Another bright, beautiful Hawaiian morning; it was also Sunday, so everything was even more relaxed than usual. One could hardly be farther from the winter snows back home.
Granted, things were not as blissfully peaceful as they appeared; war was raging in Europe, and some felt the U.S. couldn't stay on the sidelines much longer. Britain was surviving, but the Soviets were reeling, the Nazi blitzkreig driving them ever back. And everything else in Europe, save neutral Switzerland and Sweden, lay under Axis hegemony.
The Pacific was deceptive in its quiesence as well; in China, Imperial Japanese troops continued their atrocity-laden campaign. The U.S. sanctions against them were appearing to sting, and American forces had fallen back from China to the Philippines in case Japanese words turned to actions, and in the fall American forces had increased their readiness... only to wane as the months dragged on. Now the brass worried more about sabotage and not provoking any trouble.
But as of the 6th, the diplomats were still talking, so nothing to worry about, right? As long as they're talking there won't be any fighting, regardless of what those paranoid ninnies in the signals intelligence section say.
Those would be just a few of the illusions shattered that Sunday morning, 70 years ago today.
Granted, things were not as blissfully peaceful as they appeared; war was raging in Europe, and some felt the U.S. couldn't stay on the sidelines much longer. Britain was surviving, but the Soviets were reeling, the Nazi blitzkreig driving them ever back. And everything else in Europe, save neutral Switzerland and Sweden, lay under Axis hegemony.
The Pacific was deceptive in its quiesence as well; in China, Imperial Japanese troops continued their atrocity-laden campaign. The U.S. sanctions against them were appearing to sting, and American forces had fallen back from China to the Philippines in case Japanese words turned to actions, and in the fall American forces had increased their readiness... only to wane as the months dragged on. Now the brass worried more about sabotage and not provoking any trouble.
But as of the 6th, the diplomats were still talking, so nothing to worry about, right? As long as they're talking there won't be any fighting, regardless of what those paranoid ninnies in the signals intelligence section say.
Those would be just a few of the illusions shattered that Sunday morning, 70 years ago today.
