Canadian Samurai by Russ Crawford

Author:Russ Crawford
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Cultural, Ethnic & Regional / General
Publisher: Agrinomics Publishing
Published: 2020-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Pearl Harbor and Internment

Courage

…to surmount pain, insecurity, and doubt in an effort to defend one’s own self or others.

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, December 7, 1941

On the morning of December 7th, 1941, the Japanese Navy and Air Force launched a coordinated attack on the U.S. bases at Pearl Harbor, Guam and Manila in the Philippines. They also attacked British bases in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaya.

The attack on Pearl Harbor destroyed or disabled twenty-one ships and over three hundred aircraft, all part of the Pacific Fleet. Two thousand four hundred men and women were killed and nearly twelve hundred others injured. The intent of the attack was to disable a large portion of the American fleet, preventing it from interfering with the Japanese conquest of the Dutch East Indies and Malaya. The attack focused on U.S. battleships, as they were considered the strength of the U.S. Navy. The losses were expected to be demoralizing to any potential U.S. military effort. The Japanese hoped the Americans would stay out of any further conflict in the Pacific. In hindsight, it’s safe to say they sorely misjudged the reaction of America.

Conflict between Japan and China had been escalating for most of the 1930s. The United States had sided with China and other smaller nations by cutting off war supplies to Japan. These actions were perceived as hostile towards Japan, damaging an already tense relationship. Talks between Japan and the United States failed in November of 1941 and the main Japanese attack fleet sailed for Pearl Harbor on November 26, 1941, just days later.

Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, December 7, 1941

George burst into the chicken barn just after 2:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.

“Father, come quickly to the house. You must hear what is happening!”

“What is it George?” Masumi recognized the urgent tone in George’s voice.

“It’s the Japanese Navy. They attacked Pearl Harbor!”

“What are you talking about?” Masumi asked incredulously. “That makes no sense to me. Why would they do such a thing?”

Confused and shocked, Masumi caught up to George and entered the back door of the house where he found Sugi and Amy listening to the radio. They both sat with their mouths hanging open, in obvious disbelief, to the loud and rapid words of a newscaster on the radio.

“What is it?” Masumi asked. “What has happened?”

Sugi was first to respond “The news reporter says the Japanese have bombed the U.S. Navy station in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The United States is not in the war against Germany and Japan. Why would they do this?” she added, echoing Masumi’s thoughts.

“This is military strategy, Sugi,” responded Masumi as he reckoned back to his days as a soldier and the extensive planning that went into preemptive strikes such as this. “The Japanese must have anticipated the United States entering the war against them and have taken action to cripple them before they can join the fight.”

Masumi had been struggling with the current global conflict that pitted his homeland against those countries he had fought to protect in the First World War.

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