Pearl Harbor Day

[Mike Wenger]

I was surprised to see there was no tread on Pear Harbor. Thought I would share this link from the History Channel. 8 Tales of Pearl Harbor Heroics.

Words from a Japanese pilot.

Remembering to Forget: A Japanese Pilot’s Memory of World War II

Takeshi Maeda, a Japanese Imperial Naval pilot, guided his bomber to Pearl Harbor and released a torpedo that helped sink the USS West Virginia. Years later, he became a leading figure in reconciliation efforts between Japan and the United States.

www.nationalww2museum.org

Losses

December 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor Casualties | pearlharbor.org

In total, 2,403 Americans were killed during the attack. Of that figure, 2,008 of them were enlisted with the Navy, 218 were members of the US Army.

pearlharbor.org

Thank you for posting this. I did, however, wish to correct the WWII Museum's article. Mr. Maeda was not a pilot; he was a rear-gunner/radioman in the 3rd seat of a 3-place torpedo bomber. Only the pilot in front, or his observer/bombardier in the 2nd seat immediately behind (who, frequently, was the plane commander) could release the torpedo. Further, Maeda's English skills were very limited, and I would guess that some sort of translation problem at the museum might have been at work here.

Maeda was a wonderful guy who--in my interviews and correspondence with him over the years--increased my knowlege of what happened that day beyond measure.

Mike Wenger
Raleigh, NC