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

U.S. International Policy: 1933–1940 27
U.S. Fleet Stationed in Pearl Harbor
On April 2, 1940, the U.S. Fleet left the west coast for
maneuvers in Hawaiian waters. Since the fl eet was scheduled
to return in early May for war games, the families of the
Navy personnel remained on the U.S. mainland. Th en on May
4, the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Fleet,
Admiral Richardson, received a dispatch from the Chief of Naval
Operations Stark:
IT LOOKS PROBABLE BUT NOT FINAL THAT THE
FLEET WILL REMAIN IN HAWAIIAN WATERS FOR SHORT
TIME AFTER MAY 9TH. 49
Th en on May 7, Stark again cabled Richardson from
Washington asking him to issue a press release saying:
I HAVE REQUESTED PERMISSION TO REMAIN
IN HAWAIIAN WATERS TO ACCOMPLISH SOME
THINGS I WANTED TO DO WHILE HERE. THE
DEPARTMENT HAS APPROVED THIS REQUEST.
Richardson was told to delay the fl eet’s departure for a couple
of weeks and to carry out regularly scheduled overhauls and
movements. At the end of that time he could expect further
instructions.
Richardson was disturbed at being asked to make a request
for which there was no logical reason. As he explained later, “Th e
Fleet had just completed its annual Fleet Problem, the culmination
of a year’s tactical training.” 50 Further, although tactical training
of senior offi cers could be accomplished in Hawaii, training in
air and surface gunnery, which was also necessary, needed largescale
facilities not available there. To use the extra two weeks to
49 James O. Richardson, On theTreadmill to Pearl Harbor (Washington, D.C.:
Naval History Division, Department of the Navy, 1973), p. 308.
50 Ibid., p. 309.