[Milsurplus] SID 12/7/41

[C.Whitaker]

de WB2CPN  Late Reply
The message we're talking about here was not sent from Hawaii
to Wash DC, but FROM Wash DC to the Army Commander in
Hawaii.  When the Japanese aircraft were taking off from their carriers,
the Japanese Ambassador in Wash DC  was just concluding a meeting
with Secretary of State Hull, and had just declined to submit to our
demands in the Pacific.  The records show that the Japanese Ambassador
was not aware of what was happening in Hawaii.   The newsreels show him
saying, "I'm sorry, Mr Hull." as he left the State Department.   Through
channels, and at the direction of President Roosevelt, the War Department
was ordered to send a message to the Commander in Hawaii that war was
imminent, and to prepare for an attack in the Philippines.   That message
was not sent via Army or Navy circuits, and would have had the top priority,
but was sent via RCA commercial circuits which sent it as ROUTINE.
This is all a matter of record, and is history.  The message didn't get into
the hands of the Commander in Hawaii until the attack was almost over.
To this day there are arguments about why our capital ships were sitting
all lined up in Pearl Harbor, and why did that crucial message get delayed.
Sorry 'bout going on and on, but Pearl Harbor is how "military surplus"
all got started.
73  Clete