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When the Imperial forces of Japan launched a surprise attack on the United States on December 7, 1941, many American soldiers simply thought U.S. military commanders at Pearl Harbor were conducting drills. In fact, many of the sailors’ misunderstanding cost them precious minutes in response time, only making the “day of infamy” that much more infamous.
Walter Lord’s book Day of Infamy recounts the military actions taken by Japan that thrust America into World War II. In his chapter entitled, “I Didn’t Even Know They Were Sore at Us,” we learn how many soldiers and sailors wrongly interpreted the Japanese attacks as “drills-gone-wrong.” Here are a few excerpts taken from his classic account of the Pearl Harbor attack.
After seeing some of the initial explosions, Seaman Robert Oborne thought it was a mistake made by the Army. “Boy is somebody going to catch it for putting live bombs on those planes.”
In Hickam Air Field’s control tower just east of Pearl Harbor, Colonel William Farthing noticed a line of aircraft approaching from the northwest. Not knowing they were enemy aircraft, he said, “Very realistic maneuvers; I wonder what the Marines are doing to the Navy so early on Sunday.” At that same exact moment, there were some men on the tarmac below Farthing. They watched as one of the planes dropped a bomb onto an oil tanker causing it to explode instantly. When the plane swooped over their heads, one of the sailors saw the telltale “rising sun” painted on its fuselage and cried out, “Look, there goes one of the red team.”
Ensign George Shute combined misunderstanding with conspiracy. He burst into Ensign Hubert Reese’s room and declared, “Some d*mn Army pilot has gone buster – he’s diving on BOQ and shooting!” He was holding a warm bullet in his hand as evidence.
Adding to the fiasco that Sunday morning, a wing of B-17s from the mainland was slated to arrive at Oahu; unfortunately, they arrived in the middle of the attack, compounding the confusion of the American servicemen. On board one of the Flying Fortresses, Major Richard Carmichael and Colonel Twaddell saw the plumes of smoke and assumed the Navy was practicing. In the same squadron, Lieutenant Robert Ramsey thought the smoke and flames were due to “some sort of big celebration.”
As I read about those soldiers’ reactions to the assault, I couldn’t help but see a correlation between their response to the Japanese attack and Christians’ response to Satan’s attacks. When real bombs were being dropped, those men somehow thought it was a drill. Oftentimes, when Satan attacks, we misinterpret it as fate, circumstance, or bad luck. Usually, we blame others; sometimes we blame God.
We forget that we have an enemy who despises us so much that he wants us dead!
But the Apostle Paul defines reality in Ephesians 6:10-12.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Going forward, we need to see what those arguments with relatives and co-workers truly are. We need to understand who’s really behind those addictions and temptations.
Life. It isn’t a drill.
Resource’s Origin:
Day of Infamy by Walter Lord. Henry Holt and Company, 1957, Pages 65 – 105.
Topics Illustrated Include:
Devil
Enemy
Interpretation
Military
Misunderstand
Reality
Satan
Spiritual Warfare
Surprise
War
World War II
(Resource cataloged by David R Smith)
