OPINION:
For the Pearl Harbor attack, the 77th anniversary of which we marked last week, the Japanese forged a strategic weapon of six heavy carriers for a coordinated attack by 360 planes on Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941. Never before had any country executed and/or planned a raid by more than two carriers on any naval or land target. No inkling existed within allied operational or intelligence communities of a capability beyond the 21-torpedo bombers a British carrier had used to attack the Italian navy at Taranto. Pearl Harbor presented the opportunity for a strategic victory achieving control over much of the Pacific Ocean.
On Christmas Day 1941, Adm. Chester Nimitz arrived to take command at Pearl Harbor. When he did, he saw a sunken battle fleet and was assailed by a poisonous atmosphere from black oil, charred wood, burned paint and rotting flesh. However, he found the public’s perception of a disaster was wrong. The dry docks, repair shops and tank farm were intact. The carriers, their escorts and the submarines stood ready to take the offensive.
The tragedy of Pearl Harbor for the Japanese was that it required them to contend with the U.S. Navy from its forward base in Hawaii rather than from the West Coast. Japan’s tactical victory left strategic opportunities unchanged.
Adm. Nimitz immediately sent submarines into Japanese waters and conducted carrier operations thwarting Japanese initiatives. Adm. Raymond Spruance said of Adm. Nimitz, “The one big thing about him was that he was always ready to fight … And he wanted officers who would push the fight to the Japanese.”
NOLAN NELSON
Eugene, Ore.
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