NBC Red
H.V. Kaltenborn
December
7, 1941, 3:15 pm EST
00:00: Program Introduction 00:12: Japan has made war upon the U.S. without declaring it. Pearl Harbor and Manila were attacked. Damage, fires on Hawaii. About 50 planes in the attack, many were shot down. Nomura and Kurusu were at the State Department. Japanese did the same thing during the Russo-Japanese War. America was not unprepared for the attack. No details from Manila. 01:37: Summary of the timeline thus far based on all of the bulletins. |
04:47: Kaltenborn reads and comments on a State Department bulletin just received: "'So far as is known, the attacks on Hawaii and Manila were made wholly without warning, when both nations were at peace.' And they were delivered within an hour or so of the time that the Japanese Ambassador Nomura , and Japan's special envoy, Mr. Kurusu, had gone to the State Department and handed to the Secretary of State Japan's reply to the Secretary's memorandum of November 26. You may remember that yesterday we received the reply from Japan to the President's comment and request for information with regard to troop movements in Indochina. This afternoon, Mr. Kurusu and Mr. Nomura bring to the Secretary of State a reply to Mr. Hull's general memorandum, in which he calls for a return to the basic principles of international law. The State Department goes on in it's special statement just issued, quote: 'As soon as the information of the attack was received by the War and Navy Departments it was rushed immediately to the President at the White House. The President directed the army and navy to execute the previously prepared orders, looking to the defense of The United States.' And you may rest assured that our army, and particularly our navy and our air force were not caught by surprise by this attack. They knew what they might have to expect, and they were ready for anything that might happen. They have been ready for a long time, and their readiness has been developed increasingly in recent weeks and days. |
08:48 (3:23 p.m. EST) From White House: President called in Secretaries of War and Navy, and is trying to contact congressional leaders. The attack is still in progress. 09:21 (3:24 p.m. EST) Breaking news
from Washington: An army transport carrying
lumber has been torpedoed 1300 miles west
of San Francisco. This is evidence that
the attack was planned long ago. |