We Interrupt This Broadcast: December 7 1941

We Interrupt This Broadcast: December 7 1941 by ric gustafson


Before World War II started, political tensions had been mounting between the United States and Japan. Japan was suffering from a recession that began in the late 1920's. Their nationalism was on a rise and they thought that foreign expansion was a cure for their economic woes.
Parts of the US fleet was moved to Pearl Harbor and was renamed the US Pacific Fleet. In July 1941, Japan seized control of French Indo-China and two days later, the United States froze all of their assets and eliminating all trade. During the remainder of 1941, both countries held talks to renew trade and co exist with each other in the Western Pacific.
Admiral Yamamoto came with a bold plan to attack both US and British targets in the Pacific. That plan involved a strike at Pearl Harbor and eliminating the Pacific Fleet. The goal was to eliminate the Fleet's aircraft carriers.
On November 26, six Japanese carriers left and sailed north of the shipping lanes to avoid detection. At 6:00 am on December 7, 183 planes took off through thick clouds. At 7:02 am, army radar people on Oahu's north shore detected the planes but thought that they were incoming US B 17 bombers. At 7:55 am, bombs were dropped on Wheeler Field and torpedoes struck ships anchored in Pearl Harbor. All eight US battleships were struck and four sank including the Arizona and the Oklahoma. Ten other ships were sunk or disabled, almost two hundred planes destroyed and over 2,400 lives were lost. At 2:26 pm, broadcasting was disrupted so that the tragedy could be explained to the American people. Station KTU in Honolulu broke the news with first eyewitness accounts.
The next day, President Roosevelt declared war on Japan and then a week later, Germany and Italy.


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Peace and God's blessings. Love Ric