Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy - Ludwig von Mises ...

176 Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy
transfer operation itself would occupy for some time the fl eet’s
aircraft carriers, its main striking defense against air attack. 30
Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr., in command of the carrier
Enterprise, left Pearl Harbor for Wake on November 28. With
him went three heavy cruisers and nine destroyers. 31
On December 2 Kimmel responded at length to Stark’s cable.
He described some of the diffi culties in having the Navy reinforce
the outlying islands, and he made realistic suggestions for
dealing with them. 32
On December 5 Admiral J.H. Newton left Hawaii aboard
the carrier Lexington with another contingent of Army pursuit
planes bound for Midway. Th ree heavy cruisers and fi ve destroyers
accompanied the Lexington. En route, the patrol planes conducted
reconnaissance, covering a much more extensive area than
they could have from their Oahu base. 33
Also on December 5 Admiral Wilson Brown left Pearl
Harbor with Task Force 3, aboard the Indianapolis with six old
destroyers converted to sweepers, to conduct landing exercises on
Johnston Island in the mid-Pacifi c. 34
Japanese Negotiations Defacto Ruptured
On November 28, two days after the United States responded
to the Japanese request for a modus vivendi, Tokyo sent her two
Washington ambassadors a cable, which we deciphered and read
that same day, commending them for their “superhuman eff orts.”
However, the U.S. reply had been a “humiliating proposal.” Th e
Imperial Government could “by no means use it as a basis for
30Ibid., part 6, p. 2520; see also Husband E. Kimmel, Admiral Kimmel’s Story
(Chicago: Henry Regnery Co., 1955), pp. 46–48.
31 Ibid., part 26, pp. 317–32, Halsey testimony at Hart Inquiry.
32 Ibid., part 17, pp. 2480–84 (Serial 0114W).
33 Ibid., part 26, p. 343, Newton testimony at Hart Inquiry.
34Ibid., part 26, pp. 141–46, Brown testimony at Hart Inquiry.