December 1941

by Craig Shirley

  The head of the Bay State’s Committee on Public Safety, J. Wells Farley, said, “Remember—panic is the worst danger.”16

  On the other side of the country, in San Francisco, a woman, Marie Sayre, was shot and wounded by a member of the Home Guard when her husband failed to stop their car as ordered as he approached the Golden Gate Bridge.

  In newspapers across the land, it was reported that there were “unidentified planes” over San Francisco; the planes were never identified, nor took any hostile actions. The army claimed that thirty planes had flown over the “west coast sector” and consequently an air-raid signal was sounded and the civilian population went into hiding.

  Searchlights lit up the sky as the air raids sounded at 2:39 a.m., and the darkness added to the sense of panic.17 The whole thing earned screaming headlines in American newspapers even though there was no real evidence that the planes were, in fact, the enemy. Gen. William Ryan claimed they had been turned back at the Golden Gate Bridge. Still, he did not know to whom the planes belonged. “They weren’t Army planes, they weren’t Navy planes, and you can be sure they weren’t civilian planes.”18 No one could account for the mystery aircraft that mysteriously vanished southward.

  Also on the West Coast was a persistent rumor of an enemy aircraft carrier nearby. Ryan maintained that enemy ships had been “detected . . . about 100 miles at sea.”19 Then it was reported over the radio that the military was searching for “two or three Japanese aircraft carriers and some submarines reported operating off the coast.” Some supposedly saw fifteen planes flying south toward San Jose. “The lights went off in Oakland and most of her sister cities . . . and there were strange reports of planes being heard overhead but no confirmation.”20

  Military planes were sent aloft in wild goose chases looking for phantom ships and planes, but none were found. Stories also circulated that Japanese attacks on the Aleutian Islands and Canada were imminent.21 Alaska was on full alert status.22 Rumors begat fresh rumors. In this case, it was that the Japanese carriers in California waters were there to try to “panic” Washington “into calling [the] fleet back home,”23 presumably to join in the search for the phantom ships and phantom planes. The country was utterly convinced that the Japanese were on the brink of attacking and possibly invading the West Coast of America, or were plotting to engage in a harassing naval action, much as the Germans had been doing in the North Atlantic for nearly a year.

  Cities including San Francisco were completely blacked out at night, and many imposed curfews. In Seattle, a mob took to the streets and smashed the windows of store owners who were not complying with the blackout orders. “The crowd, urged on by shouting women,” totaling one thousand people, broke the windows of some thirty shops and stores that had left some lights on.24 Many radio stations, including those in Seattle, were ordered to stop broadcasting after 7:00 p.m., except those used to transmit official business to the worried citizenry.25 Blackouts were ordered in nearly every city on the West Coast, along with the U.S. capital on the East Coast. In Washington, “Autoists should use only their dim lights and drive slowly, spotlighting of bridges and public buildings must cease, all theatre marquees must be turned out, all show windows must be darkened and outside advertising put out, street lights will be dimmed, although traffic lights will stay on; citizens must pull their window shades down.”26

  In Manila, a radio correspondent had to debunk a rumor that American planes had bombed the Japanese cities of Tokyo, Kobe, and the island of Formosa, which was in Japanese hands. This was after CBS had reported that the bombing had taken place.27 Another rumor was “Japanese planes were reported off Panama.”28 Military officials in Boston later claimed the air-raid alarm was just a “dress rehearsal” and there had been no approach of planes.29 The civilian government had not been let in on the army plan, which had made the announcement. It was the same in New York. The “air raid” was a hoax concocted by the military.30

  Another rumor making the rounds—fifth hand—was that the Japanese had told Adolf Hitler six days earlier that they were planning to attack. attack.31 Another was that Germany was getting ready to declare war on the United States, and Berlin chortled that the United States was now facing a “two-front war.” Another tale was that Christmas leave was still on, on schedule and as planned, for the military.32

  The initial reports that Japanese troops had parachuted into Hawaii were now largely dismissed. More likely, it now seemed, observers saw the parachutes of Japanese pilots who had bailed out of their planes due to antiaircraft fire.

  It was also whispered in Walter Winchell’s column that Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh were contemplating a divorce, as she’d become fed up with his politics and his ego. The worm was turning for the once-unassailable aviator hero who had crossed the Atlantic. Winchell was enormously influential, and he both shaped and reflected public opinion. His trademark staccato voice on the radio riveted listeners throughout the nation. A supporter of FDR who morphed into a red-baiting reactionary after the war, Winchell was a feared and fearless reporter who could make or break careers. His reportage was a mix of politics, opinion, hokum, sensationalism, and celebrity dirt.

  Forty-eight hours after the attack, Washington would neither openly confirm nor deny the details of the assault.

  The Japanese claimed they’d sunk the Oklahoma and the West Virginia33 while other rumors had it the Pennsylvania, another battleship, had been sunk. Then the Japanese upped the ante, saying they had destroyed eleven ships including “four battleships, an aircraft carrier and six cruisers . . . more than 100 American airplanes.” The White House stuck to their story of only a couple of ships being badly damaged and some planes being “put out of commission,” although the number of dead had been upped to 1,500.34 “Just what the condition is of the United States Pacific fleet is at the present time has not been revealed by Washington.” FDR, however, did make a reference to “severe damage” in a press conference.35

  About the only thing the White House would say about Pearl Harbor was that an old battleship had capsized and a destroyer was lost, along with some smaller ships. They did concede the damage “appears more serious than at first believed.”36

  Stephen Early announced that FDR would take to the airwaves on December 9 at 10:00 p.m. (EST) to lay out a “more complete documentation” of the events in Hawaii the previous Sunday. Roosevelt was scheduled to speak for half an hour, and it would be carried live on all networks nationwide.37 His day on the ninth was occupied with reviewing reports and meeting with the military brass.

  During the day on the ninth, the president held a press conference in which he “outlined in general terms a broad program for intensification of military production efforts.” He also discussed the attacks in general details, but did not address any specifics, begging off until more information was forthcoming. He also bristled when the reasons for the attacks were brought up. According to one report, “Mr. Roosevelt resentfully remarked that neither he nor any member of Congress knew the reasons at present for the Japanese success in surprising the American defenders of Pearl Harbor. He was even more resentful when told that rumors were spreading that an important percentage of the Navy personnel in Pearl Harbor had been given week-end leaves.” Reporters also pressed him on releasing war information.38

  Within hours of the attack, hundreds of volunteer-staffed “Defense Centers” opened around the country. More popularly known as “canteens,” they operated as a resting area for troops on their way to their posts.39 Magazines and newspapers were available to peruse. Mostly women worked at these, serving coffee and doughnuts, giving out writing papers to the young G.I.s so they could write home. It was this way all over the country. In Atlanta, “hundreds of women of all ages, gray-haired grandmothers and young high school girls, swarmed into the American Women’s Voluntary service headquarters.”40

  Meanwhile, the White House continued the drumbeat against Germany, claiming Berlin had “pushed” Tokyo into the attack
as a way of cutting off Lend-Lease. FDR and Winston Churchill issued a joint statement saying the “Anti-Axis world” would prevail in the global conflict.41 Churchill had just received word that ten RAF planes had been shot down over France, and renewed Nazi bombs rained down again on his war-torn island. German planes also sunk four commercial ships off the coast of Scotland.42

  Washington was confronting the very real prospect of having to foot the bill for a worldwide war. Since early 1941, the country had been subsidizing the British, the Russians, the Free Chinese, the Free French, the Turks, and other anti-Axis powers under Lend-Lease. But now, the newest price tags were coming in and estimates as high as $150 billion to pay for the whole war were being floated. The cost of the final year of the “first World War” was approximately $18 billion as reported in the Birmingham News. This may have been the first public reference to the Great War as the “first,”43 the implication being that America had just entered the second.

  But the country was already paying for a new war and with heavy interest too. The first official casualty list from the Pacific was released from the War Department. The list of thirty-seven names included officers and enlisted men. The very first name released was Second Lieutenant Robert H. Markley. His nearest living kin was his father, Arthur H. Markley, of Nardin, Oklahoma. The first enlisted man was “Private Robert G. Allen. Nearest relative, Mrs. Sarah T. Allen, mother, Sims, Ind.”44 Ages were not given. They were all men, and nearly all came from the small towns and villages of America. Another casualty was Private Dean Cebert of Galesburg, Illinois. Also lost was a navy chaplain, Robert Carl Cornelius, of Buffalo, New York.45 Of the thirty-seven initially announced dead, “six were commissioned officers, four of the Air Force and two of the infantry. All 31 enlisted men were of the Air Force.”46 The very same reporter for the Associated Press, Horace A. Lowe, who had the same sad job of reporting the initial casualties of the Great War now reported on the new American losses.47

  Condolences from the government to the next of kin began arriving in mailboxes throughout the United States. The letters were personally signed, long, individually typed. “The adjutant general of the Army, in each case, notified the next of kin of the deep regret of the Secretary of War at the death of this soldier in the defense of his country.”48 Only later, with so many young boys killed and or missing in action, would Uncle Sam resort to Western Union telegrams, with hundreds of thousands of saddened parents and family members reading, “We deeply regret to inform you that your son . . .”

  Elected officials also debated the duration and cost of the war, with some saying it could take up to six years. Senator Robert Taft said it might also cost the lives of 2 million young American boys. The Selective Service, with the permission of Congress, altered the draft laws to allow the military to keep in uniform all men for the duration of the war and for six months thereafter. No more two-year hitches.49

  Everywhere, efforts to get Americans to purchase war bonds were stepped up. Eventually, they would become a part of the fabric of the society, appearing in movies and newsreels, endorsed by Hollywood celebrities, sports heroes, and other noteworthy Americans. Appeals screamed from posters on every bus and lamp post, in the lobbies of movie theatres, and from magazines and newspapers and on the radio. The U.S. Treasury pleaded with Americans to buy more defense bonds and stamps. “War needs money. It will cost money to defeat Japan. Buy defense bonds or stamps today. Buy them every day if you can.”50

  Everybody, it seemed, wanted to pitch into the war effort. In Texas, the senior class at Baird High School decided to forgo a planned class picnic and use the $37.50 instead to purchase bonds.51 In New York, the Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers made an appeal to its membership to come up with patriotic songs of the kind heard during the Great War.52 The government also announced plans to recruit private pilots to form a civil air patrol.61

  On the byways of America, it was impossible for a man in uniform to wait for more than a few minutes while hitchhiking, even though hitchhiking was prohibited by the military. Volunteers poured forth from American Legion halls and from Boy Scout troops. The navy asked women to come forward and knit socks, turtlenecks, and watch caps. Sewing needles at the ready, they turned out by the thousands.

  In Birmingham alone, over 600 men showed up to volunteer for military service in just a few hours, but officials estimated that less than 150 would qualify, because many were too young or too old, had dependents, had infirmities, or did not qualify because of the results of the findings of “mental tests.” Those under twenty-one would have to get parental approval before they could join. The navy’s recruiting offices nationwide were open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Meanwhile, “veterans of the first World War and Spanish-American War insisted that they weren’t too old.”54

  Men were attempting to enlist in large numbers all over the country. Boston’s recruiting offices were overrun with cheering young men, and a thousand showed up at the navy’s Federal Building offices. It was the same with the marines, the army, and the Coast Guard. Many waited for hours in line, “laughing, joking, discussing each new war bulletin,” while tickets for food were handed out and women, from the Boston Red Cross, supplied the young men with coffee and doughnuts.55

  City boys, who had once turned their noses up at military service, were clamoring for the chance to serve. LA was officially put on a war footing, and ironically, the Lindbergh Beacon atop City Hall was turned off, though not because the aviator was associated with anti-Roosevelt policies, but because the light would be an easy target and signal for enemy planes.56 In Syracuse, New York, Chapman W. Schanandoah, thirty-five, “an Onondaga Indian, whose tribe, as one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, opposed the Selective Service Act, was among the naval volunteers.”57

  Detroit Tigers star Hank Greenberg, an army reservist, was expecting to be called up, as was heavyweight champ Joe Louis. Indeed, a day later Greenberg announced, “I’m going back in. We are in trouble and there is only one thing to do—return to the service.” In doing so, he would be giving up a reported annual salary of $50,000.58 Greenberg was a class act. So, too, was Louis, who was honored by Count Basie and Paul Robeson with his own song, “King Joe.”59

  In London, thousands of young American men who had joined the RAF or the British army were champing at the bit to get out of the English military and join in the fight against the Japanese. “The American Embassy was besieged with inquiries from Americans eager to get back home and fight in an American uniform.”60

  Farmers were now urged by the Department of Agriculture to plant “fencepost to fencepost” in order to feed and clothe a hungry army and navy and much of a hungry world. A premium was also put on cotton. Because of lost tax revenue, the government asked merchants—focusing on Alabama—to notify officials of excessive sales of sugar to the makers of down-home adult beverages. Joe Rollins, head of the U.S. Alcohol Unit, “announced . . . a plan to obtain cooperation of merchants in reporting sugar sales to moonshiners.”61 Officials also worried about shortages of dairy products in America because so much butter, eggs, and milk was being shipped to England under Lend-Lease.62

  The AFL and the CIO pledged to do their utmost to put a halt to all wildcat strikes during the emergency.63 A walkout in lumber yards around San Diego was canceled. Even John L. Lewis, head of the Mineworkers, a Roosevelt-basher and a Republican, offered his support to the war effort.64 In Minneapolis, a dozen members of the Socialist Workers’ Party were sentenced to sixteen months and one day in prison for advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government. They had promoted using violence in doing so.65

  Some aggressive internationalists were arguing that the United States ought to go ahead and declare war on Germany and Italy. Syndicated columnist Dorothy Thompson penned, “We have got to dispose our common forces in a world war. Therefore, the only logical answer to Japan’s declaration of war against us is to reply with a declaration of war against the Axis, for Japan’s war is a
n Axis war.”66

  Indeed, buried in Henry Stimson’s private papers donated to Yale University was a draft of a declaration of war against all three Axis powers and not just Japan.67 Clearly, it had been hotly debated, but in the end, Roosevelt decided to declare war only on Japan, even as Winston Churchill had been nagging him about Europe and North Africa as well. FDR was being well served, however, by men like Cordell Hull and Stimson. He even got a fan telegram from an obscure New England newspaper publisher, William Loeb.68 Another concluded his letter to Stimson saying, “V for Victory, and also for Veng[e]ance!”69

  Henry Stimson had been secretary of war as a young man under President William Howard Taft and again as an old man under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In between he’d been secretary of state under President Herbert Hoover. Handsome, distinguished, and mustachioed, Stimson had been a soldier and a statesman, serving both Republican and Democratic presidents. At one point, he’d even had a doctrine named after him. In 1936, he wrote a prophetically titled book, The Far Eastern Crisis.70 He was born to wealth, attended Harvard and Yale, was Phi Beta Kappa, and could have lived the leisurely life of Jay Gatsby but instead devoted his life to public service. His wife, Mabel, was the granddaughter of Founding Father Roger Sherman, but Stimson himself could not father children, as a case of the mumps as an adult left him sterile.71 Stimson loved his country and would come to be known as one of the greatest public servants in its history along with Ben Franklin, John Hay, Colonel Edward House, George Kennan, and John Foster Dulles.

  Buried in the New York Times was a curious story, headlined “Anti-Japanese Society Aide Claims He Warned Stimson.” It said, “Evidence that Japan was planning [the] thrust at the United States as long ago as late August was disclosed today by Kilsoo K. Haan, Washington representative of the Sino-Korean People’s League, a volunteer anti-Japanese society. Mr. Haan released to The New York Times a copy of a letter he said he had sent to Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson on Oct. 28, in which Koki Hirota, former Foreign minister, was reported to have given members of the Black Dragon Society a rather accurate forecast of the hostilities and preparations therefore. Mr. Haan’s letter said in part: ‘Information: Hirota . . . now the ‘big stick’ of the Black Dragon Society, in their Aug. 26 meeting, told of the news that War Minister Tojo has ordered a total war preparation to meet the armed forces of the United States in this Pacific emergency. Tojo is said to have told him of the Navy’s full support of his policy against America. The most suitable time to wage war with America is December, 1941, or February, 1942.”72