombers dropped their bombs on the American warships in Pearl Harbor, and the fighter planes targeted the US aircraft on the island’s airfields.

The attack lasted just under two hours, and the destruction was phenomenal. Nineteen US naval vessels were sunk or damaged and 188 aircraft were destroyed. In all, over 2,400 people lost their lives.

In the hours and days after the attack, the army and navy prepared for a Japanese invasion. But Japan never did launch another full-scale attack on Hawaii.

The Japanese attack had been focused on destroying the US battleships and aircraft at Pearl Harbor, assuming that would be enough to put the US Pacific fleet out of commission and give the Japanese control of the central Pacific. They did not target other important areas on the island, such as submarine bases, repair yards, fuel tanks, and the electrical supply. They also missed the fleet’s aircraft carriers, which happened to be at sea. This led to the United States being able to quickly rebuild and mobilize for World War II.

On December 8, one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States declared war on Japan. President Franklin D Roosevelt then spoke the famous words: Yesterday, December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked...

Foreword written by Janice Schmidt

I. A Quiet Sunday Morning

The day started out like all days in Hawaii. If anything, the sky was brighter and bluer than usual on this quiet Sunday morning. And the sun was big and round and red as it climbed up over the crest of Diamond Head and spilled its pale gold shafts of light down the steep mountain slope and into the open window of Mike Morrison’s bed­room.

Mike opened an eye, yawned, and stretched his arms lazily over his head.

The early morning air was sweet and cool, and heavy with the spicy perfume of hibiscus and ole­ander. In the trees on the lawn outside, Mike could hear the raucous yak-yak-yaking of the myna birds as they argued and quarreled with each other. From far away, somewhere down in Pearl Harbor, came the deep-toned whistle of a tugboat going about its morning chores.

Mike stretched again and wondered whether he ought to get up or roll over and catch another forty winks. After all, it was Sunday and no school to worry about...

Oh, Boy! Sunday—December 7th—his birth­day!

Mike leaped from the bed like a spring that has suddenly become uncoiled. He climbed into polo shirt, shorts, and sneakers, and raced to the bathroom where he gave his teeth a quick swipe with a tooth­brush, splashed cold water on his face, ran a wet comb once-over-lightly through his hair, and then pounded down the stairs to the dining room.

His father was already at the table eating break­fast, the four broad stripes of a captain of the Reg­ular Navy gleaming on the shoulder boards of his white uniform.

Well, good morning, Captain Morrison said, smiling. I was afraid you weren’t going to get up in time for me to wish you a happy birthday be­fore I shoved off.

He pushed his chair back from the table, got to his feet, threw Mike a smart regulation Navy salute, and stuck out a big hand.

Happy birthday, son! How does it feel to be fourteen years old?

Mike grinned. Before he could think of a good answer, Lieutenant Jeff Morrison breezed into the room. Instead of the full uniform of an Army Air Corps pilot that he usually wore, this morning he was dressed in an old khaki Army shirt and faded trousers, and wore a much-scuffed pair of canvas sneakers on his feet.

He aimed a left jab at Mike’s chin, and when the boy ducked, clamped a headlock on him and began to give the top of his red head a vigorous Dutch rub with the knuckles of