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| VOL. I | 13 December, 1941 | NO, XXVII |
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THE PRESIDENT of the United States at 1610 on 8 December 1941 signed the Joint Congressional Resolution declaring existence of a state of war with the Japanese Empire.
Sunday, 7 December 1941, and the hour 0735 (Hawaiian time) will never be erased from the American memory. The shocking and tragic events of that and the following hours left a confusion of incomprehensible realizations of the stark naked truth....WAR ! !
As waves of warplanes of the Empire of Japan were unleashing their barbarous and brutal attack upon the Honolulu area, the peaceful atmosphere of our Country proper was shattered by rapid-fire radio reports of this dreadful disaster. The Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, The Army's Hickam Field, the city of Honolulu, and the shore line of the Island of Oahu were described as scenes of death and destruction. Far into the night civilians, with bated breath, heard unofficial accountings of attacks on the Islands of Guam, Wake, and Midway. All this while two Japanese, Ambassador Nomura and Special Envoy Kurusu deceptively dallied with pseudo peace proposals.
At 1230, 8 December 1941, the President of the United States addressed Congress and requested a formal Declaration of War against the Japanese Government. His message tersely recounted in short staccato sentences the facts of this unprovoked attack throughout the Pacific Area. It was a masterpiece of brevity and finalty. "I ask that the Congress declare that-since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December seventh, a state of war has existed between the United States and the -Japanese Empire."
At 1252 the Senate adopted the resolution by a unanimous roll call vote of 82--0. By 1313 the House of Representatives had voted "AYE" to a majority of 288--1. The lone negative vote was cast by Representative Janette Rankin (R-MONT.) who also voted against entry into World War I in 1917.
Thus within twenty-four hours we witnessed a history-making transfermation --whereby our country finds itself on a war basis with the unified objective of preserving the American way of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In the words of our Commander-in-Chief: "We will triumph, so help us God. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this invasion, the American people in their righteous might well win through to absolute victory."
The United States went to war against Germany and Italy, making it an all-out battle against the Axis. President Roosevelt sent his second War Message urgently warning that "Delay invites danger". Notification of German and Italian Declarations of War against the United States reached the State Department, respectively at 0925 and 0950, 11 December, 1941. Congress received Mr. Roosevelt's message at 1224 and adopted appropriate resolutions by 1304. There were no dissenting votes to other war resolution, although Rep. Jeanette Rankin, Republican of Montana, voted "Present instead of "Yea" or "Nay". The President told Congress in a message read separately by clerks in each house: "The forces endeavoring to enslave the entire world are now moving toward this Hemisphere".
Only three men have held the permanent rank of full admiral in the U.S. Navy- David G. Farrgagut, David Porter and George Dewey.
The Navy has provided every safeguard for the safety of its ships and of its men. The safeguard of words is just as important as the safeguards of shells. Using both safeguards will bring victory in the shortest possible time.
WITH HIGH speed communication via general usage of radio there days, war news will be disseminated in greater volume and in shorter time during the present World War than during World War I. In 1917, many false reports were circulated regarding our Army and Navy--their movements and their personnel. In 1941 we can expect an even greater number of false reports due to the ease of widespread circulation through the air waves.
The victor in a war of propaganda has gained an overwhelming advantage. This battle of words conquers public opinion and public opinion sways and affects national policies. We have established a government of the people, for the people, and by the people. That "by the people" is where propaganda goes to town in a big way. Therefore we must realize that we are into the middle of a verbal fight. It's a battle from A to Z and whoever deploys the letters of the alphabet most skillfully and most convincingly will win with plenty to spare. Therefore--watch your P's and Q's!
False rumors have already been circulated regarding our ship in particular and our Navy in general. These false rumors can do a lot of damage. Your family and my family may suffer untold pain and heartaches if such reports are accepted on their face values. And we are all familiar with "false faces"--possibly, when youngsters, we wore them. Our purpose was to deceive--maybe playfully, it's true--but deception was our one objective. Substitute words for masks--and you've got propaganda. Advise your families and friends to accept no report unless from or verified by an official source. There is and will be sufficient news from government sources--War Department, Navy Department, etc.-that will be released when verified. Believe these as true and substantiated facts. There will be eroneous reports from enemy sources--possibly sweetened by smooth sentences so as to be easily swallowed-that will sound authentic. Reject these as subservise propaganda. If accepted, they will confuse the issue--and a confused person cannot clearly and logically estimate the fortunes of war.
IN ACCORDANCE and compliance with wartime regulations, ALL private correspondence of officers and enlisted men, civilians employed by the Navy, and all other persons traveling on a vessel of the Navy must pass through Naval censorship. This correspondence is permitted by means of only:
Letters may be signed at the discretion of the writer, but he must place his family name, with initials, at the foot of the page. The name of the writer and the name of the ship MAY appear on the outside of the envelopes of letters, but the rank or rating shall not be used. in no case shall the location of the ship be indicated. Letters shall be limited to one page in length, written on one side only.
Private correspondence Shall be in plain English, clearly understandable to the Censor, and without use of code or cipher. Crosses or other marks of similar character in the text or at the end of a letter will be omitted. Under no circumstances shall open or hidden reference be made in any private correspondence to any of the following :
Under no circumstances will the writer indicate his rank or rating, or make reference to the rank or rating of any named individual. Discussion of strictly naval information such as fire control apparatus, turret gear, torpedoes, mines, guns, target practice, radio apparatus, aviation equipment, content of confidential publications, etc., is prohibited.
Letters written by persons on board ship will not be carried ashore for mailing by any person other than regular Navy mail orderlies. Persons in the Naval Service attached to ships and persons accompanying or residing on vessels of the Navy, while ashore on liberty, shall not write letters for posting ashore. Mail for such persons must pass through Naval Censorship and Navy mail clerks or mail orderlies will not post such mail until released by the Censor.
To the Folks at Home: ----
The above regulations are not for the purpose of placing a burden upon you or upon a man of your family serving aboard ship. The prime purpose is to lift a burden from the ship--the burden of an enemy's knowledge. The less an enemy knows, the safer are our ships and the safer are the men serving aboard our ships.
We ask you to cooperate to the fullest extent. There is no reason for a man to avoid censorship unless to violate by open or hidden reference the necessary and absolute secrecy and security imposed by the United States Navy.
The knowledge of a catastrophe cannot be comprehended within the immediate moments of its announcement. It is one thing to know--it is another thing to realize. We all heard the shocking narration of death, disaster, and destruction as relayed from Pearl Harbor last Sunday. We know it took place. But do we realize its significance?
It is difficult to realize that some of our shipmates of former days and duties are dead; that others are seriously wounded. It seems incredible that ships-of-the-line have been sunk. And to watery graves went men who manned those ships. Those men wore the uniform of their country by their own choice, through their own free will. When each solemnly swore: "I do solemnly swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the United States of America, and that I will serve them honestly and faithfully against all their enemies whomsoever, and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the Officers appointed over me, according to the rules and articles for the government of the Navy", he assumed a grave responsibility. That responsibility can be shouldered only by the security of a sense of duty. Duty is any assigned service. Duty is founded upon love or upon fear. A fearful man could not freely undertake this responsibility. He would have to be forced into it because he would be afraid of its obligations. That rules out fear and leaves love only. It might be a love of country; a love of home and family-and their attendant preservation; a love of an ideal and the subsequent pride of maintaining the high standards of that ideal.
Love and Duty have one common denominator-- Sacrifice. Both require it; both demand it. Without sacrifice there can be no duty. Sacrifice is in proportion to love. The more we love something, the less willing are we to part with it. Since self-preservation is the first law of nature, it follows that we are least willing to part with our life. To part with life requires a tremendous sacrifice and such a sacrifice demands a, tremendous love. Therefore, "Greater love hath no man than he lay down his life for his friends."
The men of last Sunday who could not be bribed by the Grim Reaper to desert their posts; the men who placed duty, love, and honor above fear, life, and dishonor; the men whom the Angel of Death tapped on the shoulder and who, without flinching, returned Death's gaze as they stood by their stations--those men were our shipmates of former days and duties; those men laid down their lives for their friends. Greater love could no man have.
We of the WASHINGTON pause with bowed heads to pay homage to our gallant brothers who have "given the last full measure of devotion." May their souls rest in peace through the infinite mercy and love of Almighty God.
555 electric organs, costing $532,038, are included on a defense order for regimental chapels...When Voltaire's tomb was opened in 1864 his body had disappeared and has never been located...Of 4117 trappers listed in Alaska, 246 are women ... 900 weather bureaus in the U.S. supply daily data For airline operations...Reza Shah Pahlevi, ruler of Iran, (Persia) was at 40 an obscure Cossack trooper...
Let us keep a permanent wave in Old Glory...The word "Spider" comes from the Anglo-Saxon word meaning to "spin"...Venus, the planet, shines from the reflected light of the sun...A babbitt is a conventional business man...Booth Tarkington's first name is Newton...
Rudyard Kipling's first name was Joseph...Cleopatra wore a linen tunic...Sesame is a grain plant...The average man's summer apparel weighs more than six times that of a woman...Benjamin Franklin was the father of Daylight Saving Time...
Portugal is a country in the Iberian Peninsula...Hunt invented the safety-pin in 1845...The tablet in the left hand of the Statue of Liberty represents the Declaration of Independence...The mettalic age, When a person has silver in his hair, gold in his teeth and lead in his feet...
Daylight Saving Time was adopted in Germany during the first world war. The reason was to save fuel for the war industries...The first radio network was the N.B.C. in 1926...
Mayor Fiorella H. LaGuardia of New York City is five feet, two inches in height...A bongo is a forest antelope of Africa having white stripes...One half of one-half divided by one-half is one-half. ..Connecticut means Long River...David Harum was written in Syracuse, New York, 1897..."Rasputin" was the only motion picture in which Ethel Barrymore appeared. John Drew was the uncle of the three Barrymores.
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