[December 7, 2022] Can we learn anything from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on this date 81 years ago? Yes, we can, but it’s a lesson Americans never seem to take to heart.
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese Imperial Navy bombed the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. It was one of the most successful and failed surprise attacks in military history. The attack shocked America and the world. U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt described it as a “day which will live in infamy.”
A Japanese armada of six fleet carriers with more than 350 combat aircraft crossed 4,000 miles of rough winter seas to reach its destination. Neither American radar operators on the island nor intelligence officers who had broken many Japanese naval codes had an inkling of the approach.
Flying out of the bright early morning sun, two waves of bombers sank four battleships of the U.S. 7th Fleet, damaged four others, and killed over 2,300 American sailors and soldiers. The Japanese suffered minimal casualties of just 29 aircraft.
The attack was brilliant, but it did not achieve its goal for two reasons. First, by a twist of fate, the three American aircraft carriers based at Pearl Harbor – the ships the Japanese most wanted to destroy – were all out to sea. Second, the Japanese didn’t finish the job. Putting the base out of commission required not two but three waves of attack. This final wave would have destroyed a full six months of stored naval and aviation fuel, dockyards, and maintenance facilities and truly set the Americans reeling.
Yet, at the last moment, Japanese Admiral Chūichi Nagumo (南雲 忠) concluded that the risks were too great. He returned to Japan, leaving the American blooded but not fatally.
The reason the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor was to neutralize the Americans. Japan wanted to dominate and control all of Asia. In hindsight, this appears unrealistic, but it almost made sense at the time. In 1941, the U.S. was in a sorry state militarily. It had few ships in its Pacific fleet, and most were outdated. The Japanese fleet, in contrast, was newer, bigger, and stronger. Moreover, Americans had no appetite for an overseas conflict.
But, the Japanese underestimated American strength and overestimated their own strength. Instead of cowering America, it enraged it. The nation woke up with a fearsome start. Within six months, General Jimmy Doolittle led a surprise bombing raid on Tokyo, an astounding feat no one at the time thought possible. And nine months later, the Americans shifted to offense and landed troops on Guadalcanal.
Meanwhile, at home, the nation was gearing up for the greatest industrial renaissance in the history of civilization. In less than three years, the U.S. would build more warships and support vessels than all the navies in the world combined.
America was totally unprepared for the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Thanks to the leadership of President Roosevelt, America turned around with astonishing speed. Yet, winning the war against Japan came at a high price. More than 110,000 were killed, 250,000 were wounded, and 21,000 spent time in Japanese prison camps.
Preparing for war is expensive, but not nearly as expensive as fighting a war. That’s one of the many important lessons to be learned from what happened on the fateful day of December 7, 1941.
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Great explanation of Pearl Harbor attack and one big lesson that we should take to heart.
Another exceptional article from General Satterfield. Keep these coming our way.
it is important to tell the story of Pearl Harbor and the attack by the Japanese Imperial Navy on December 7, 1941. There is much to learn and respect from that day. We should all have a better understand how it came about and why.
The problem, Anya, is that we no longer teach history or learn lessons from the past. We think we are too smart and too sophisticated and too modern to worry about all that “old stuff.”
Tell the story over and over. Learn more about it. Then become a better person.
Gen. Satterfield, thanks for being one of the few leaders who wrote anything about Pearl Harbor.
Thank you again, Gen. Satterfield for honoring our troops at Pearl Harbor and making sure we are aware that there are lessons to be learned. Last year’s article helped too. Keep up the great works you are doing and congratulations on your latest book. I have my copy and love it.
I love it too. Rides Alone, you da man (oh, I mean Gen. Satterfield is da man). 😎
To survive, you’ve got to be strong, smart, and willing to adapt. Flexibility is the name of survival and America is too rigid due to a self-inflicted cancer in its political structure. We tie ourselves up in knots when someone just looks at us weirdly. Let them be weird, Don’t do stupid.
“America was unprepared …” Yep, just like today, we are unprepared because our political elites would rather focus in on giving cross-sex harmones and cut up children than paying attention to what really matters.
Right, or making us use stupid pronouns like zer, zen, xer, and such. How absolutely stupid. Someone needs to stand up and tell our politicians what we think of that. 👎 Stupid is as stupid does.
Always kicking butt, Forrest. Made my day.
Got that right.
Gen. Satterfield, thanks for the lesson – an important lesson we always forget – that our politicains should take to heart.
I always enjoy reading this leadership blog and for those who are new, please get a copy of Gen. Satterfield’s newest book “55 Rules for a Good Life” and you will thank me for it. This book, link below, gives a perspective on life that you will be glad to read about and adopt.
https://www.amazon.com/55-Rules-Good-Life-Responsibility/dp/1737915529/
Hi Liz, got my copy two weeks ago and read it all in one day. Easy to read and to the point. Harsh lessons but necessary. Thanks. Gen. Satterfield does a great job of bringing important lessons to bear about how to live a good life.
Yes, and thank you Liz for giving us a reminder of this great book.
The BEST BOOK ever. Read it now. Get a copy or several copies and give them away to your best friends and family. They will appreciate you for it. ✔✔✔✔✔
Excellent article honoring those who were at Pearl Harbor that day and for those who made the ultimate sacrifice during WWII.
👍 Thumbs up Eye Cat.
“Preparing for war is expensive, but not nearly as expensive as fighting a war. That’s one of the many important lessons to be learned from what happened on the fateful day of December 7, 1941.” – Gen. Douglas Satterfield and one of the great thinkers today.
Gen. Satterfield, thank you for honoring, again, our service members and giving us more lessons learned from being unprepared for war. Like you said, it is expensive to prepare for war but more expensive to fight one.
Right Dern, that is a lesson that Americans never seem to learn. Altho we have it better today because we are much richer and can afford a larger military. Thank goodness for those who serve and, oh BTW, we need to wake the military up and stop using it as a social experiment where merit is degraded. That is how you lose.
Right! Remember under Obama when Iranians captured some of our sailors. Our sailors were peeing their pants and begged to be released. How embarrassing. That changed under Trump. Now we have another brain dead Democrat as president who pees his pants daily so wears a diaper. Slo Joe just does NOT have the leadership ability and neither does his minions.
Right. and Pen Q, you kick butt. ✔
You guys are great. Thanks for making my day. Yes, Democrats are stupid stupid stupid when it comes to anything requiring brainpower.
Yes, thank you Gen. Doug Satterfield for what you do for us and in honoring our military.