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Show 11 , HILL TOP TIMES Fridoy, Dcmbr 5, 1986 PesrD 'Day of infamy' took nation by surprise Harbor zry2Z P. ? lh(Sis'JfD work : -- -- , i - : i: ! m ""L-,' ii! fork's - M !! - -' f ' ' " ' SX'1, - M': itntt riflf! f Dec 7 By Dr. Charles Hibbard History Office Sunday morning, Dec. 7, 1941, began as almost all days do in Hawaii, with the sun peeping over shafts of red, pink, orange and yellow light stretching across the sky, quickly fading as the warm early morning light emerged, suffusing the sky from horizon to horizon. A few candy cotton clouds balanced delicately on the peaks of the Koolau mountains, a portent of light rain showers in the afternoon, and a fresh warm breeze wafted through the tall palm trees along Waikiki beach. On the mainland the sun had long risen, the light was less intense and long shadows accentuated the rarefied air of mountainous Utah. High thin clouds running toward the northwest indicated that snow was not too far away and the thin swirling wind out of Weber Canyon brought a tingle to one's cheek and a shiver to the heart. Japanese planes began taking off from their carriers shortly after 6 a.m. on the 7th and at 7:55 a.m. they were observed southeast of Hickam Field, proceeding toward Pearl Harbor. Simultaneously, they appeared to the north and northwest, passing through Kola Kola Pass heading for the harbor. Within minutes, both Pearl Harbor and Hickam came under attack. Wave after wave of enemy planes with the red sun insignia attacked units of the Pacific Fleet, administering a devastating blow to our first line of defense. Battleship row was most heavily hit with eight battleships either sunk or damaged and several other ships sunk, including the training ship Utah. No carriers were in port but 87 of 169 naval aircraft were destroyed. Casualties were extremely heavy with 2,086 officers and men killed or missing and 749 wounded. The Arizona suffered more than 1,000 dead when she blew up. The purpose of the Japanese sneak attack was to destroy the Pacific Fleet. A secondary mission was to eliminate any opposition from the Hawaiian- - based part of the Army Air Forces. Hickam, Wheeler and Bellows Fields were attacked by Japanese planes dropping bombs and then strafing the rows of aircraft parked along the flightlines as well as other buildings where personnel were seen. While a number of pilots from Wheeler Field and Haleiwa Field on the north end of the island were able to take off, they were unable to shoot down more than a few planes. The Hawaiian Air Force lost 64 out of 231 aircraft, including most of their heavy 7 bombers, and only 79 were reported usable after the attack. Casualties included 163 killed, 43 missing and 336 wounded. Many airmen were eating breakfast in the combined barracks and messhall as one bomb made a direct hit on the dining room, killing 39 people. This building is now Headquarters Pacific Air Forces and the scars from machine gun fire are still visible. On the mainland most Americans had either been or were still in church, reading the Sunday paper, or listening to the radio. In Utah, many were in church when an urgent bulletin was flashed over the radio reporting the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. All shared the sense of shock and grief as President Roosevelt announced that a state of war existed between the United States and Japan and they fully agreed with his description of a "day that will live in infamy." B-1- While at Hill Field Hill Field was still under construction in 1941 and while the sun shone brightly it was cold and snow was in the offing. The Ogden Air Depot, as the field was first called, was activated on Nov. 7, 1940, when Lt. Col. Morris Berman arrived and assumed duty ceremoas commanding officer. A ground-breakinin a on had taken Jan. 1940, 12, earlier, ny place Gov. with snowstorm Utah Henry H. blinding Blood in attendance. When Colonel Berman arrived, the only buildings available were several wooden barracks moved from the Ogden Arsenal (West g Technology makes surprise impossible By Donna Bolinger American forces Information Services Today's sophisticated communications and intelligence systems would make a surprise attack like that on Pearl Harbor impossible, according to Air Force Brig. Gen. Fred Nelson, deputy director of operational plans and capabilities for the Joint Chiefs of staff. But 45 years later, he said, Pearl Harbor stands as a continuing lesson in the importance of military readiness. "In 1941, nobody wanted war, so they believed that it wouldn't happen," General Nelson said. "History has shown that that wasn't so. When war did break out, America was unprepared." After the Pearl Harbor attack, the United States spent a frantic six months training its military forces. The whole country went to work hammering out battleships, tanks and aircraft. , This long mobilization time wouldn't be possi- - ble today, General Nelson said. "With today's weapon systems, we wouldn t have time to get the force structure prepared. Everything will just be too fast." General Nelson said this is largely because today's technology is so much more sophisticated than that used in the early 1940s. "In 1941, military hardware was hammered out e effort that the by hand. It was a whole country could pitch in with." Not so today, when a great deal of military equipment is produced by and must therefore be operated by highly trained specialists. So why doesn't the United States return to simpler weapons systems that don't require long-terspecialized training? "We have to build systems to counter what the enemy has," the general said. "The bottom line is that we're greatly outnumbered. We just can't go today with the simplistic plans we had in 1941 and labor-intensiv- m 1942." , Area) to serve as temporary quarters. Permanent buildings began to rise in January 1940 and work on the runways began in July. Construction of the hangars began in August 1940 and construction of federal housing also began in 1940 to house the growing number of civilian workers. They included such units as Grand View Acres and Washington Terrace in Ogden, Verdeland Park in Layton, and Sahara Village outside the South Gate of Hill Field, all well known to in the area. was bus vehicle, provided by private Transportation or the Bamberger Interurban line which ran from Salt Lake City to Ogden. Upon declaration of war, a near panic developed oh the West Coast and hundreds of aircraft were flown to inland fields, such as Hill Field. Supplies originally destined for the Philippines were shipped to Ogden without packing lists. Storage space was and supplies had to be stored outside on the ground. Aircraft were parked in the sand and mud and within days two feet of snow covered the field and wheels and brakes were frozen solid. It was impossible to taxi the aircraft so skids were built and the aircraft were towed to the operations hangar where they were thawed out and eventually returned to their home station. The base grew rapidly and on Oct. 31, 1941, total military personnel was 205 officers and men, while civilians had reached about 1,500 by the first of December. The urgent need for civilian mechanics and supply people was vividly demonstrated on Dec. 8 the day after Pearl Harbor, when a teletype was received at Hill Field immediately doubling the number of civilian authorizations and work shifts were increased from two to three. Most of the civilian personnel were untrained; Colonel Berman's first job was to set up a training program for mechanics and supply people. Before the war, pay for. a mechanic trainee was $600 a month and on Dec. 16 it was increased to $900 a month, a great Christmas gift! Repair of transient aircraft had begun by the end of 1941, generally outside with a cold canyon breeze whistling down Weber Canyon. The first major maintenance project initiated by the Ogden Air mediDepot was the winterization of Martin um bombers whch were destined for Alaska. In January 1942, the field activated four engine test cells and testing began on April 6, 1942; the same month modifications began on By February 1943, Ogden had established the first Army Air Force progressive assembly line for aircraft, delivering the first aircraft to the Second Air Force on April 2, 1943. In July, the line met its goal of repairing one aircraft per day. Today, it is 45 years since those men made the supreme sacrifice a majority of the people of the United States were not alive at that time and do not remember "Pearl Harbor" except perhaps as another date in history or a slogan whose meaning has long since become clouded and hazy by the passage of time. We should remember Pearl Harbor, not so much as a "day that will ive in infamy," but for a cause we believed in freedom. We should remember and honor those men and women who served and died in all of our wars, for they truly gave "their all." old-time- rs non-existe- nt B-2- B-17- s. B-2- 4 6 |