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LTC Bob Thompson
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Short, Walter Campbell, MG USA(Ret).
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Contact Info
Home Town Alton, Illinois
Last Address Dallas, Texas
Date of Passing Mar 09, 1949
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
United States Army General. In December 1941, he was the commanding general of United States Army Forces in Hawaii, during the Pearl Harbor attack. Born in Fillmore, Illinois, he attended the University of Illinois, graduating there in 1901, and receiving a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry. Prior to his assignment as Army Commander, Hawaii Department, in February 1941, he had several important assignments over his 40 year career. During World War I, he served as the Assistant Chief of Staff, to the Third Army. Ten days following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was suspended from command pending an investigation into the Japanese attack, and in 1942, both he and Admiral Husband Edward Kimmel (senior Navy officer at Pearl Harbor) were found guilty of dereliction of duty by a Presidential Board of Investigation, and forcibly retired from the service. The Roberts Commission, established to look into the attack by President Franklin Roosevelt, determined that Short had failed in his duties by lining up the aircraft wingtip-to-wingtip, thus allowing Japanese planes an easy target, and had taken no specific actions to ward off an attack despite a "war warning" telegram sent to him and Kimmel two weeks before the attack. The two men were not allowed to testify, were not allowed to cross-examine any witnesses, and were not allowed to call any witnesses for their defense; legal experts stated that the Commission had but one goal, and that was to convict the two men of gross negligence in their duties. Both men did admit that sabotage by the large resident Japanese population then living in Hawaii was their primary concern and that the likelihood of a Japanese bombing attack was extremely remote. Kimmel was retired at the rank of Rear Admiral (two ranks reduced), and Short was retired as a Major General (one rank reduced). Following his forced retirement, Short then worked for the Ford Motor Company, and died at his home in Dallas, Texas. On May 25, 1999, the United States Senate passed a resolution exonerating both Kimmel and Short, noting that both men had been denied intelligence about a pending Japanese attack and had been made scapegoats for the military's failure to be prepared. While both men have been nominated several times for a presidential pardon, no president has acted on the request.
WWII - Asiatic-Pacific Theater/Pacific Campaign (1941-43)/Attack on Pearl Harbor
From Month/Year
December / 1941
To Month/Year
December / 1941
Description The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941 (December 8 in Japan). The attack led to the United States' entry into World War II.
The attack was intended as a preventive action in order to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions the Empire of Japan was planning in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States. There were simultaneous Japanese attacks on the U.S.-held Philippines and on the British Empire in Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
From the standpoint of the defenders, the attack commenced at 7:48 a.m. Hawaiian Time. The base was attacked by 353 Japanese fighters, bombers and torpedo planes in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers. All eight U.S. Navy battleships were damaged, with four being sunk. All but one were later raised, and six of the eight battleships were returned to service and went on to fight in the war. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer. 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed; 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were wounded. Important base installations such as the power station, shipyard, maintenance, and fuel and torpedo storage facilities, as well as the submarine piers and headquarters building (also home of the intelligence section) were not attacked. Japanese losses were light: 29 aircraft and five midget submarines lost, and 65 servicemen killed or wounded. One Japanese sailor was captured.
The attack came as a profound shock to the American people and led directly to the American entry into World War II in both the Pacific and European theaters. The following day (December 8), the United States declared war on Japan. Domestic support for non-interventionism, which had been strong, disappeared. Clandestine support of Britain (e.g., the Neutrality Patrol) was replaced by active alliance. Subsequent operations by the U.S. prompted Germany and Italy to declare war on the U.S. on December 11, which was reciprocated by the U.S. the same day.
Years later several writers alleged that parties high in the U.S. and British governments knew of the attack in advance and may have let it happen (or even encouraged it) with the aim of bringing America into war. However, this Pearl Harbor advance-knowledge conspiracy theory is rejected by mainstream historians.
There were numerous historical precedents for unannounced military action by Japan. However, the lack of any formal warning, particularly while negotiations were still apparently ongoing, led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to proclaim December 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy".
Due to the fact the attack happened without a declaration of war and without explicit warning, the attack on Pearl Harbor was judged by the Tokyo Trials to be a Japanese war crime.