The Board noted the emphasis to be placed on four-engine bombers “capable
of blasting the Japanese fleet far out in the Pacific and of carrying the war to
the highly inflammable cities of the Japanese island itself.” It was curious that
the attention of the Report’s authors was so firmly fixed on Japan, relegating the
far greater struggles in Europe and in Africa to Lend-Lease aid. There was no
doubting the scale of the plan. In the first eighteen months of the defense pro-
gram, expenditures had run to $15 billion a month; that spending would then be
accelerated to a monthly $150 billion in the next year. Out would be automobiles,
washing machines, and refrigerators, indeed almost all consumer durable goods.
With defense plants running on a seven-day, 160-hour week the foundations were
being laid for the great logistical victories of the years to come. 59
Key to the success of this effort would be the unstinting collaboration of the
trade union movement. Its spokesmen in New York and across the nation, rep-
resenting millions of unionists, called for the cessation of labor strikes and a total
dedication of labor unions and their members to the success of the war effort. 60
The shift in emphasis to defense production is reflected in the transition in
automobile advertising displayed in The New York Times of December 9. While
Nash Motors still advised prospective buyers to GO IN SUMMER COMFORT at
twenty-five to thirty miles per gallon in Weather Eye air conditioning, Chevrolet
asked the pregnant question: WHY PAY MORE? It was Plymouth that pointed
toward the future. It proclaimed that in the BATTLE OF DETROIT and in the
race for the production of war machines, the auto industry would be the shock
troops. PLYMOUTH BUILDS FOR AMERICA’S SECURITY, it announced, and
for a strong national defense via bomber parts, tank parts, and antiaircraft gun
parts, as well as military vehicles. A STRONG AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY IS
THE BACKGROUND OF AMERICA was Plymouth’s mantra. 61
If it was the avowed determination of the nation to subordinate civilian goods
to military production, still there was relief in the report that supplies of women’s
hosiery were ample. There was a curious turn of events. After decades of beige
and suntan shades in women’s stockings, the new trend was to dark colors, includ-
ing black, “formerly associated mainly with burlesque queens and barmaids.” 62
*
They were an ill-sorted pair—labor leader Harry Bridges and Los Angeles Times
managing editor L. D. Hodgekiss. They had been convicted, one for writing
and the other for publishing materials that a lower court held to be contempt.
At a moment when freedom was under attack across the world, it is heartening
to read the opinion of Justice Black reversing the judgment below in ringing
terms: “. . . the likelihood, however great, that a substantive evil will result can-
not justify a restriction upon freedom of speech or the press.” He could find no
suggestion in the Constitution that freedom of speech and of the press bore an
inverse ratio to the importance or timeliness of the ideas expressed:
Here, for example, labor controversies were the topics for some of the
publications. Experience shows that the more acute labor controversies
180 First Week at War: December 8–13, 1941
are, the more likely it is that in some aspect they will get into court. It is
therefore the controversies that command most interest that the decisions
below would remove from the arena of public discussions. 63
Human Interest
However perilous the times, there is—and was—always room in the press for a
human interest story. Mrs. William Howard Taft was the widow of the twenty-
seventh President of the United States. Her chauffeur on the afternoon of the 7th
was visiting a friend in the Japanese Embassy. “Oh baby,” he later reported, “are
those Japs swilling whiskey! They must have put away about ten cases of the stuff
last night. They insisted that I join them.” The two then went for a ride, return-
ing to the Embassy when the chauffeur insisted he had to leave promptly. “I was
on enemy territory wasn’t I?” But the FBI arrived first, detaining the chauffeur
with the Embassy staff. The FBI orders were: “Nobody’s coming out. Everybody
in there stays there.”
“But,” the driver protested, “I’m Mrs. Taft’s chauffeur.”
“I don’t care if you’re Ben Hur’s chariot driver,” the FBI agent responded. “You
stay inside.”
It took some time and some doing to secure the release of the amiable chauf-
feur, but it was accomplished. The reporter on the story observed that Mrs. Taft
was, after all, not only the widow of a president but also the mother of Senator
Robert Taft of Ohio. 64 In New York, a headline bore the caption “One Surprised Japanese.” It was a consular aide caught in the act of removing papers from a
cabinet in the Chicago consulate; confidential papers had already been burned. 65
In time of war a moment of respite pleases: Longchamps restaurant offered a
Beef Stew Special at 85 cents and urged preceding it with a 30-cent Double Thrill
Cocktail. 66
The analogy to sports was inevitable. New York Times sports columnist John
Kieran wrote as a philosopher of sport: “In the terrific game now being played,
the U.S. has two varsity teams, the Army and the Navy. The game is on. . . .” 67
Notes
1.
New York Times , December 9, 1941, 1
2.
Atlanta Constitution , December 9, 1941, 1
3.
Los Angeles Times , December 9, 1941, 1
4.
Atlanta Constitution , December 9, 1941, 1
5.
Los Angeles Times , December 9, 1941, 1/8
6.
New York Times , December 9, 1941, 27
7.
Houston Chronicle , December 9, 1941, 1
8.
New York Times , December 9, 1941, 1
9.
Houston Chronicle , December 9, 1941, 1
10. Houston Chronicle , December 9, 1941, 1
11. Houston Chronicle , December 9, 1941, 1
12. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 24
13. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 36
Tuesday, December 9, 1941 181
14. Houston Chronicle , December 9, 1941, 16
15. Los Angeles Times , December 9, 1941, 1/4
16. Chicago Tribune , December 9, 1941, 8
17. Chicago Tribune , December 9, 1941, 4
18. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 1
19. Chicago Tribune , December 9, 1941, 4
20. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 11
21. Chicago Tribune , December 9, 1941, 1
22. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 11
23. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 1
24. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 38
25. Houston Chronicle , December 9, 1941, 10A
26. Denver Post , December 9, 1941, 9
27. Houston Chronicle , December 9, 1941, 6A
28. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 43
29. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 17
30. Oregonian , December 9, 1941, 5
31. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 5
32. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 44
33. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 44<
br />
34. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 44
35. Los Angeles Times , December 9, 1941, 1/19
36. Los Angeles Times , December 9, 1941, 19
37. Chicago Tribune , December 9, 1941, 13
38. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 33
39. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 11
40. Los Angeles Times , December 9, 1941, 2/4
41. Los Angeles Times , December 9, 1941, 2/5
42. Houston Chronicle , December 9, 1941, 2B
43. Oregonian , December 9, 1941, 22
44. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 3
45. Chicago Tribune , December 9, 1941, 1
46. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 27
47. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 17
48. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 29
49. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 29
50. Atlanta Constitution , December 9, 1941, 2
51. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 16
52. Houston Chronicle , December 9, 1941, 1
53. Los Angeles Times , December 9, 1941, 4
54. Houston Chronicle , December 9, 1941, 11A
55. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 40
56. Houston Chronicle , December 9, 1941, 11
57. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 1
58. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 1
59. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 36
60. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 36
61. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 36
62. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 43
63. Los Angeles Times , December 9, 1941, 1/10
64. Denver Post , December 9, 1941, 9
65. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 37
66. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 2
67. New York Times , December 9, 1941, 49
17
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1941
War in the Pacific: Grave Tidings
Much had been made of the arrival in Singapore of the British Far Eastern Fleet
battleships Repulse and Prince of Wales , which were constituted as Force Z. It had been speculated that they would change the balance of power in the area,
moving Japan from the offensive to the defensive. The battleships were repre-
sentatives of the old order of sea warfare. The Repulse , 31,000 tons, had been
completed in 1916, just weeks too late to participate in the Battle of Jutland. It
had once been the fastest capital ship in the world.
In contrast, HMS
Prince of Wales was the newest of the new. It had been
commissioned only on January 19, 1941. In August it had conveyed Winston
Churchill to a Newfoundland rendezvous with President Roosevelt; and in the
initial engagement with the German battleship Bismarck it had scored a hit that later proved fatal.
The British commander, Admiral Tom Phillips, was as well known for his
short stature as for his tall oratory. His fleet set out from Singapore, he said, look-
ing for trouble. He found it. The Japanese sighted the British fleet at 11:30 a.m.
on December 10 (10:30 p.m. on December 9, New York time). Japanese aircraft
massed for the attack. They sank the Repulse , which had no air cover, just two
hours later at 2:29 p.m. The Prince of Wales lasted little longer. Absorbing direct hits, she listed to starboard and plunged to the bottom at 12:50 p.m. She now lies
deep under the South China Sea.
This was a stunning blow to Allied hopes; and it was a historic first—the sink-
ing of a capital ship by aerial action. It ushered in the new era in naval history
where the aircraft carrier would reign supreme.
*
Meanwhile Japanese forces were on the attack across Southeast Asia. In the Phil-
ippines there were reports of Japanese troop landings at Vigan on the west coast
Wednesday, December 10, 1941 183
of Luzon, 200 miles north of Manila; at Aparri, 200 miles further north; and at
Lubang Island south of Manila. U.S. Commander General Douglas MacArthur
issued a communiqué claiming heavy damage by U.S. bombers scoring hits on
three transports of which one later capsized. The battle raged on land and sea and
in the air as Japanese planes blasted American air bases near Manila. 1
In Northern Malaya, Japanese forces were pressing strongly against Kota Bharu,
which saw bitter night fighting for possession of the airport. Twenty-five Japanese
troop transports were seen sailing south down the coast of Thailand. Other Japa-
nese forces were advancing in the Singora-Patani areas. 2
In Hong Kong, British forces claimed the successful rebuff of Japanese attacks
by “searing artillery fire” from strong mainland defenses that brought the Japa-
nese assault to a halt. However thrilling these claims, it remained clear that Hong
Kong, like Midway, Guam, and other isolated garrisons, had little chance of sur-
vival against the overwhelming force of the Japanese attacks. 3
Meanwhile, there were unconfirmed reports of large-scale naval engagements
in the South Pacific. The speed and scope of the Japanese operations were breath-
taking for a public unprepared for such grim tidings.
The President met these reverses with brave words, that the U.S. Navy still
maintained supremacy in the Pacific, its initial losses notwithstanding. He decreed
as “fantastic” Japanese claims of naval supremacy. They were, he said, rumors and
propaganda. But he prudently blended his positive assurances with a large dose of
realism, affirming, as he had in his address to the nation, that the struggle would be
long and hard and even that the attack on Pearl Harbor could be replicated. Indeed,
he said, both of the country’s coasts had become front lines in the struggle. 4
Such reports were met with anger and bewilderment and nowhere more so
than in the nation’s capital. Senator David Walsh of Massachusetts and Representa-
tive Carl Vinson of Georgia, chairmen respectively of the Senate and House naval
affairs committees, had met on Tuesday with Chief of Naval Operations Harold B.
Stark to be briefed on developments in the Pacific. Stunned by what Vinson and
Walsh heard, the House Naval Affairs Committee called Secretary of the Navy
Frank Knox to appear before it on the morrow, in secret session. The Secretary,
out of town, told the committee he would appear a day later, Thursday the 11th.
It was inevitable that the Navy would be charged with being asleep at the
switch. Representative John D. Dingell of Michigan called for court martial of
five ranking military and naval officers who had commanded at Pearl Harbor.
Vinson riposted that Dingell’s demand was “a cheap effort to get newspaper pub-
licity.” He was quickly joined by others. This was no time, said Vinson, to rock
the boat. There was, he said, not a scintilla of evidence to indict men who had
dedicated their lives to their country.
The same issues were urgently discussed in the Senate, where the events of
Sunday were labeled a “debacle.” There were those who said that Pearl Harbor,
far from being the Gibraltar of the Pacific, had been rendered useless, leaving the
islands at the mercy of Japan.
It had only been shortly before the Japanese attack that Secretary of the Navy
Knox had broadcast his claim, that the Navy was ready as never before. Senator
Tobey of New Hampshire stingingly recalled that claim. If, as had been reported,
184 First Week at War
: December 8–13, 1941
a large part of the Pacific fleet had been wiped out at Pearl Harbor, the American
people and their representatives in Congress needed to know it; there was no hid-
ing facts the enemy surely knew.
Senator Walsh attempted to dampen the passions surging through the Senate:
In my opinion, we should not show any disposition to direct the Com-
mander in Chief or to criticize what has been or what ought to have been
done up to now. And I personally hope that whatever the President says, it
will arouse the American people to a realization that we are at war, that we
must stand united, that we must cooperate as one man and wage war to the
end that nothing short of a magnificent triumph and victory will result. 5
Senator Tom Stewart of Tennessee, however, thought the time had come for a
little constructive criticism. It was a familiar formula. A mistake had been made,
the Senator said. The state of nerves inside and outside the Senate might be mea-
sured by Senator Stewart’s wild assertion that beyond being useless, Pearl Harbor
was probably by now completely in the possession of the Japanese.
There was another dimension to the situation, Stewart pointed out. The coun-
try had not only been attacked by “a bunch of yellow devils.” Behind everything
he saw the hand of Adolf Hitler and his German government. The same thing,
he said, that had happened in Honolulu could happen “upon the sacred soil of
our own country” (as if Hawaii had suddenly been disassociated from the United
States of America). 6
At a meeting of the House Naval Affairs Committee, Representative Vinson
joined in the accusation that someone had been asleep, someone responsible for
the defenses of Pearl Harbor. He specifically sought an inquiry as to the physical
fitness of the naval high command with specific respect to sixty-four-year-old
Admiral Hart, Navy Chief in Manila.
Proving that the prewar debates between isolationists and interventionists had
not ended with the onset of war, Representative Emanuel Celler of New York
declared that the isolationists ought to issue an apology to the President for their
accusations that he had tried to lead the country into war. 7
Amid the turmoil, Senator Vinson maintained his calm and his conviction that
“Congress can’t fight this war.” He added, “The job should be left to men who
Crucible of a Generation Page 29