by Timothy Benford

Created on: April 07, 2007   Last Updated: May 08, 2007

THE PEARL HARBOR ATTACK: DID PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT KNOW IN ADVANCE?

In its broadest sense the Japanese attack on U.S. military installations in Pearl Harbor and throughout Oahu is, and always will be, spoken of and remembered under the singular, collective, umbrella of Pearl Harbor. Correctly or not, everything that happened on that fateful, historic, December 7, 1941 in the Hawaiian Islands is identified as part of the Pearl Harbor attack. That seemingly limited reference conjures up all events on what President Franklin D. Roosevelt called the "date which will live in infamy".

Consequently, as has commonly been the historical reference for nearly six decades, the broad usage of "Pearl Harbor" does not in any way diminish for one iota the suffering or heroic actions of military and civilian personnel who came under attack at EWA, Hickam, Wheeler, Ford Island, Schofield, Honolulu or anywhere else in Hawaii. The material in the latest most comprehensive and easiest to read book (because of its format) on the subject, Pearl Harbor Amazing Facts! (0971056005), covers the entire attack in its broadest scope. But forevermore these events will be referenced and remembered as being part of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

But more importantly, the question "Did FDR know in advance?" has been raised to conspiracy status over the years.

It would be remiss to discuss the December 7, 1941 Japanese surprise attack without acknowledging that many people still wonder about that question. Despite all the official investigations and enormous number of books and articles written, these inquiries have, in some ways, only added fuel to the fire.

Until Kennedy Assassination in 1963 and, to some degree, the later revelations about the 1947 Roswell "Flying Saucer" incident, the most consuming conspiracy theory held by many Americans was Pearl Harbor. The premise being that President Franklin D. Roosevelt knew in advance that the Japanese were going to attack Pearl Harbor and he let it happen so the U.S. could get into the war against the Axis powers without having fired the first shot. More than six decades have passed since Roosevelt's "date which will live in infamy" and questions about when the President knew, and what he knew, remains alive in the minds of revisionists.

Traditionalists believe that history has correctly recorded that Pearl Harbor happened because we were not properly prepared, ignored significant intelligence, misread other clues and, perhaps most of all, couldn't really

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>