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

638 Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy
Marshall’s home, an orderly told him Marshall was out riding.
Bratton asked the orderly to locate Marshall and have him contact
Bratton “as promptly as possible.” According to Bratton,
Marshall called back “sometime after 10:00.” 74
Marshall’s recollection was that he was either in the shower,
or getting in the shower, when he heard that Bratton was trying
to reach him with something important. Marshall said Bratton
wanted to come out to Fort Myer, but Marshall sent word that
he was going into his offi ce and Bratton should meet him there.
Marshall then fi nished his shower, dressed, and left for the War
Department. He said his “average time of taking a shower and
dressing would be about 10 minutes, possibly less.” He had no
recollection as to “what time I arrived at the War Department.”
Th at would be “a matter of conjecture.” 75
“Anyway,” Marshall continued,
shortly thereafter, if not immediately then, I was at the War
Department, because it was a very quick drive, and on Sunday
there was no traffi c. It was a matter of about 7 minutes from
my house to the Munitions building. 76
Using his own estimate (allowing ten minutes for his shower
and dressing and seven minutes for the drive), he should have
been able to reach his offi ce 20 or 30 minutes after he spoke
with Bratton at 10 a.m. But according to Bratton, who had been
waiting for Marshall in the secretary’s anteroom, Marshall didn’t
arrive until 11:25 a.m. 77
When Marshall arrived, Bratton immediately walked in with
his papers. Marshall started reading the 14-part Japanese reply,
portions of which Marshall read through twice. He told the
74Ibid., part 9, pp. 4524–25.
75Ibid., part 3, p. 1108.
76Ibid., p. 1109.
77Ibid., part 9, p. 4517.