The US Army and Navy installations in and around Pearl Harbor were caught completely off guard by the Japanese attack.
This attack was only one in a series of attacks on Malaya, the Philippines, and several US-controlled Pacific Islands.
- Listen now:
Playlist:
Fanfare
Opening War Theme
Symphony No. 3 in E♭ Major
Composed in 1804 by Ludwig van Beethoven. Public domain.
Performed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Public domain recording. Source.
Closing War Theme
Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.
Three days before the Japanese attack, at a dinner in Washington, the American navy secretary Frank Knox declared that wherever the Japanese will attack we are ready, the American Navy, “The Navy is not going to be caught napping”.
Well, he was wrong.
(I thought you’ll mention it in one of the two chapters, but I think you didn’t?)
I didn’t, but thanks for noting it.