and placed greater emphasis on sinking
the aircraft carriers than in previous
plans. The first wave involved 16 torpedo
planes targeting two carriers and a further
24 attacking six battleships, which were
vulnerable to strikes from torpedoes.
Additionally, 50 bombers carried specially
modified loads and were to target Pearl
Harbor’s ‘Battleship Row’ where most of
the large ships were moored. The second
wave was to involve 81 dive bombers
attacking any carriers present – essentially
finishing the job started by the more
heavily armed first wave. At 07:53 on the
morning of 7 December, the signal “Tora!
Tora! Tora!” was sent by the strike leader
and the surprise attack was launched.
At 07.55 the USS Conyngham reported
that it was under attack from Japanese
planes, and by 08.08 the ship was
returning fire. The USS California was
nearly completely destroyed and its crew
forced to abandon ship when burning fuel
on the surface of the water threatened
to engulf the vessel. The California
signalled: “0750 Japanese planes without
warning attacked units of the United
States Fleet and US Naval Air Station, Ford
Island. Sounded General Quarters and
manned Battle Stations.” The resultant
situation was one of chaos as the crew
scrambled to respond to the completely
unexpected attack. The surviving ships’
logs demonstrate this confusion as they
reference non-existent enemies and are
littered with false reports. In one case
the USS Maryland noted that there were
“parachute troops reported landing at
Barbers Point and enemy tankers reported
four (4) miles off Wainae,” and described
them as wearing blue overalls with red
symbols. No such groups existed.
Throughout the attack there were many
stories of bravery as American sailors
fought back against the Japanese. One of
the most striking acts of heroism was that
carried out by Doris ‘Dorie’ Miller, mess
attendant on the USS West Virginia. At this
time, like so much of American society,
the US Navy enforced discriminatory
policies towards its Black servicemen:
they were not eligible for promotion and
were usually assigned to lesser duties.
As a final indignity they were not evenpermitted to wear the Navy’s anchor and
chain button insignia. Although Miller
was not combat trained, he was the ship’s
boxing champion and thanks to his superb
physical fitness was able to pull survivors
from the water. Miller helped drag the
wounded Captain Bennion to safety along
with many other sailors. Most famously,
he took command of a large Browning
anti-aircraft machine gun, despite having
no training in how to use the weapon. “It
wasn’t hard,” he later commented. “I just
pulled the trigger and she worked fine.
I had watched the others with these guns.
I guess I fired her for about 15 minutes.
I think I got one of those planes. They
were diving pretty close to us.”
Following this he pulled further sailors
from the water, which had become an oily
inferno, before swimming 270m to the
shore and safety. A year later Miller was
awarded the Navy Cross – amid increasing
pressure on the US Navy to rethink its
treatment of Black servicemen.
In total, the Pearl Harbor attack lasted
nearly two hours, and although the
Japanese failure to destroy repair facilitiesDuring periods of war, particular moments
of aggression that strike deep within a
nation’s shared consciousness are often
utilised in propaganda - for example
the sinking of the RMS Lusitania during
World War I. The Merriam-Webster
dictionary defines propaganda as being:
“The spreading of ideas, information,
or rumour for the purpose of helping
or injuring an institution, a cause or a
person.” As such, particular atrocities
are often used as a shared idea to
stoke anger against the enemy. The
7 December attack on Pearl Harbor
was no different and was used in
a number of posters by the US
government, such as the example
shown here. Pearl Harbor was
used on posters about everything
from war bonds, to recruitment,
to simple vengeance. Doris Miller
was even used on posters as an
inspirational example of bravery.
Throughout the USA’s war with Japan, Pearl
Harbor was used in patriotic propagandaBOTTOM One of
the bombs dropped
by Japanese planes
detonates during
the attackBELOW An image
from a Japanese
plane during
the attack on
Pearl HarborOPPOSITE Doris
Miller, the third class
messman who was
noted for his bravery
during the attack©^ Getty^ Images