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

The Morning of the Fateful Day 301
and retransmitted in San Francisco. Th e Army’s normal method
when atmospheric conditions prevented sending messages via
its own radio station was to use commercial facilities that were
available in the Army’s Signal Center—Western Union to San
Francisco, tube relay across the city, and then RCA to Honolulu. 79
So French decided “the quickest method of dispatch would be
via commercial service,” especially as RCA had just installed a
teletype circuit to Fort Shafter, Army headquarters in Hawaii, on
the western outskirts of Honolulu. 80
When Bratton returned to Marshall’s offi ce, Marshall asked
him to go back to the Message Center and fi nd out how long it
would take for his message to reach its several addressees. Bratton
returned, talked with French, who told him “that the messages
would be encoded in about three minutes, on the air in about
eight minutes, and in the hands of the addressees in about 30
minutes.” 81 With respect to the message to Honolulu, French
estimated that it would reach there “within a half hour to 45
minutes.” 82 Bratton “looked at [his] watch at that time and, as
[he] remember[ed] it, it was about 11:58 a.m.” 83 Bratton reported
back to Marshall.
Marshall’s message was in code by 11:52 a.m. (Washington
D.C. time) and was dispatched to Panama at noon, to the
Philippines at 12:05, to the Presidio in San Francisco at 12:11,
and to Hawaii at 12:17. 84 It was Marshall’s understanding that
his message went right through to the Philippines, Panama, and
San Francisco. Th e only problem came in raising Hawaii. 85
79Ibid., part 34, p. 33, French testimony during Clarke Investigation.
80Ibid. See also part 27, pp. 108–10, French testimony before the APHB.
81Ibid., part 34, p. 21, Bratton statement before the Clarke Inquiry.
82Ibid., p. 33. French statement before the Clarke Inquiry.
83Ibid., part 9, p. 4519, Bratton testimony before the Joint Committee. See also
part 34, p. 21.
84Ibid., part 33, p. 1282.
85Ibid., p. 823. Marshall testimony before the NCI.