Freedom From Fear?

In the United States, sympathy for the British continued to grow, eroding the official American policy of neutrality. Making his intentions clear, President Roosevelt said in 1940: “We have furnished the British great material support and we will furnish far more in the future.”

On January 6, 1941, he went one step further. In an address to Congress, he spoke of what he called Four Freedoms. To help achieve one of them​—freedom from fear—​he proposed a global “reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor​—anywhere in the world.” This, in reality, was an indirect declaration of war on the policies and goals of the Axis powers.

Two months later the U.S. Congress authorized a program known as lend-lease. This allowed the president to supply war materials, such as tanks and airplanes, as well as food and services, to any nation the defense of which he felt vital to U.S. interests.a Despite lingering domestic opposition, it was obvious that the United States was getting more and more involved in Europe’s war.

Meanwhile, encouraged by the success of its European allies, Japan felt it could now move into Southeast Asia without excessive fear of British or Dutch interference. When it invaded Indochina in September 1940, Washington protested sharply. And when Japan moved into the southern part of the country, action followed. Japanese assets under United States control were frozen, and an embargo was placed upon oil shipments to Japan. With their vital interests threatened, the Japanese now felt compelled to eliminate the danger of any further United States intervention.

Military leaders argued that U.S. retaliatory capabilities could be measurably reduced by winning a decisive victory over U.S. naval forces, which exceeded those of Japan in strength by some 30 percent. Then by capturing American, British, and Dutch territories, Japan would have land bases from which to defend itself should it later be counterattacked. The start, it was decided, was to be made at Wai Momi.

This means “pearl waters,” and it is what Hawaiians once called the Pearl River estuary because of the pearl oysters that once grew there. It is located a few miles west of downtown Honolulu. But on Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, the waters of Wai Momi were not filled with pearls but with the sunken carcasses of wrecked ships and the mangled bodies of their crews. Japanese warplanes attacking the main Pacific U.S. naval base located there inflicted severe losses.

The Pearl Harbor attack practically neutralized American naval forces in the Pacific, except for the aircraft carriers. Within hours, other U.S. air bases were bombed, and this left over 50 percent of the Far East U.S. Army aircraft in shambles.