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

Air Raid, Pearl Harbor! This is No Drill! 321
Force immediately became functional, and orders to planes in the
air were sent and received by 8:05. 39
Within minutes of the attack, Kimmel cabled the Navy
Department. Offi cial notifi cation of the attack was received
in Washington at 1:50 p.m., Washington time, by dispatch as
follows: 40
AIR RAID ON PEARL HARBOR X THIS IS NOT [sic]
DRILL.
The Attack News Reaches the
Navy Department
At about 1:30 p.m., as Navy Secretary Knox, Chief of Naval
Operations Stark, and possibly Admiral Turner were coming out
of a meeting at the Navy Department, the fi rst news of the attack
on Pearl Harbor arrived. Th e “Air Raid” message, delivered by
Commander Fernald from Navy Communications, was handed
to Knox.
Knox’s immediate response was, “My God, this can’t be true,
this must mean the Philippines.” 41
“No, sir,” Stark said, “this is Pearl.” 42 Stark knew “Th is is no
drill” were agreed-upon code words to indicate an actual outbreak
of hostilities.
The Attack News Reaches the White House
On hearing the news, Knox “immediately called on the White
House phone and spoke to the president.” It was 1:40 p.m. Knox
39Ibid., part 8, p. 3452, Bellinger testimony before the Joint Committee.
40Ibid., part 11, p. 5351.
41Ibid., part 8, pp. 3828–29, 3834–37, Testimony of Knox’s Marine aide, Major
John H. Dillon.
42Ibid., p. 3829, Dillon testimony before the Joint Committee.