December 1941

by Craig Shirley

  16. Richard L. Strout, “Tokyo Reply Keeps Door Open,” Christian Science Monitor, December 6, 1941, 1.

  17. Christian Science Monitor, “Göttliche Führung,” December 6, 1941, 12.

  18. Joseph G. Harrison, “Intimate Message: Washington,” Christian Science Monitor, December 6, 1941, 13.

  19. Otto D. Tolisch, “Japan Confident Talks Will Go On,” New York Times, December 6, 1941, 2.

  20. Los Angeles Times, “Where Silence Seems Superfluous,” December 6, 1941, A4.

  21. Lloyd Lehrbas, “Second Tokio Reply Awaited Here; Peace Talks Are Delayed,” Washington Evening Star, December 6, 1941, 1X.

  22. Bertram D. Hulen, “Japanese Answer; Says Troops in Indo-China Do Not Exceed Limit in Pact with Vichy,” New York Times, December 6, 1941, 1.

  23. Associated Press, “Joint U.S.-Japan Commission Is Proposed to End Deadlock,” Atlanta Constitution, December 6, 1941, 1.

  24. New York Times, “Japan Institute Here Is Closing,” December 6, 1941, 2.

  25. Associated Press, “Joint U.S.-Japan Commission Is Proposed to End Deadlock,” Atlanta Constitution, December 6, 1941, 1.

  26. Christian Science Monitor, “Draft for Overseas Service Major Issue in Australia,” December 6, 1941, 11.

  27. Associated Press, “Australia Calls for Execution of ‘ABCD’ Military Measures,” Constitution, December 6, 1941, 4.

  28. Associated Press, “Britain Takes Up Battle Posts in Far East as Crisis Grows,” Christian Science Monitor, December 6, 1941, 1.

  29. Associated Press, “Singapore Alert Sounded; Manila Evacuation Seen,” Birmingham News, December 6, 1941, 1.

  30. Henry W. Harris, “Crisis Finds Foes of Japan Strong,” Boston Evening Globe, December 6, 1941, 2.

  31. Henry W. Harris, “Crisis Finds Foes of Japan Strong,” Boston Evening Globe, December 6, 1941, 2.

  32. Walter Robb, “Macarthur Prepared if Japan Strikes Blow,” Los Angeles Times, December 6, 1941, 5.

  33. Otto D. Tolischus, “Needn’t Fear Air Attacks Japan Told,” Washington Post, December 6, 1941, 2.

  34. Henry W. Harris, “Crisis Finds Foes of Japan Strong,” Boston Evening Globe, December 6, 1941, 2.

  35. Christian Science Monitor, “House Votes Eight Billions for Defense,” December 6, 1941, 1.

  36. Associated Press, “Army Recreation Delay Ridiculed,” Christian Science Monitor, December 6, 1941, 11.

  37. Sheilah Graham, “Navy Air Cadets Talk Girls and Planes, Not War, Reporter Says.” Washington Evening Star, December 6, 1941, 2X.

  38. Associated Press, “State Drops Charges In Naval Plane Killing,” Washington Evening Star, December 6, 1941, A2.

  39. Washington Evening Star, “Temporary Buildings’ Removal Following Emergency Indicated,” December 6, 1941, A4.

  40. Wall Street Journal, “Vinson Tries to Work Up Steam for Profits Limit Bill, But Congress Is Not Responsive,” December 6, 1941, 2.

  41. Wall Street Journal, “Vinson Tries to Work Up Steam for Profits Limit Bill, But Congress Is Not Responsive,” December 6, 1941, 2.

  42. Wall Street Journal, “Defense Contracts Awarded,” December 6, 1941, 6.

  43. Baltimore Sun, “Dr. Lazaron Tells of Britain at War,” December 7, 1941, 8.

  44. Baltimore Sun, “Germans Plan to Ask U.S. to Repay Blacklist,” December 6, 1941, 1.

  45. Honor Croome, “The Nazi Economy,” Christian Science Monitor, December 6, 1941, 10.

  46. Earl C. Behrens, “Propoganda Drive Centers in Schools,” Los Angeles Times, December 6, 1941, 1.

  47. Baltimore Sun, “Dies Group Probes Pro-Nazi Influence in America First,” December 6, 1941, 1.

  48. Baltimore Sun, “Dies Group Probes Pro-Nazi Influence in America First,” December 6, 1941, 1.

  49. F.R. Kent Jr., “Widening of Dies Probes Revealed,” Baltimore Sun, December 7, 1941, 15.

  50. Washington Post, “Youth Rally Hears Pepper Assail Hitler,” December 6, 1941, 19.

  51. Gordon William Prange, Donald M. Goldstein, Katherine V. Dillon, At Dawn We Slept, The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor (New York, New York, Penguin Books, 1991,) 70.

  52. New York Times, “Nazis Bar Sales By Jews,” December 6, 1941, 7.

  53. New York Times, “Nazis Bar Sales By Jews,” December 6, 1941, 7.

  54. Jerome Frank, “Red-White-and-Blue Herring,” Saturday Evening Post, December 6, 1941, 9.

  55. Jerome Frank, “Red-White-and-Blue Herring,” Saturday Evening Post, December 6, 1941, 9.

  56. Jerome Frank, “Red-White-and-Blue Herring,” Saturday Evening Post, December 6, 1941, 9.

  57. Jerome Frank, “Red-White-and-Blue Herring,” Saturday Evening Post, December 6, 1941, 9.

  58. Jerome Frank, “Red-White-and-Blue Herring,” Saturday Evening Post, December 6, 1941, 9.

  59. Joe Morton, “American Concentration Camp,” Greeley (CO) Daily Tribune,” December 6, 1941, 4.

  60. Frederick Kuh, “Britain Declares War on Finland, Hungary, Rumania,” Idaho Evening News, December 6, 1941, 1.

  61. Hartford (CT) Courant, “That Ickes Oil ‘Shortage,’” December 6, 1941, 8.

  62. Hartford (CT) Courant, “That Ickes Oil ‘Shortage,’” December 6, 1941, 8.

  63. J. H. Carmical, “10% Cut Is Likely In ‘Gas’ Efficacy,” New York Times, December 6, 1941, 1.

  64. Saturday Evening Post, “Partners in Power for the Nation’s Defense,” December 6, 1941, 33.

  65. Saturday Evening Post, “I Keep 500 ‘Horses’ on Their Toes.” December 6, 1941, 90.

  66. Saturday Evening Post, “All-out Aid for a Hungry Man!” December 6, 1941, 31.

  67. Saturday Evening Post, “When You Have a Smokers Cough—It’s Time to Change to Spuds,” December 6, 1941, 75.

  68. Washington Post, “Seasonal Sale! Brand New ’41 Models,” December 6, 1941, 18.

  69. Washington Post, “Seasonal Sale! Brand New ’41 Models,” December 6, 1941, 18.

  70. Christian Science Monitor, “War Dines Heartily at New World Table But Essential Foods Are Still Plentiful,” December 6, 1941, 6.

  71. Christian Science Monitor, “War Dines Heartily at New World Table But Essential Foods Are Still Plentiful,” December 6, 1941, 6.

  72. Washington Evening Star, “Work of Colored Artist in Library of Congress,” December 6, 1941, A4.

  73. Atlanta Constitution, “Todays Radio; Saturdays Local Program,” December 6, 1941, 11.

  74. Associated Press, “Honduran President Reveals Nazi Plots in Central America,” Washington Evening Star, December 6, 1941, A1.

  75. Associated Press, “Russian Armies Slash at Foe in Flank Attacks,” Washington Evening Star, December 6, 1941, A1.

  76. Associated Press, “Russian Armies Slash at Foe in Flank Attacks,” Washington Evening Star, December 6, 1941, A1.

  77. Associated Press, “British Submarine Sunk Off Norway, Nazis Claim,” Washington Evening Star, December 6, 1941, A2.

  78. Christian Science Monitor, “Prisoners: Pawns of Nazi Conquest,” December 6, 1941, 7.

  79. Baltimore Sun, “Cannibalism Is Reported in Germany’s Prison Camp,” December 7, 1941, 3.

  80. Baltimore Sun, “Cannibalism Is Reported in Germany’s Prison Camp,” December 7, 1941, 3.

  81. Angus Thuermer, “Prisoners Make Arms for Nazis,” Hartford (CT) Courant, December 7, 1941, 5.

  82. Associated Press, “British Free Admiral’s Wife,” Christian Science Monitor, December 6, 1941, 11.

  83. Jesse A. Linthicum, “Sunlight on Sports,” Baltimore Sun, December 1, 1941, 14.

  84. Bill Dismer Jr., “Banta of Eagles Aims to Show Redskins They Passed Up Ace,” Washington Evening Star, December 6, 1941, A18.

  85. Associated Press, “Tommy Breaks Up With Fifth Wife,” Evening (OH) Independent, December 6, 1941, 2.

  86. Ida Jean Kain, “Rita Hayworth Does Not Diet; Stays Thin by Dancing, Sports,” Washington Evening Star December 6, 1941, 15.

  87. Washington Post “Bible for President,”
December 6, 1941, 8.

  88. Edgar Ansel Mowrer, “Japan Believed Certain to Fight,” Los Angeles Times, December 6, 1941, 5.

  89. Washington Post, “U.S.-Japan at End of Talk, He Asserts,” December 6, 1941, 4.

  90. Christian Science Monitor, “World Golden Rule Week Calls For Self-Denial and Generosity,” December 6, 1941, 14.

  91. Christian Science Monitor, “Tokyo Regime Called Bluff; China Stiffer,” December 6, 1941, 14.

  92. Christian Science Monitor, “Tokyo Regime Called Bluff; China Stiffer,” December 6, 1941, 14.

  93. United Press, “Japanese Council Defies Effort of United States to Bar ‘New Order,’” December 6, 1941, 1.

  CHAPTER 7: THE SEVENTH OF DECEMBER

  1. Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack, Pearl Harbor Attack: Hearings Before the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack, 79th Cong., 1st sess., 1946, Government Printing Office, Exhibit no. 17, Memorandum for the President, “Subject: Far Eastern Situation,” November 27, 1941, 1083.

  2. Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack, Pearl Harbor Attack: Hearings Before the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack, 79th Cong., 1st sess., 1946, Government Printing Office, Exhibit no. 17, Memorandum for the President, “Subject: Far Eastern Situation,” November 27, 1941, 1083.

  3. Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack, Pearl Harbor Attack: Hearings Before the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack, 79th Cong., 1st sess., 1946, Government Printing Office, Exhibit no. 17, Memorandum for the President, “Subject: Far Eastern Situation,” November 27, 1941, 1083.

  4. Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack, Pearl Harbor Attack: Hearings Before the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack, 79th Cong., 1st sess., 1946, Government Printing Office, Exhibit no. 17, Memorandum for the President, “Subject: Far Eastern Situation,” November 27, 1941, 1083.

  5. Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack, Pearl Harbor Attack: Hearings Before the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack, 79th Cong., 1st sess., 1946, Government Printing Office, Exhibit no. 17, Memorandum for the President, “Subject: Far Eastern Situation,” November 27, 1941, 1083.

  6. Husband E. Kimmel, Admiral Kimmel’s Story (Chicago, IL: 1955, Henry Regnery Company), 15.

  7. Husband E. Kimmel, Admiral Kimmel’s Story (Chicago, IL: 1955, Henry Regnery Company), 19.

  8. Gerald Griffin, “President Makes Move As Convoys Are Sighted Bound for Gulf of Siam,” Baltimore Sun, December 7, 1941, 1.

  9. Doris Kerns Goodwin, No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1955), 286.

  10. Honolulu Advertiser, “Housing Aid Appeal Sent to Governor,” December 7, 1941, 1.

  11. Honolulu Advertiser, “See Santa Today,” December 7, 1941, 1.

  12. Honolulu Advertiser, “‘Clean Shave’ Drive Started,” December 7, 1941, 1.

  13. United Press, “Week’s War Preview,” Honolulu Advertiser, December 7, 1941, 7.

  14. Associated Press, “Man Dies Without Learning His Identity,” Los Angeles Times, December 7, 1941, 8.

  15. United Press, “Japanese Herald ‘Supreme Crisis,’” New York Times, December 7, 1941, 3.

  16. United Press, “Singapore Forces Recalled to War Stations; Base Ready to Act in Any Emergency,” Honolulu Advertiser, December 7, 1941, 7.

  17. Associated Press, “Australia and Allies Reported in Accord on Pacific Defense,” Washington Evening Star, December 7, 1941, A2.

  18. Blair Bolles, “Roosevelt Sends Note to Hirohito; Japanese Convoys Near Thailand; U.S. Takes Over Finnish Vessels: President’s Action Looked on Here As Last Step,” Washington Evening Star, December 7, 1941, 1.

  19. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, “Roosevelt’s Appeal to Hirohito to Avoid War,” December 6, 1941, Hyde Park, NY.

  20. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, “Roosevelt’s Appeal to Hirohito to Avoid War,” December 6, 1941, Hyde Park, NY.

  21. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, “Roosevelt’s Appeal to Hirohito to Avoid War,” December 6, 1941, Hyde Park, NY.

  22. New York Times, “New Troop Moves,” December 7, 1941, 1.

  23. Blair Bolles, “Roosevelt Sends Note to Hirohito; Japanese Convoys Near Thailand; U.S. Takes Over Finnish Vessels: President’s Action Looked on Here As Last Step,” Washington Evening Star, December 7, 1941, 1.

  24. Blair Bolles, “Roosevelt Sends Note to Hirohito; Japanese Convoys Near Thailand; U.S. Takes Over Finnish Vessels: President’s Action Looked on Here As Last Step,” Washington Evening Star, December 7, 1941, 1.

  25. Associated Press, “F.D.R. Puts Jap Crisis Up to Emperor: Personal Message Sent to Mikado Amid Reports of Fresh Troop Moves,” Birmingham (AL) News, December 7, 1941, 1.

  26. Associated Press, “Japanese Head for Thailand,” Los Angeles Times, December 7, 1941, 14.

  27. Fredric L. Borch, Daniel Martinez, Kimmel, Short, and Pearl Harbor (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2005), 56.

  28. United Press, “London Prepares for Fighting,” New York Times, December 3, 1941, 4.

  29. Associated Press, “Special Commission Urged,” New York Times, December 7, 1941, 3.

  30. Associated Press, “U.S. Stalling, Says Tokyo,” Los Angeles Times, December 7, 1941, 1.

  31. Associated Press, “U.S. Stalling, Says Tokyo,” Los Angeles Times, December 7, 1941, 1.

  32. Associated Press, “Roosevelt Insincere, Stalling in Talks, Japanese Press Says,” Washington Evening Star, December 7, 1941, A4.

  33. Associated Press, “U.S. Helps Guard South Pacific,” The Calgary (Alberta, Canada) Herald, December 2, 1941, 3.

  34. Associated Press, “Roosevelt Insincere, Stalling in Talks, Japanese Press Says,” Washington Evening Star, December 7, 1941, A4.

  35. Associated Press, “Australia and Allies Reported in Accord on Pacific Defense,” Washington Evening Star, December 7, 1941, A1.

  36. Associated Press, “British Forces Recalled to Singapore Posts,” Washington Evening Star, December 7, 1941, A3.

  37. Associated Press, “Britain Goes to War Against Finland Quietly and Formally,” Washington Evening Star, December 7, 1941, A1.

  38. Associated Press, “Move Synchronous With British War Declaration,” Washington Evening Star, December 7, 1941, A1.

  39. Associated Press, “Finn President Warns Britain and U.S. of Soviet Friendship,” Washington Evening Star, December 7, 1941, A4.

  40. Associated Press, “French Fleet Declared Active in Mediterranean,” Washington Evening Star, December 7, 1941, A1.

  41. Associated Press, “British Credit American Planes for Biggest Victory in Libya,” Washington Evening Star, December 7, 1941, A1.

  42. Associated Press, “Russia May Get Wheat From Pacific Northwest,” Washington Evening Star, December 7, 1941, A1.

  43. Associated Press, “Moscow Facing New Peril From Enemy Hordes,” Washington Evening Star, December 7, 1941, A1.

  44. New York Times, “Navy Is Superior to Any,” December 7, 1941, 1.

  45. New York Times, “Dentistry to Cut Army Rejections,” December 2, 1941, 18.

  46. Department of The Navy, Memorandum for the President, “Subject: Report on Enlisted Personnel, United States Navy,” December 2, 1941, Washington, DC.

  47. Birmingham (AL) News, “Experts With Radios Are Needed By Navy,” December 7, 1941, 14.

  48. Washington Evening Star, “21-Year-Olds Face Call to Army Duty At Least by July 1,” December 7, 1941, A5.

  49. Associated Press, “Doctor Scores His Profession,” Indiana (PA) Evening Gazette, December 5, 1941, 1.

  50. Washington Evening Star, “Revlon Nail Enamel,” December 7, 1941, A7.

  51. Martin Caidin, Golden Wings (New York: Random House, 19
60), 104.

  52. Martin Caidin, Golden Wings (New York: Random House, 1960), 104.

  53. Drew Pearson and Robert S. Allen, “Merry-Go-Around,” Palm Beach (FL) Post-Times, December 14, 1941, 4.

  54. Martin Caidin, Golden Wings (New York: Random House, 1960), 104.

  55. Associated Press, “Japs Strike at U.S.,” Emporia (KS) Gazette, December 1941, 1.

  56. Associated Press, “Eyewitness Report of Air Raid,” Baltimore Sun, December 8, 1941, 2.

  57. Martin Caidin, Golden Wings (New York: Random House, 1960), 106.

  58. Bill Henry, “By the Way With Bill Henry,” Los Angeles Times, December 9, 1941, A1.

  59. Bernard C. Nalty, War in the Pacific Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay: The Story of the Bitter Struggle in the Pacific Theater of World War II (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1999), 32.

  60. Time, “The U.S. at War, Tragedy at Honolulu,” December 15, 1941, 22.

  61. Thomas Yarbrough, “Writer Learns Hawaiian Raid No ‘War Game,’” Atlanta Constitution, December 13, 1941, 1.

  62. Jim Hopkins and Michelle Kessler, “Unlike Pearl Harbor, This Tragedy Was Live,” USA Today, September 25, 2001, 8B; Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns, The War: an Intimate History, 1941–1945 (New York: A.A. Knopf, 2007), 1.

  63. Jim Hopkins and Michelle Kessler, “Unlike Pearl Harbor, This Tragedy Was Live,” USA Today, September 25, 2001, 8B; Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns, The War: an Intimate History, 1941–1945 (New York: A.A. Knopf, 2007), 1.

  64. United Press, “Hawaii Under Martial Law, Islands Quiet; Blackout Enforced, Violators Punished,” New York Times, December 11, 1941, 6.

  65. Gerald Eckert, in discussion with the author.

  66. Thomas E. Henry, “Capital Retains Outward Calm Despite Shock of War News,” Washington Evening Star, December 8, 1941, A8.

  67. Shirley Povich, “War’s Outbreak Is Deep Secret to 27,102 Redskin Game Fans,” Washington Post, December 8, 1941, 24.

  68. Shirley Povich, “War’s Outbreak Is Deep Secret to 27,102 Redskin Game Fans,” Washington Post, December 8, 1941, 24.

  69. Shirley Povich, “War’s Outbreak Is Deep Secret to 27,102 Redskin Game Fans,” Washington Post, December 8, 1941, 24.

  70. Associated Press, “Struck Before Declaration, Tokyo Admits,” Washington Post, December 8, 1941, 8.