Pearl Harbour - Context, History, and an account from someone who was there

Today, in a special video on the 80th anniversary of the Pearl Harbour attack, we take a look at some of the history surrounding the main events of December 7th 1941.
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[@Drachinifel]

Pinned post for Q&A :)

[@bkjeong4302]

Considering Japan’s naval strategy was planned for a defensive strategy prior to PH, and considering the final iterations of War Plane Orange focusing on pulling back for a naval buildup, allowing Japan to overextend and launching counteroffensives, is it fair to say that Yamamoto was wrong in believing that a PH strike followed by rapid expansion was the only way to quickly win against the USN? Japan would have lost no matter what, but not attacking PH may have allowed them to hold out for longer.

[@jeffblacky]

my step mother's dad Johnny Franks lost bo0th legs on the USS Shaw - he survived and discharged in 1944- became a mail man in Maryland - lived until 1977

[@lorenrogers9269]

Drachman - I love all your videos and as one of your Colonial patrons, I very much appreciate you doing this one on this tragic anniversary of our country. That said, the gentleman you had as guest audio was out of synch, at least for me.

[@RCAvhstape]

There may well be a million Pearl Harbor videos today, Drach, but yours is the one we wanted most.

[@lorenrogers9269]

@@bkjeong4302 You are correct, Japan was doomed from the start. I’m not a Yamamoto apologist, but let’s be real here, he was dealt a pretty crap hand. He fought with the Imperial Army regarding starting a war with the U.S. because he KNEW the U.S. would wipe the floor with Japan. But Pearl Harbor was a two edged sword. On one hand, he could deal the USN a very severe blow (especially if carriers were present), on the other hand, nobody likes sneak attacks, particularly when you formally declare warm 90 minutes AFTER your sneak attack. “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve”, this quote is, of course, attributed to Yamamoto post Pearl Harbor. If he truly said it, truer words were never spoken. And Yamamoto was smart enough to know that as the man who conceived and was in charge of of the operation, once it occurred, he was a dead man walking.

[@lutenantsweedpertasa]

Clara: Is 200 zeros a lot? Doctor: Depends on the context. After a decimal point? No. Above pearl harbour? Yes.

[@Halinspark]

You've just been sitting on that one for months, haven't you?

[@lutenantsweedpertasa]

@@Halinspark yes, yes I have.

[@titanscerw]

Finaly put to good use!

[@eamon821]

I'm gonna steal this joke.

[@able34bravo37]

This may be the best comment in Drachinian history.

[@williamcobb1122]

I would like to thank everyone for their kind words and Drach himself for the chance to be on his Channel. I am stunned and amazed at the response to my appearance here. As someone who has followed the Channel since robovoice days with 4k subs, it has been a true Honor to appear on this channel. I would also like to note my errors, which I am listing here in order to issue my Mea Culpas and make sure I get the History right. ERRATA LIST 1. Was not knocking the Abacus, just amazed an ancient device was used in 1941. Have since looked up further information and have a 17 line Soroban in hand and am awaiting the arrival of a 21 line one. I am intrigued enough by the Abacus to want to learn how to use one, and teach my 5 year old daughter the same. When I lived in the Former Soviet Union in 1992-3, they still used Abaci to calculate sums in certain places. So the Abacus has long been an interesting tool for me. Another fascinating period calculating tool is the E6B flight computer, which is a form of slide rule and is still used today by many Aviators as a non electronic calculation device. 2. Cunningham was primarily at Alexandria, though in 1941 he operated as a frontline Fighting Admiral with his flag on Warspite, my favorite RN Warship. Malta was on my mind, we have a 1/30 scale Faith in our collection and will cover the Air Campaign there in the future. Also, I did condense the supply line situation in the Med a bit, and should have touched upon the importance of the Suez Canal as a supply artery. The recent Evergiven Fiasco should show everyone how important the Suez still is for the global supply chain. 3. The man who trained the Imperial Japanese Naval Air Force was William Francis Forbes-Sempill, not Frederick Sempill. Given his activities up to December 15, 1941, my error was both a legitimate mistake, and perhaps a Freudian slip by me regarding a man I share the same name with whose activities weren't exactly honorable. Also, the British Military mission took place in 1920-21, not 1919. We wrote a detailed account of Sempill and posted it to our Museum Facebook on December 15th, the 80th anniversary of Sempill being caught calling the Japanese Embassy, FOUR DAYS after Prince of Wales and Repulse were sunk by the very IJNAF he trained two decades below. The Wikipedia account of Sempill contains so many twists and turns that we posted bits en masse simply because his activities and consequences of his actions are so unbelievable they are worth repeating in the fullest possible detail. We include an analysis of the British Class system in order to highlight Lord Sempill's place in the hierarchy and how his position and luck regarding codebreaking secrets protected him from being shot as a Wartime Traitor. 4. Yes, the President Grover Cleveland replaced in 1893 was Benjamin Harrison, not Rutherford B. Hayes, I know them as the H name Presidents and mixed them up. 5. I also condensed activities on the Ni'ihau Incident, and have posted a detailed account of actual events on Ni'ihau from December 7-14, 1941. During the course of our research we discovered that the Army Relief party which arrived on Ni'ihau to mop up was commanded by Lt. Jack Mizuha, a Japanese American officer who subsequently served in the 100th Battalion, U.S. Army. Although Ni'ihau proved that there was a collaboration between Ni'ihau's ethnic Japanese residents and Sigenori Nishikaichi, the rest of Hawaii's ethnic Japanese population remained loyal Americans after December 7th 1941. This connection to the 100th Battalion and 442nd Infantry Regiment will be expanded in further posts as we continue our coverage of various events to commemorate their 80th anniversaries. I have evidence my Grandfather was instrumental in the formation of these units and the decision not to intern Hawai'i's local Japanese population, and am already in touch with a member of the 100th Battalion's historical society. We aim to get things right, and there are unique nuances between the 100th/442nd. The 442nd (including the 100th) as a whole is the most decorated Combat unit in U.S. Army history, fighting from Salerno (the 100th) to Dachau. The 100th Battalion still exists as the only Infantry formation in the U.S. Army reserve. A significant portion of it's soldiers come from Company B, which was stationed in American Samoa until October 2021. My recently departed father served alongside them while he was an Army Reserve Officer, and he used to joke about how the 100th was best known for its Samoan Jeep Throwing Contest. Finally, regarding the Dutch starting World War II, a better description would have been World War II in the Pacific, or the Pacific War. This Episode was planned to be a free flow format between Drach and I, and not meant to be a monologue. Whenever I paused, I was both waiting for a reply and also at times so amazed to be on that I had to remind myself I was the guest speaker and not simply watching an Episode. Thank you again for all the positive comments, and as for the negative ones, yes I have face for radio, but I prefer to judge a person by who they are as a person rather than what they look like. I hope you can recover from whatever negativity rules your lives. For those who issued corrections in these comments, I appreciate them and will certainly admit errors when they occur, as the list above shows. Finally, as for the sound and Kung Fu movie like mismatch, this episode was recorded during a Transatlantic Zoom call with my iPad as the camera device. Best regards and Aloha, William S. Cobb Director, Pensacola Aerospace Museum For our past and current posts, please follow us on our Facebook page at; facebook.com/pensacolaero

[@jamesharris7911]

Great listening to your knowledge! I don't think Drach minds when someone goes on as long as the content is interesting. I learned a ton and will be following some of your other work!

[@danasmith3288]

Enjoyed your presentation. I was quite unaware of Forbes-Sempill. To know that Churchill was cognizant of this is disappointing.

[@josepetersen7112]

An excellent presentation!

[@kennethdeanmiller7324]

Hey Now, first off, anyone saying anything about what you look like is shallow. Second, the "karate movie" reference was cute but after 2 mins I ignored it. Much more important was the content of the things you were speaking about. I'm just a homeless nobody & about a year ago I became interested in WW2. And cuz of that interest I discovered Drach. I'm not a gamer, I've tried but just can't get excited about that sort of thing. HOWEVER, as a child I was able to meet my Great Grandma on my Dad's side of the family. A particularly unpleasant old woman that I basically only remember now as Mama Spann. Her & my Grandma both lived in Georgiana, Alabama. My Mom told me that Mama Spann lost BOTH of her brothers in the war. That both were pilots. And that one died in the Pacific fighting the Japanese & the other died in Europe fighting the Germans. Lately I have often wondered how long they fought in the war. I think you making an Aerospace Museum in Pensacola is really cool. I used to go to Pensacola & Destin as a child. The last time I saw Destin I didn't recognize it. We use to go crabbing & camp in the woods there. And another tidbit as well. I spent my first 8 years in Montgomery, AL, not far from Maxwell AFB & I remember seeing the Blue Angels flying over practicing. In my Dad's later years he lived in Pace, FL, right outside of Pensacola. After he had a heart attack I went down there for a bit & was working in Mobile, AL. I was working with some "in-laws" making an addition to a Austal shipyard while they were building a couple of Navy Cruisers(I think). On the way to work every morning, I got to see a 12 foot alligator while crossing the bridge & the USS Alabama battleship! But now I live in Northern Virginia & travel thru DC on the way home every evening with a glimpse of the Washington Monument every evening as well.

[@matthewspindler4488]

Thanks to you and drach for this awesome vid you both did an amazing job with this just mind blowing to hear 1st hand details from that day given the current state of the arizona and the very good possibility of her hull being pretty much nonexistant within the next 50-60 years id very much like to see a scale replica or even full size replica of arizona built and docked near the arizonas resting place ik it would be a ridiculously expensive undertaking to make real and likely impossible to achieve if i had the funds id build it myself and donate it to the pearl harbor memorial that being said it warms my heart to see you and drach along with others keeping this history alive for current generations and hopefully for many generations to come keep up the amazing work guys

[@1QU1CK1]

My mom was a college student still living at home when Pearl Harbor happened. It was on Dec. 8th because she is Japanese. She was so excited and convinced that Japan would win she was jumping up and down and yelling. Her dad told her to stop and told her japan was going to lose the war. She was stunned- this was traitor talk- but her dad was a reserve officer in the IJA so it couldn't be. He took her over to a large globe they owned, he pointed at Japan, noting how small it was. He pointed at the US, it is huge. "In a fight between two men, if one is much bigger he will usually win." A few days later he was sent to China. At the train station every one is yelling, "10,000 lives for the Emperor!" My mom's mom is yelling, "You don't be a hero. You come back!" Junior officers scowled at her and followed them all the way home with suspicious looks.

[@MedjayofFaiyum]

Did your mum’s father survive the war?

[@1QU1CK1]

@@MedjayofFaiyum Yes, but it was quite the story. He was captured by the Chinese. Of 300 captured only two survived captivity. During the war the Chinese sent an urn of ashes to the family saying he'd died, so he was interred in the ancestral graveyard. He was rescued by the Americans. When he got home he was quite ill and only weighed 80 pounds- spent a few months in the hospital. Then he had to start all over again to make a life. When he passed away in the eighties he became the only one buried twice in the graveyard!

[@MedjayofFaiyum]

@@1QU1CK1 damn now I want to hear more. This would make a good movie in a way

[@1QU1CK1]

@@MedjayofFaiyum When my grandad started over he needed money. He took a loan from a bank and with part of the money he bought an insurance policy on himself that paid in case of suicide (you can get them in Japan). So if he didn't succeed he would kill himself to pay the bank back.... I also have an uncle that was captured by the Russians at the end of the war. He became a Soviet spy in order to get back home!

[@KageMinowara]

@@1QU1CK1 " So if he didn't succeed he would kill himself to pay the bank back." This is one of the most Japanese sentences I've ever heard.

[@rogersmith7396]

Your series on the Pearl Harbor salvage is the best. I had read the official Navy summation of the salvage decades ago and it was quite informative. Supposedly the birthplace of Navy hard hat diving. And you knew what they found when they went into the ships months later. Hard to stomach.

[@Conn30Mtenor]

Agreed. That series are among my favorites of Drach and I too wondered about the PTSD that the dockyard workers must have experienced. Horrific.

[@tominiowa2513]

One of the first proper diving helmets was designed by August Schrader, who went to design the pneumatic valve found on almost all motor vehicle rims.

[@turboconqueringmegaeagle9006]

Twas absolutely fascinating, well put together and respectful.

[@kevintemple245]

One of the salvage divers wrote a book about it that I read many years ago. It was quite phenomenal what those guys did.

[@khaelamensha3624]

I do agree. Between the quality of the writing and speech and the documents... Simply brilliant and amazing!

[@wayneyd2]

Do not underestimate the Abacus. In the hand of someone who know how to used it. Is way faster than a calculator and no battery needed.

[@jasondouglas6755]

Never underestimate the awesome power of the Abacus

[@goldenhide]

The abacus was the calculator of the ancient world and still holds a lot of users in Asia. So it doesn't come that much as a surprise for me: the soroban (Japanese abacus) *was* the slide ruler of the time. They are still fairly common in settings in Japan to this day (i believe students are still taught starting around the equivalent to 3rd grade), especially bank tellers and accounting departments.

[@notshapedforsportivetricks2912]

Ah, but can you spell "BOOBS" with it when you hold one upside-down?

[@chrisluttor2275]

How many years does it take to be fully trained in the use of the abacus?

[@wayneyd2]

@@chrisluttor2275 I guess it would depend on the individual ability.

[@maxinelouchis7272]

I worked for a major Japanese manufacturer (Kubota Tractor Corp.). When we had meetings, it was very common for the Japanese to use an abbacas our check our computer-generated spreadsheets. The speed at which they could manipulate them was amazing.

[@Halinspark]

We only get taught basic addition with an abacus in the US, and it's more as a novelty of history than anything else. But seeing what somebody experienced can do, and the speed they can do it, is scary.

[@williamlloyd3769]

Totally impressed how the entire Pearl Harbor event was placed in context. Too often only specific highlights are talked about or constantly repeated in the media without including equally important incidents. Having visited, during my USN service, Adak, Hawaii, Guam, Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore and Australia, the distances involved are often overlooked. Logistics requirements to support the tip of the spear was incredible. This video is special and I’m recommending to my friends.

[@NickFrom1228]

Dan Carlins "Supernova in the East" has some very interesting context as well. Each of the six segments is about 4 hours so its quite a lot of info but rather fascinating.

[@williamlloyd3769]

@@NickFrom1228 downloaded first episode to listen to on my road-trip to Bay Area.

[@lordshipmayhem]

In George Grider's book War Fish, recounting his life in the Pacific submarine fleet, he starts off by saying everyone knew war with Japan was coming, which matches up with this video's account very neatly. (He also says he and his wife were playing cards with another couple on December 5, 1941, and was asked, "When do you think the war will start?" His breezy reply was, "Oh, tomorrow", everyone laughed, and they carried on with card play. He writes that it took weeks for him to stop thinking that it was his flippant prediction that caused the war to start on the day it did.)

[@unclemark134]

Thanks for the content! I was raised by my Grandpa who was there Dec 7th. He never wore a pair of shorts the rest of his life because of the shrapnel wounds on his legs. He would scare me awake from the nightmares. Which I can relate to having been in combat myself. Not a day goes by I don’t miss him. RIP PawPaw.

[@jharris0341]

Respect.

[@Kevin_Kennelly]

On one hand, I'm thinking "Two hours? On a Tuesday afternoon? Why?" On the other hand, I look at the date.

[@adenkyramud5005]

Same thing for me. My inner calendar is absolutely broken so I didn't even realize the day was already here.

[@rogersmith7396]

I had a USS Nevada survivor for a patient who was at Pearl. He confirmed what I always thought that auxillary steam was shunted to the turbines to get underway. He gave me a Nevada hat which is a prized posession.

[@jimmym3352]

Nice. As a native Nevadan I'm always partial to the USS Nevada. I still consider it a heroic ship. I'm glad the name lives on in a SSBN.

[@markmaki4460]

Growing up in Arizona, and with two (of three) grandfathers who served in WW2, Pearl Harbor has often been on my mind all my life. Thank you Drach.

[@SuperLusername]

How do you have three grandfathers?

[@nathanmaxon4692]

@@SuperLusername divorced parents

[@SuperLusername]

@@nathanmaxon4692 I didnt realize your stepparent's parents really count as grandparents.

[@markmaki4460]

@@SuperLusername Divorce and remarriage - the third grandfather did not become my dad's stepdad until long after the war actually.

[@markmaki4460]

@@SuperLusername Well, do adoptive children count as children? That depends on who answers. In any case, when it comes to medical and genetic histories (as with adoptions) they never count (if there is no other biological relationship, of course).

[@davefranklin4136]

There's a scene in Tora Tora Tora that is so significant to me, both WRT Pearl Harbor, and experiences I had at work. The Navy LCDR has just shown Admiral Stark and a few others the 14th part of the message. One of them says that it seems apparent the Japanese are going to attack at or shortly after 1:00p.m. EST, and he suggests Admiral Stark call Admiral Kimmel. Instead, Admiral Stark says, "No, I better call the President first." So, Stark could have called the person on the spot, under his command, who needed the info ASAP (they don't mention Admiral Hart, but that's another story...), then called the President, then could have called Kimmel again with any needed update after talking to the President. Instead, he decides to go up the chain of command first, and it seems he never gets around to calling Kimmel. I know it's just a movie, but it's certainly believable, as I saw, and experienced, the same thing at work a number of times.

[@Legitcar117]

I love tora tora tora, it’s better than Michael bays Pearl Harbor in my opinion!

[@steventhompson399]

Unfortunately these things are not uncommon in bureaucracies whether military civilian

[@paulrasmussen8953]

@@Legitcar117 bays movie did the atrack well. I would love a merge of the 2

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

9/11 Played out the same way basically.

[@rippertrain]

Tora Tora Tora is excellent. Cheers

[@VintageCarHistory]

I was at the Pearl harbor memorial ceremonies in 1993. A number of veterans were there, both American and Japanese. Listening to these men talk about their experience- which you could tell was hard for them to do, was profound. The American sailors and soldiers were initially confused but quickly rallied. The Japanese pilots were rigorous to their specific task but did so out of duty- there was no animosity from them towards Americans at the time.

[@jasonisbored6679]

not necessarily true, even though the whole nation was swept up in nationalistic motions and the propaganda. There’s the story of the Japanese boy scout who ignored what was presumably a shoot on sight policy and bandaging up a barely conscious American soldier and leaving a note. Anecdotal as they may be, these stories tend to concentrate in the early air service who were the most detached from the propaganda of and damages to the home islands. While they are probably the most racist modern nation there is, it’s been slowly changing. But at the time the ones who were in fact *most* likely to be above the racist fervor were the original elite pilots, many of whom had been trained with or by foreigners, and who had entered service ahead of the massive waves of specifically racist propaganda because the pilot training lasted for years. Still, the fact that their prime minister was basically forced to recant his personal apology for war crimes in Korea in the face of huge public backlash within the last 20 years does serve as a reminder of how backwards and denialist they are in many ways, so take this comment not to be about the Japanese in general, but specifically the early elite air wings, who would’ve been the ones in pearl harbor in the attacks.

[@jasonisbored6679]

addendum: pilots and the senior officers (big overlap with Yamamoto) who had participated in the study abroad programs.

[@robotbjorn4952]

@N Fels losing a war that you started (badly at that), tends to humble a people.

[@davidrossi5096]

@N Fels there were plenty of Americans who committed war crimes too. The Japanese imperial navy was an entirely different beast than than the IJA. However I digress because wherever you are in your study of history, if you haven’t learned that context is important and blanket statements about any group of people are ridiculous than you’re not worth any more of my time lol.

[@allenschmitz9644]

by 1992 every one drove Toyotos.

[@mochaholic3039]

At my mother's house, hanging from the wall in the hallway, there's this framed black and white photo of a young man in a sailor's uniform with his rank displayed and the photo is surrounded by three faded medals. I paid no attention to it while growing up. It was only recently, my middle-aged self asked my now elderly mother about the picture, she said oh that your grandfather, he was in the Navy and all that. I was intrigued and asked mom for more information, surprisingly she had managed to hold on some of grandpa's service papers- turned out he served aboard the USS Enterprise as a carpenter's mate, third class (still have no idea what that class actually does) and managed to dodge the attack on Pearl Harbor. Mom said he witnessed the aftermath of the attack as the Enterprise pulled in the harbor to refuel and resupply, the still smoking and burning wreckages and bodies floating in the water apparently deeply distressed grandpa. It's unfortunate he passed away in 1989 from cancer when I was 12 years old, so I never got the chance to know him well.

[@Dan_the_afol]

During the era of wooden ships, carpenter's mates were charged with maintaining the integrity of the ship's hull. In times of battle, carpenter's mates would fight fires and use plugs to patch holes in the hull. In 1948, the rating was changed to damage controlman.

[@Dan_the_afol]

Third class just references to what rank the person has Petty officer third class is the fourth enlisted rate in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard, above seaman and below petty officer second class, and is the lowest rate of non-commissioned officer, equivalent to a corporal in the U.S. Army and Marine Corps.

[@CapnBlackJackHonour]

J H Honour Signalman Second Class USS Conyngham DD-371. My father was there that day. Thanks for doing this one.

[@jharris0341]

Respect.

[@yuyuyu25]

There's an interesting story about abacuses. You talked about Japan using them to calculate fuel supplies, but China would later use abacuses in order to run all the calculation to build their atomic bomb!

[@panzermensch1577]

Such a great video. My father and I almost met a Veteran named Stew, he was at Pearl Harbor aboard one of her battleships. I... Cannot recall the name exact vessel but he was a Fire control man , and usually in general quarters they'd keep their feet on the gun pedels. Luckily for stew, as he was relaxing and had his feet off the pedels, sitting back, he was just missed by a piece of shrapnel that flew through the gun pedels, right where his feet would be. Another tale from him was the way they evacuated ship to a safer destination. Seeing some of their mates trying to run across the 5in gun barrels only to get shot down by passing fighters, Stew and his fellow sailors decided fuck that and dove into the water, swimming under oil pools to a nearby ship. Sadly Stew passed away just a few months ago, about a day before my father and I could get a chance to meet him. He was great from what we heard, being able to recall anything throughout his life with the memory of an elephant. A shame we lost him, however, we remember his fight and devotion to the Navy.

[@michaelpiatkowskijr1045]

My guess would be USS West Virginia. He would have probably talked about the ship rolling over when Oklahoma capsized. He probably would have talked about the explosion on the Arizona if there. California, Nevada, and Pennsylvania were too far away from other ships. Maryland and Tennessee were better protected and people from there could only go to Ford Island, or two battleships that sunk. There was a lot of people who went from the outer battleships to the inner ones. Early in the battle, Oklahoma capsized and Arizona exploded. Only the Vestal was the only ship Nevada crew could go to. It only took a torpedo as well. The closest ship to the California was Neosho. West Virginia took multiple torpedoes and a few bombs, but with counter flooding and the ship was pretty well closed up. It took longer to sink and it sank fairly level. If you know his entire name, you might be able to find out what ship he was on. You could also look up crews for the ships as well. The West Virginia would be the place I would start at. Outside of that, I don't have a clue. There were some small boats running around and picking up survivors. Now, I know most of the oil went in the area of the torpedoes. There was some that did go between the battleships. I know there were cables that connected the ships and anchored them to their piers. Some people did pass from the Arizona to the Vestal.

[@The_Modeling_Underdog]

One of the best lectures on the matter I've seen so far. It would take two massive blackboards with a thousand markers to lay out all the information in a big scheme. The outcome certainly is far more complex than most of us ever knew. Thanks Drach and Mr. Cobb for this insightful presentation. Lest we forget.

[@genericpersonx333]

My grandfather was a personal friend of Kenneth Taylor, one of the two US fighter pilots to get up that day. He remembered how they were in college in Oklahoma and saw the world going to Hell around them, so they agreed that it was best to get ahead of whatever war they knew was coming. Taylor managed to successfully join the military while the recruiter rejected Grandpa because he was an only child of an older couple. When Grandpa asked Taylor later what it was like on the 7th, he said that it was so infuriating to be know the Japanese owned that battlefield that day. Taylor and Welch's act of defiance was like a small child striking a great beast as it rampaged. He said that he never wanted an American to have to endure that heartache again and that is no small part of why Japan was destined to lose that war: Americans were humiliated, hurt, and wanted revenge, no matter what it took to make it happen. The sense of satisfaction Taylor and my Grandfather had when they watched the surrender ceremony on the Missouri was indescribable.

[@stoneylonesome4062]

I had a family friend who had a similar experience and feeling about Japan in the war. He told me once “Then I got a Datsun 240Z in 69, and my opinions of the Japanese softened greatly. No more breakdowns!”

[@mazdrpan4099]

Funny, because it was Japan who was the small child striking a great beast.

[@genericpersonx333]

@@stoneylonesome4062 Indeed, Grandpa's thing was that he didn't hold a grudge once he won a fight. Once Japan was whipped, he was happy to let bygones be bygones so long as Japan learned its lesson. Neither he nor Taylor wanted the war, but for sure, they sure as Hell were not going to lose the war. Sort of describes so many Americans at the time: they didn't go looking for fights, but if you brought a fight to them, they were not going to quit until they won, plain and simple. Indeed, Grandpa had the option to stay out of the war, be a civilian petrochemical engineer safe at home with his new wife, but neither he nor she believed in him hiding behind others when the Empire of Japan needed a whipping, so he volunteered to give that whipping and did. Once the whipping was given, he went home, raised a family, bought Nikon cameras and Sony TVs, and prayed he never had to take up arms again.

[@tominiowa2513]

Remember that economic warfare is also violence, and economic warfare was started against both Germany and Japan before WW2 broke out, and in the case of Germany right after the NSDAP won the 1933 elections and before they committed any crimes. But of course most historical accounts omit these facts since history is written by the victors.

[@genericpersonx333]

@@mazdrpan4099 In the grand scheme of things, it seems so, but I think Pearl Harbor was not a slap, but a real stab to the gut that left the USA struggling to get on its feet for a long time. The Asiatic Fleet would be wiped out as the IJN ran unchecked and unafraid because the US Pacific Fleet was wrecked at Pearl Harbor. Easy to forget also that even if the US Atlantic Fleet had been able to come immediately, it would have been limited to operating from the West Coast, because until Pearl Harbor was cleaned up, there was no forward naval base able to properly support it. Really was a dark time for the USN in 1942. Midway was a welcome victory, but for men like my Grandfather, it was more luck than skill, and they didn't trust they would get lucky again.

[@logan_e]

Born in 59 but raised by my grandparents, I'm a son of the greatest generation, closer to and preferring their world of the 30's, 40's & 50's than my own of the 60's, 70's & 80's. Thank you for just letting this guest speak, he opened a window on parallel events in history we almost never learn about. One of the most interesting & fascinating I've ever heard! Thank you again!

[@barrylucas8679]

This kind of channel has made me realize that history never dies. History continues to live, change and grow though the makers of that history have long been at rest. Thanks for all the hard work Drach.

[@sage2308]

Thank you for this extra item. Watched you on Pauls WWII channel yesterday & it was great. This piece compliments Alexs' talk from this afternoon. As a 1/2 Yank Brit who lost family in Uncle Sams Misguided Children in the Pacific it means a lot to me to see the sacrifice of my American cousins honoured. Once again thank you

[@611_hornet5]

"I'm not a fan of the LCS" Buddy, I don't think many are fans of the LCS lol

[@tominiowa2513]

The Sarushima and Tenjin in *HaiFuri* ( *High School Fleet* ) are Independence-class Littoral Combat Ships.

[@eamon821]

@@tominiowa2513 It takes an anime to make a ship look good. That's a pretty low bar.

[@arcadiadragon3410]

@@tominiowa2513 high school fleet is actually a fun show.

[@tominiowa2513]

@@arcadiadragon3410 Everyone should like slice of naval life/cute girls doing cute naval things.

[@chooseyouhandle]

@@tominiowa2513 I don't understand the appeal of anthropomorphic warships. To me a battleship doesn't need a pleated skirt to be aestheticly pleasing. P.S. No I didn't mean that in a weird pervert way

[@tobiasGR3Y]

I was in my early teens when I met a survivor from the USS Arizona, it was a simple meeting as I saw his hat and me still being a child I simply knew what his hat meant and I gave him a wave. But meetings like that are very rare, and I hold it close to my heart now that he his almost certainly gone. December 7th will always be close to me, especially since the namesake of my birth-state is on eternal patrol within the harbor.

[@lorenrogers9269]

And not to forget our British friends, this Friday, December 10, 2021 is the 80 year anniversary of the sinking of Repulse and Prince of Wales. May God rest their souls.

[@lrw3984]

churchill and his wej masters pushed the UK into the war. no more brother wars.

[@lrw3984]

now you have londinstan - at least you are not speaking german....

[@tominiowa2513]

@@lrw3984 Funny (but not ha ha funny) that the UK and France went to war with Germany to allegedly protect Poland, but were fine with the Soviet Union occupying the eastern half of Poland, murdering most of the Polish officer corps and intelligentsia, and otherwise eliminating anyone who could not be brainwashed into supporting Bolshevism.

[@allangibson2408]

@@lrw3984 Odd you don’t know that Churchill wasn’t a member of the British Cabinet until after war with Germany was declared… You are severely lacking in real historical knowledge.

[@alganhar1]

@@tominiowa2513 And pray tell me what the fuck the UK was supposed to do? Hmm? The USA had already stated it was not interested in prosecuting a war against the USSR to regain Polish Independence and the UK could NOT do so alone. Fact is it was Roosevelt who signed the entirety of Eastern Europe to the Soviets, not Britain. It was the USA that did that, not Britain. By the time of the conference that the US/Soviet spheres of influence were decided by Stalin and Roosevelt Churchill was essentially disregarded by Stalin and Roosevelt as Britain was, while a major contributor, not a MAIN contributor to the war effort. So get your facts straight Tom in Iowa, it was YOUR nation that consigned Eastern Europe, including Poland to the less than tender mercies of the Soviet Union, not Britain.....

[@therealuncleowen2588]

You're coverage of Pearl Harbor, this video and the salvage series, is second to none. Thank you!

[@heinrichbross1368]

Mr. Cobb really battled to give that "East Indies Dispatch Paraphrase" context. Appreciate that effort Mr. Cobb. I'm finally beginning to comprehend some of the chess moves at play precipitating this 80th anniversary. Also loved the discussion regarding "Pop History". "Pop History" has never been functional to me. My American Uncle was killed in France while a German toddler, my mother, cowered with her dolly in a bomb shelter.

[@model-man7802]

Dad was on the California.He didnt talk much about it till later.One night it all came out along with Coral Sea,Midway, Guadlcanal and Sourigo Straits,and thevhell of Okinawa.

[@wheels-n-tires1846]

Another son of a California sailor here...

[@jharris0341]

Respect.

[@crabmansteve6844]

I know it was heavy, but I'm glad your pops had you when it was time to let some of that out.

[@cowerdnerddespacito9518]

My friend said no one cares about Pearl Harbor Anymore and that it happened 80 years ago and doesn’t affect her Yet every single teacher I asked what happened today replied the 80th anniversary of Pearl harbor I’m a native Arizonan and will never forget

[@Crazyfrog41]

The amazing AND terrifying thing about history: is that even stuff that happened 800 years ago can still affect us every single day

[@spikespa5208]

Way too many people think like your friend, unfortunately.

[@johnbrowning8785]

If you went to a Post Office in Japan in the late 1980's or early 90's it would not be unusual at all to see a postal clerk calculating postage with an abacus. The same was true for small shops. The speed rivals a digital calculator, the difference is that use of an abacus is a skill, use of a calculator is not.

[@GlorfindelofGondolin]

When I was younger, I was good friends with a man named Arthur Hendrickson. He was a good man and a kind soul. He was in the Navy and stationed at the PBY ramp at Ford Island during the Attack on Pearl Harbor. He used to tell me a lot about it. The most interesting thing is that he is in fact the man sitting on the ground in the thumbnail of your video. He and the man beside him were watching a colossal explosion when that picture must have been taken. He also told me, that not long after the picture must have been taken, a Zero flew in in low to strafe the ramp. So, he and the man behind him jumped in the ditch behind them on the ground. He said this was a ditch about four feet deep that was made for the installation of a pipeline. I did enjoy listening to his stories when I was a kid.

[@unclestone8406]

Pour one out for our boys on Battleship Row, people. Eighty years to the day.

[@MartinCHorowitz]

When I was young I met a friend of my fathers who was on the Arizona when it exploded, He was on deck at the rear of the ship. He was blown across the Harbor with burns and a serious back injury, he landed face down with his face just an inch above the water line unconscious. He spent the rest of the war in hospitals and rehab. After the war he got an education and went to work at Grumman designing aircraft.

[@thunderhead180]

I just love this style and format. It just gets my attention and holds it. Great guest. Drach never disappoints.

[@Darryl_Frost]

Asking "what am I going to watch for the next two hours?" Drach "Hold my rum ration"

[@lamondracing9832]

Never forget the brave souls who died for this great nation that day and all other days.

[@alessiobubbles5345]

*never forget all the soldiers who died every day in every war

[@VersusARCH]

Yasukuni Shrine is dedicated to them.

[@Colt45hatchback]

@@alessiobubbles5345 absolutely, doesnt matter whos side you're on, dying at work sucks.

[@GasPipeJimmy]

@@alessiobubbles5345 Even the Nazis? Even the war criminals doing experiments in unit 731? I don’t get unaware people like you that think their rank and sophomoric pronouncements of moral equivalency make you look deeper than the rest of us.

[@alessiobubbles5345]

@@GasPipeJimmy i said soldiers, not war criminals that had a choice to not do what they did

[@muttmankc]

Also interesting in that 3" guns, although probably different ones that were already there in fixed mounts, were VERY effective when used in the defense of Wake- against destroyers, not aircraft.

[@mitchelloates9406]

Back in the early 70's as a teen, I found a book at the local library titled "Wake Island Command", published in the early 50's. It was written by the Navy officer in command of Wake Island, and told of his factual experiences during the attack, and later captivity in a Japanese POW camp for the remainder of the war. Contrary to the heavily propagandized film made by Hollywood during the war, he very much survived. He noted in the book that it was a 5"/51 secondary gun, removed from one of the old battleships and set up as a coast defense gun, crewed by Marine gunners, that famously detonated the magazine of a Japanese destroyer and sank it - and other similar 5" guns that scored other hits on Japanese ships.

[@davidlogansr8007]

Interesting that I was literally watching part 2 of the Pearl Harbor episode! I switched to this at once!

[@admiraltiberius1989]

Very glad to see you uploaded this particular video sir. Always love your work, you are one of the best.

[@Lazarus98849]

Great uncle was a 16 year old on the USS California when that happened. He initially lied about his age to get into a job to help out his family. I remember granddad telling me he was given the Bronze Star with a “V” that day by helping carry other sailors out who were badly burned or were too injured to move. He wasn’t trained as a corpsman or anything like that but his actions helped save a lot of lives by giving basic first aid. He told me his brother kept doing that until he literally collapsed from exhaustion. He recovered after from minor burns and carried on fighting till the war was over. Also after Pearl Harbor my other great uncle (grandad was the youngest of 7 kids) enlisted in the Navy at 14 after Pearl Harbor and also was heavily decorated in the Navy.

[@wheels-n-tires1846]

My father was a new sailor on California Dec 7th also, and had turned 17 the day before...

[@Lazarus98849]

Our family probably known each other while serving on the ship. My great-uncle was a gunner for one of the main batteries

[@jharris0341]

Respect.

[@jharris0341]

@@wheels-n-tires1846 Respect.

[@m.r.donovan8743]

I can not overstate how impressed I was by this video and the information revealed within it. Thanks so much to you both for sharing this history. Absolutely fascinating!

[@julianpeck1812]

Every time I hear the lil intro music, I always think, “dang, another knowledge nuke bout to get DROPPED!” Love these, keep it up!!!

[@MartinCHorowitz]

I got to fly the Oahu leg of the Japanese attack over Pearl Harbor in the 1980s. The Attack route was well planned, from the time we crossed from behind the mountains til we were over battleship row was a matter of seconds. This also may explain the huge number of hits on some ships, since the Flight crews had little time to pick a target.

[@TheStriperhunter]

I had an uncle on the Arizona. He survived, but stuttered the rest of his life. It didn't stop him from being a successful lawyer and judge.

[@jharris0341]

Respect.

[@winghungyuen2726]

Great video about more context and information surrounding the attack on Pearl Harbor. Even 80 years after the events on December 7, there is still so much to learn about and your channel is doing a large part in helping me learn more about events and teaching people about how there is always more to a story if you know where to find it.

[@accountingforgamesafg9639]

What an absolutely astonishingly good video! Thanks so much for doing this, very interesting to see all the communication documents! Amazing Drach!

[@ashermil]

Wow. This is amazing. Thank you for hosting this, Drach!

[@richardcutts196]

My great uncle, Lewis Burton Hughes jr., was killed on the Arizona, and they never found any remains.

[@jharris0341]

Respect.

[@zanaduz2018]

I had the once-in-a-lifetime pleasure of being at Pearl 5 years ago for the 75th anniversary. I also have had quite a personal link to the event itself; my grandmother was living in Honolulu at the time (she was 12). She recalled waking up that morning to the sound of gunfire from the harbor, and an anti-aircraft shell landed in the front yard of her house. Fortunately for her, the shell was a dud.

[@tomfrazier1103]

Some of the shells weren't, and eviscerated a small Packard sedan with some P.H. workmen on the way to work, as well as destroying some homes & businesses in Honolulu.

[@davidlogansr8007]

One of the Best presentations I have seen! Thank You both! Fascinating Guest!

[@jayfelsberg1931]

The embroidered cuffs he refers to were still popular with sailors in the 1970s still wearing the traditional "cracker jack" uniforms. They were embroidered on the inside of the cuffs of the blouse and were known as "liberty cuffs," and were turned out when the sailors went on liberty. Most were indeed of various dragon patterns and were done by tailors in the PI and other ports. I do not know if that is still done now that the traditional uniform has been restored, something I am glad to see.

[@rjhyden]

My Uncle had some made in Japan during Korean War. beautiful work.

[@tinman1843]

Thanks for remembering a dark day with us Drach. Also, thanks for a great video.

[@Wolfeson28]

Thank you for yet another great history video. You always find new ways to bring us something unique and fascinating.

[@Danger-Dave]

Loved Mr. Cobb's presentation of his Grandfathers place in history at Pearl and if I ever get close to Pensacola I want to see the Pensicolaero History Museum first hand. So hears to you accomplishing that important step! Thanks Drach!

[@GARDENER42]

Superb presentation & some real revelations regarding the preparedness (or lack thereof) of defences all across the Pacific. I never bought into the "complete surprise" version of events - tactically, yes but strategically, almost all those who needed to were expecting an attack at some point & in the very near future.

[@Les537]

Always quality content, Drach. This one was great.

[@Shrike58]

I had a co-worker who lost two uncles on the "Arizona," into the 1990s he remained quite bitter.

[@christopheroshea97]

Thanks for what you do for all the veterans. Your channel is keeping history alive. My father was in ww2

[@richardherndon1541]

Awesome amount of really great information about December 7th!

[@cannonfodder4376]

Having gotten done listening/watching this video I must say this was a pleasant surprise from what I was expecting. More new information that I was not aware of, especially in regards to the Dutch East Indies warning. And Halsey delaying Enterprise due to his propensity towards storms. A very informative video.

[@rippertrain]

I love your content. Top notch. Cheers from Canada.

[@Writingman4126]

Many thanks for posting this on this special day.

[@MrGouldilocks]

I've lived in Pensacola for almost a decade now and the naval aviation museum here is spectacular, truly world class.

[@toddjensen692]

Thank you for the thoughtfulness

[@Primarch359]

So my wife's grandfather worked in pearl harbors machine shop from before the attack till the 70s. However he is in his late 90s. But this video makes me think I should at least try harder to get some questions answered. What questions would people really want answered. Keep in mind he was in a very junior position till well after the war.

[@kavemanthewoodbutcher]

Thanks for this Drach.

[@Robert53area]

After being in the navy for 12 years and have seen pearl harbor. And enjoying your show for several years. This upload hits the date on the nose. "Yesterday December 7th 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States was deliberately and dastardly attacked by air and naval forces of the empire of Japan." FDR.

[@ldkbudda4176]

Us 100 yers prior USA atacked Japan?! A Bumerang? :)

[@whtalt92]

@@ldkbudda4176 I can imagine more conservative elements in Japanese society still harbouring some resentment about being forced at gunpoint to 'open for trade'. How little things change....

[@davidvonkettering204]

I was late watching this because I knew I had to put aside a stretch of nothing to distract me time when I could appreciate this discussion and lesson thoroughly. Truly awesome. Love, David

[@hotttt28]

Very timely ! Thank you

[@dubya85]

great interview

[@Perfusionist01]

WOW! That was certainly worth watching. Thank You.

[@TheOldTeddy]

I have enjoyed your videos. Informative, well paced..even, dare I say? Yes! Even..insightful. I believe you have outdone yourself. Outstanding.

[@jorgea.villalon9684]

Thank you for all your videos about these amazing historic events that shaped our world as we see it now, JV

[@billmason2785]

Top notch program....much success going forward 👍

[@robertfrost1683]

Always something excellent from you, it really ups the expectations for 12/7/2022.

[@jirizalsky9937]

Thank you, Drachinifel!

[@BetterAircraftFabric]

Another great Video, great content ! Thanks !

[@michaelpiatkowskijr1045]

That was a very interesting part where someone told him about the ships coming in. The Enterprise group was due back. Maybe even the Lexington group and the cruisers and destroyers that went out during and after the attack. I also liked how you pointed out that the battleships may have been lost at sea. I believe that there wasn't much the American battleships could do at sea. They were too slow for the Japanese fleet. Also, the battleships did not have very good anti-aircraft capabilities. They had 5-inch guns that had to be manually trained. Then, there's the aircraft used. American fighters were not good against the Zeros. A lot of it was training. There wasn't a fighter that could maneuver or climb the Zeros. The only true advantage was in a dive. I believe that Pearl Harbor was the best thing that could have happened. Really, only one front line ship was lost. Oklahoma could have possibly ended up returning to service if needed. The Shaw, Vestal and Oglala was repaired and placed back in service. Downes and Cassin were used on new ships of the same name and number. The Utah wasn't much real use to war. I don't agree fully about General Short. It was a possibility that Japan would attack Pearl Harbor. It was the reason for requests for more fighters and bombers. They wanted to be able to scout out fleets. They ended up getting radar. The thing is that the greatest threat against American aircraft would have been from the Japanese there. There was a Japanese who took pictures and made reports on the American fleet and Pearl Harbor. The Germans had people in the states who did things to hamper America. I don't think it was too successful. As far as what you said about the Neosho. According to the movie, Tora, Tora, Tora, it had aviation fuel. If it had been hit, it could have been as bad or worse than the Arizona.

[@paulrasmussen8953]

Disagree the bbs maybe slow nut their firepower matched the Japanese ships in firepower. Kido Butai is the real advantage the Japanese have at dec 7

[@classifiedad1]

I disagree that the greatest threat came from the Japanese population in Hawaii. The military service of Japanese-Americans in the Military Intelligence Service which provided valuable information for the fight against Japan, as well as the thousands who fought in the 100th Battalion/442nd RCT which fought with distinction. Their distinguished war service, despite the severe mistreatment by the US during the war (see internment of Japanese-Americans) as a result of the unfounded fears of sabotage, should be remembered.

[@alganhar1]

@@classifiedad1 Agreed, one should not let the actions of a very small minority of those Japanese colour the perception of the vast majority of Japanese American's. I would say the UK did better but in truth they did not, certainly many British of German Descent were interned during WWI, and I believe WWII, and more than one British citizen was forced to change their name because at some point they had German ancestry, Mountbatten is a famous example but hardly unique. Indeed, there is a famous (to us geeks anyway) cartoon that appeared in several newspapers during WWI showing two pictures of a butchers shop in Britain, the differences were entirely in the names, Schwarz being changed to Black, the names of the produce on sale being changed to the English equivalent and so on. Yet many Britons of German descent fought with distinction during both wars for the British. Being of descent does not make you of that nation, being an Irish American for example does not make you Irish, it simply means you are of Irish Descent, I think far too many people kind of forgot that distinction during those times. Perhaps it was understandable to some extent, but being understandable does not make it right.

[@paulrasmussen8953]

@@classifiedad1 yes. As th e guest said. The general was the main fault for PH

[@michaelpiatkowskijr1045]

@@paulrasmussen8953 I do agree with that. There are things both could have done. In Tora, Tora, Tora, things that could have been done were not done. Somethings were impossible for the time. Other things, they did believing that it was the way Japan would attack Pearl Harbor. There was torpedo nets in Pearl Harbor. It was at the entrance believing that the Japanese would use a submarine to fire torpedoes into the harbor. Nobody believed that Japan would attack Pearl Harbor. There was winds about the attack just like 9/11, but not enough information and it was pieces scattered around. It's like putting a puzzle together with the pieces scattered around the house. Eventually, you'll get it, but when. America did the same thing as Japan a few months later. This was during war as well. The Japanese knew of the fleet coming and they could have attacked, but they knew the carriers would have to get closer. They didn't think about using bombers from a carrier. I don't remember where I read it, but I read that Nimitz was actually in line for the Pacific Fleet command. He knew that it would be suicide believing that the fleet would be a prime target at Pearl Harbor. He believed it would be attacked and the career of the admiral would be over. I believe it was the guy with the Arizona Memorial who said, "Pearl Harbor is on all of us. We believed we could isolate ourselves from the problems of the world." It was that isolationist view that would have been political suicide to have fought first. If we had attacked the Japanese carriers first, our military would have been seen as the aggressor. Hitler would have been forced to declare war on America sooner which would have hurt Roosevelt. The next president would have been forced to work with Hitler and Tojo. Afterwards, they would have been free to do whatever they wanted. Very similar things happened in Vietnam out of fear of Russia getting involved. The military had its hands tied by the possibility of events. In both cases, the military was restricted to keep from seeming aggressive to another nation. It kept the military commanders from doing what they needed to do. Additionally, the commanders overseas were not given the information that could have made the difference. My main point is that when you look at society, information given, and the status of the military, we were in no position to fight anything on December 7th. Remember a lot of training was with broom sticks as guns and boards for tanks. We could not have stood up against 6 Japanese carriers with pilots who have combat experience. Those battleships could not have done anything against the carrier group. They were capable of 21 knots. The Japanese carriers were capable of 30+ knots. There was also fleet submarines and mini subs around Hawaii that could have hit the battleships and told the fleet of their location.

[@Simon_Nonymous]

Ah time to log in and listen to the second half of this excellent piece. Cheers chaps!

[@jakebarrett1791]

Thank you for posting this on December 7th

[@crd260]

Fantastic guest, fantastic video

[@jangelbrich7056]

These are marvelous details indeed!

[@mitchellstadnik752]

Fascinating, a great segment ,as a us submarine sailor who spent some time in drydock #2 PHNS 40 years after the battle, as a person interested in history I was well aware of my location, for a short time our barracks were we lived ,were built on the former oil station site,

[@brianhartley4534]

That was hands down the most interesting video I've ever watched thank you I very much enjoyed it a lot of things I never heard before

[@Eric_Hutton.1980]

Fascinating and informative video.

[@hattrick8684]

I was waiting all day for this. I don’t recall if you had mentioned in a video that you were doing a special today or not but I kept checking back just assuming it was coming. Glad I did, I would have found it tomorrow anyway but now I can watch the rum ration and revisit something else, maybe Samar for the 20th time.

[@bobhealy3519]

Thank you for remembering 🙏

[@guidor.4161]

Amazing video!

[@keithplymale2374]

I have saved he Facebook page to my favorites. Look forwards to reading it. Been a college and self trained historian all my life going back to childhood.

[@randyhavard6084]

Great guest. Lots of good information in this video.

[@Philistine47]

1:21:59 Okay, it is *possible* that Yamaguchi Tamon flew into a rage when Nagumo Chuichi _followed his orders_ and turned back after recovering the second wave of strikes at Pearl Harbor. Yamaguchi, after all was the *absolute psychopath* who beat up his superior officer when he got the word that Combined Fleet staff were considering not including Yamaguchi's Carrier Division Two on the Hawaiian Operation because of insufficient fuel range. His counter-ptoposal was to sail _Hiryu_ and _Soryu_ to Oahu, participate in the strike, and then - since his CVs didn't have the range to get back to friendly territory - he would *beach them on the Oahu coast* where their crews would launch an unsupported invasion of Hawaii. Later at Midway, to prove that his prewar behavior hadn't been a fluke, he steered the IJN's last operational fleet carrier onto a death ride directly toward the last reported position of a superior USN force, playing into the strength of the generally shorter-ranged US air groups. Far from being "one of only two air-minded admirals in the IJN," there's a strong case to be made that Yamaguchi Tamon was the *worst* flag officer to serve in *any* navy during the course of WW2. So. Even if Yamagucji had a temper tantrum when Nagumo did exactly what his orders said to do, I wouldn't regard that as anything more than the rantings of a lunatic who was denied the opportunity to throw his force away in a futile sacrificial gesture. But then again, the only source we have for the idea that Nagumo's subordinates disagreed with his conduct on 7 Dec is the account of Fuchida Mitsuo. Fuchida was a proven liar, who more to the point is contradicted in this specific instance by the testimony of other witnesses to these events including Genda Minoru, the architect of the attack plan. Unfortunately all Western historiography on the Japanese side of the Pacific War was infected for decades by Fuchida's "pack of transparent lies," as one Japanese naval historian described it, and the process of correcting the record still clearly has a long way to go.

[@parrot849]

Admiral Yamaguchi was a total unmedicated mental patient. In the book Shattered Sword by Jonathan Parshall it describes how he basically sailed the last remaining Japanese carrier involved in Midway operation in a totally unnecessary easterly direction to launch a last final attack on the U.S.S. Yorktown when instead could’ve tactically positioned himself farther west in a withdrawal course and launched the same attack without exposing the Hiryu to counterattack and dooming her. He intentionally sent the Hiryu to it’s destruction just satisfy his perverse sense of personal individual honor.

[@legoeasycompany]

Where was the intentional beaching bit sourced? Thats insane that they let him still command after proposing such an idea

[@crabmansteve6844]

It would be a lot easier if the Japanese government hadn't gone on to revise all the facts and history to make them look less bad, all because of national pride and ego. Fuchida was a liar and a lot of the pre/post-war Japanese gov't were too, very clearly obfuscating things so they don't have to shoulder the blame and face the consequences for their own actions.

[@Dedfaction]

Simply amazing. Keep it up!

[@MrJimdanndy1975]

You are a great naval historian listen to your channel Evey night great job on the episode .

[@goldenhide]

Ah. The PCola museum, I used to visit there often while there for A-School. Awesome little museum. Thanks to you both for bringing a SME with a host of source documents presented very excellently.

[@goldenhide]

Whoops, just realized it is *not* the same as the Naval Air Museum lol. That's okay, if I ever swing through, I guess I'll have to check it out. I don't remember, but I'm pretty sure I worked with CAPT Resilard at one point. I can't remember, but he seems awful familiar, either while he was training at VMFAT-101 or after he had just arrived to 242 prior to my PCS *back* to 101.

[@historyinminiature7501]

@@goldenhide That would be something else if you crossed paths, he was at 101, and perished while at 242. You are most certainly welcome here anytime you pass thru.

[@goldenhide]

@@historyinminiature7501 Yes! That is him. He was a student at 101 my 2nd time there I think. I also knew Major Taj Sareen from my first time when he was an IP at 101. I did my 242 stint between both of those. Suffice to say, coming from maintenance side around that time frame I'm a bit invested in how those things happened, were handled, and how a lot boils down to ops tempo and attitudes towards getting things done quickly rather than correctly.

[@wafflesnfalafel1]

thank you sir, wonderful vid. Absolutely impressed by the story about the zero pilot crash landing on the small private island and taking it over.

[@stanleymcafee6700]

Your skill at identifying interesting critical points in history, and knowledgeable individuals qualified to comment on them, is already superb and getting better by the *day* (given the pace of your latest uploads)! My one suggestion would be perhaps transcribing some of the lengthier quotes your guest reads aloud on the screen, so viewers can keep track of the narrative more easily. Especially in this video these quotes are true bombshells so it would be nice be able to have the words available. I don't want to suggest more work for you since these videos are super high effort already! You are already editing the video to include very cool period photos so I think this would be a simple but effective way to make long videos like these easier to follow for the casual viewer. No matter what, keep up the great work Drach!! It takes a special kind of historiographer to find the gaps and fill them with something interesting and novel to everyone, when the easier move might've been to make the millionth and second video. Well done!

[@rileyhaynes2515]

Thanks for the birthday present Drach

[@arsenal-slr9552]

Thank you Drach for researching all the things I'm too busy to look up myself