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

Epilogue 861
Knox: We are tied up inextricably with the British in the
present world situation. Th e fall of Singapore and the loss
to England of Malaya will automatically not only wreck her
far eastern position but jeopardize her entire eff ort. . . . If the
British lose their position the Dutch are almost certain to lose
theirs. . . . If the above be accepted, then any serious threat
to the British or the Dutch is a serious threat to the United
States . . . [T]he Japanese should be told that any movement
in a direction that threatens the United States will be met by
force.
Th e fourteenth part of Japan’s reply to the U.S. “ultimatum”
was picked up and delivered to top U.S. Army and Navy offi cials
on the morning of December 7. Also the Japanese government’s
message directing its Ambassadors in Washington to deliver
Tokyo’s 14-part reply to the United States at precisely One p.m.
Washington time.
December 7, 1941 (just before noon): Marshall, with Stark’s
approval, messaged Manila, Panama, Pearl Harbor:
Japanese are presenting at one p.m., Eastern Standard Time
today what amounts to an ultimatum. Also, they are under orders
to destroy their code machines immediately. Just what signifi -
cance the hour set may have we do not know but be on alert
accordingly. Inform naval authorities of this communication.
Th is message went right through to Manila and Panama, but
due to atmospheric conditions it did not reach Hawaii until late
that afternoon.
December 7, 1941 (8 a.m. , Hawaii time; 1:30 p.m. Washington
time): Japanese planes, launched from aircraft carriers a few hundred
miles north, bombed and torpedoed the U.S. Fleet at Pearl
Harbor. Kimmel in Hawaii radioed all U.S. stations that “an air
raid attack was on and that it was ‘no drill’.”