American History Tellers - Hawai'i's Journey to Statehood | Day of Infamy | 4

Episode Date: April 12, 2023

On December 7, 1941, Hawai’i was hit by one of the most unexpected military assaults in modern warfare. More than 300 Japanese fighter planes and dive bombers attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, killing 2,400 people and plunging the United States into World War II. After the assault, many of Hawai’i’s nearly 160,000 residents of Japanese descent were viewed with suspicion and fear. But eventually thousands of Japanese-American men enlisted in the Army and went on to fight with valor. Their heroism would in time contribute to Hawai’i becoming America’s 50th state.Listen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/historytellersSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge new seasons of American History Tellers early and ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. A listener note. For historical accuracy, a scene in this episode contains some racist language. Please be advised. Imagine it's 6.30 a.m. on December 7th, 1941. You're a captain in the U.S. Navy stationed at Pearl Harbor. Yesterday, you took command of your first ship, the USS Ward, a destroyer with more than 200 men aboard. You've been on patrol all night, steaming back and forth past the harbor

entrance. Tensions have been growing between the U.S. and Japan, and you've ordered the crew to be on the lookout for anything suspicious. You had just settled into your bunk to get some shut-eye when your executive officer summons you to the bridge. He and the rest of the crew salute as you enter. All right, out of these. Lieutenant, what do you got? The XO, your second-in-command, points into the pale dawn light. Well, it looks like a periscope and a conning tower, sir. Not one of ours. 700 yards dead ahead. You grab a pair of binoculars and focus in.

It's a submarine, all right. About 80 feet long, with no markings, cruising slowly just outside the harbor. You're right. Never seen one like that. It is certainly not one of ours. What should we do, Captain? You are barely 24 hours into your first command. You don't want to raise a false alarm, but this doesn't feel right. Well, let's sound general quarters, Lieutenant. Get everyone at battle stations. As the XO relays your orders, the ship springs into action around you.

All engines, head full. Bring us to 25 knots. Your 1,200-foot-long ship surges ahead like a race car. In a matter of seconds, the sub is no more than 100 yards away. Tell number three deck mount to open fire. One of the four-inch shells fired punches a hole in the conning tower of the sub. It's now only 50 yards ahead and appears to be diving or maybe sinking. She's hit, sir. Looks like she's going down. Stand by to drop death charges.

Aye, standing by. Your ship passes over the spot where the sub disappeared. Release charges now. The destroyer shudders as the charges explode about 100 feet below the surface. You order the ship to turn back and retrace its path to the spot where the sub went down. All you see is a sheen of an oil slick. Any sign of her, Lieutenant? No, sir. Nothing on sonar. I think we got her, sir.

Send a message to headquarters. We have dropped depth charges upon sub operating in defensive area. The XO relays the message by radio, but there's no response. Seconds pass, and then minutes. Finally, you grab the handheld transmitter yourself. District 14, repeat, this is USS Ward. We have attacked, fired on, and dropped depth charges on a submarine operating near Pearl Harbor. Do you copy?

A minute later, you radio again. District 14, did you get the last message? You check your watch. It's 6.54 a.m. You hope someone at headquarters will get your message and respond soon, because if the sub you just hit is part of a larger assault, other ships need to mobilize quickly before it's too late.

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Only later did senior military officials realize that the sub was the first warning sign of a much larger attack. The Japanese assault on Pearl Harbor was one of the most unexpected military maneuvers in the history of modern warfare. More than 300 fighter planes, dive bombers, and torpedo bombers killed 2,400 people in a chaotic barrage that shattered a quiet Sunday morning. Despite increasing tensions with Japan, the U.S. was unprepared for an aerial assault on Hawaii. Military leaders never imagined Japan would strike a well-fortified target 4,000 miles from Tokyo. The attack came after decades of American military buildup on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. By 1941, Oahu had become home to numerous Army and Navy bases, with nearly a quarter of its land owned or controlled by the Defense Department. After the attack, many of Hawaii's 155,000

residents of Japanese descent instantly became second-class citizens, viewed with suspicion and fear as spies or saboteurs. And on the nation's west coast, American authorities forced more than 120,000 Japanese Americans into internment camps. But thanks to the efforts of Japanese community leaders, the U.S. military eventually agreed to allow Japanese men to enlist. In Hawaii, 10,000 answered the call. Many would go on to fight with valor in World War II, and their heroism would in time contribute to Hawaiian statehood. This is Episode 4, Day of Infamy. In 1840, a U.S. naval officer and explorer named Charles Wilke surveyed the Hawaiian Islands and reported to his superiors that he'd found the most capacious harbor in the

Pacific. The site that would become Pearl Harbor was a perfectly protected lagoon, formed where the Pearl River emptied into the sea. A narrow inlet opened into a wide, three-pronged harbor surrounded by hills rising to the north. In 1887, Hawaii's King David Kalakaua gave the U.S. exclusive permission to use Pearl Harbor to refuel and repair ships. But because the lagoon was shallow and its opening blocked by a sandbar and coral reef, the Navy didn't immediately

establish a base there and rarely used the harbor except for its smaller ships. In 1898, during the Spanish-American War, naval ships on their way to battle Spanish forces in the Philippines often refueled at Honolulu, just a few miles from Pearl Harbor. Then, during the Philippine-American War, Oahu became an increasingly strategic naval stopover. U.S. military leaders began envisioning plans to turn Pearl Harbor into a large-scale naval base. Then, after the Hawaiian Islands became a U.S. territory in 1900, the Navy started dredging the coral and sand at the mouth of Pearl Harbor, to the horror of many Native Hawaiians, who opposed seeing their ancestral lands turned into a military installation. But the powerful sugar barons and American

businessmen who controlled politics on the island pushed ahead, and in 1908, Congress appropriated six million dollars for more dredging and the construction of a shipyard, barracks, and dry dock. On December 14, 1911, Rear Admiral Chauncey Thomas, Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet, led the naval cruiser USS California through the man-made entrance to the harbor, breaking a red, white, and blue ribbon that had been stretched from shore to shore. On board that day was King David Kalakaua's sister, Hawaii's former queen, Lily Okolani, who had been deposed by white businessmen and sugar barons in 1893. Now 73 years old, the former queen still made occasional public appearances,

and she allowed Admiral Thomas to lead her up a gangway onto the deck of the warship. Also on board was Sanford Dole, the Hawaiian-born lawyer who had supported the overthrow of the queen to become Hawaii's first president and later, after annexation, its first territorial governor. Dole and the queen sat side by side, but not speaking, as the USS California anchored in the harbor, becoming the first large U.S. ship to do so. In a brief speech that day, the ship's captain, Charles Harlow, called Pearl Harbor one of the greatest strategical points in the world. After World War I, the base at Pearl Harbor expanded. In addition to the U.S. Navy, the Army had also recognized the harbor's importance and began establishing its own

presence. It took over Ford Island, a former sugarcane plantation in the center of the harbor, where it built a runway for its warplanes. By the late 1920s, Pearl Harbor had become an ever more critical military outpost, as Japan began asserting itself as a world power. In the 1930s, Japan launched an aggressive campaign across Asia, attempting to expand its island empire and acquired much-needed natural resources. In 1940, Japan signed the Tripartite Act, aligning itself with Germany and Italy, who had ignited World War II with their brutal assaults on Europe and North Africa. Japan's aggressions alarmed U.S. commanders at Pearl Harbor,

especially because one-third of Hawaii's population was of Japanese descent. Many American military leaders wondered how the 155,000 Japanese people living in Hawaii would respond if Japan directly targeted the United States. And officially, America tried to stay neutral in the conflict. But President Franklin Roosevelt faced a heated debate, in Congress and among voters, over how far the U.S. should go to build its defenses and prepare for the possibility of war. Roosevelt took a special interest in the operations at Pearl Harbor and in the Navy itself. He had served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy during World War I and referred to it as My Navy. During his first term as president, starting in 1933, he had pumped federal dollars into shipbuilding and modernization. In 1940, he ordered most of the Navy's Pacific Fleet to relocate from California to Pearl Harbor, a move that acknowledged the threat

posed by Japan. So by early 1941, 40,000 servicemen and more than 100 ships and submarines were based on Oahu. The vessels in Hawaii made up the majority of the Pacific Fleet and a third of the American Navy. And this positioning was important because diplomatic negotiations between Japan and the U.S. were crumbling. The conflict seemed inevitable. Yet even with war raging in Europe and Asia, for those stationed at Pearl Harbor and elsewhere on Oahu, life was good. It was a laid-back assignment in an enchanting tropical paradise. Sailors ate fresh fruit from backyard trees. On weekends, they wore their Aloha shirts and drank 25-cent beers in downtown Honolulu and Chinatown. They swam and surfed at Waikiki.

As one nurse at Pearl Harbor put it, nobody talked about the possibility of war. That was the furthest thing from our minds. U.S. forces across Hawaii did make some wartime preparations, but many commanders expected that if there was any aggression, it would be in the form of sabotage by the Japanese of Hawaii, a so-called Fifth Column Attack. An aerial assault of the islands 4,000 miles from Japan seemed unlikely.

If Japan did attempt an offensive, they'd probably attack U.S. positions in the Philippines or on Midway Island. Few expected the war would come to the Hawaiian islands. Still to be safe, the Army installed four mobile radar stations across Oahu. Army leaders felt confident that if the Japanese dared to approach the island, the U.S. would see them coming. They were almost right. Imagine it's just past 7 a.m. on December 7, 1941. You're an Army private stationed at a mobile radar unit on the northern tip of the island of Oahu. Inside a truck full of equipment, you sit beside your partner, Private Lockhart, who's logging plot points on a chart. You've already wrapped up your shift, but the truck that's supposed to pick you up and take you back to base hasn't arrived. So you keep working the oscilloscope to get some practice.

But your partner's eager to pack up and leave. Come on, let's shut this thing down and get some chow. I'm starving. Five more minutes. I'm starting to get the hang of this thing. No, our shift's over. Brass only wants these things operating four hours a day. Let's go.

Just then, you see something strange on the circular black radar screen. A large white shape moving towards you from the north. Hey, come look at this. What is this blob? I'm not sure. Never seen anything like that. I bet it's a false reading. Machine's acting up again. Your team is still new to this early warning radar system, and you've had to work out some kinks. Lockhart starts checking the cables and dials, looking for a source of a glitch. He runs outside to check the antenna and transmission line. After a few minutes, he climbs back into the van, shaking his head. Nah, I can't figure it out. Everything seems to be okay. Should we call it in? Call what in? Anything that big's gotta be a glitch. Besides,

no one's gonna pick up at this hour. It's a Sunday morning. They're all asleep. Well, somebody must be on duty at HQ. Hey, if you want to sound the alarm, go ahead. Be my guest. You grab the telephone that connects with the switchboard at Fort Shafter Command Post in Honolulu. But the operator tells you everyone's at breakfast. They'll call you back. You hang up and look at Lockhart anxiously. Well, I guess you were right. But what are we supposed to do now? Only thing we can do, we wait. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, the phone rings. Lockard reaches for it before you can.

Opana radar station. Yes, sir. Like my partner said, we have what appears to be an unusually large number of aircraft. Largest I've ever seen. Appro approaching from the north about 130 miles out. Your partner listens and rolls his eyes at you. Yes, sir, I understand. Thank you, sir. What'd he say? He said it's probably nothing. Maybe a group of B-17s coming in from San Francisco. He said not to worry about it. Told you so. But you are worried.

Give the radar one last look. That blob of planes, dozens of them, maybe even hundreds, seems to be closing in. At two minutes past 7 a.m. on the morning of December 7th, radar operators Joseph Lockhart and George Elliott spotted what appeared to be a massive cluster of planes racing south toward Oahu. When they called their command center to report it, the officer on duty told them not to worry, that the planes were probably American B-17 bombers. But just minutes earlier, the naval destroyer USS Ward had shot and sunk a small submarine near the entrance to Pearl Harbor. The Ward's captain, William Outerbridge, reported the incident, but it too did not set off any alarms.

At first, the officer on duty at the Harbor Control Office couldn't find anyone above him to report it to at 7 a.m. on a Sunday. But the U.S. had just received two critical early warnings of an impending attack. The sunken submarine was, in fact, one of five mini-Japanese subs operated by two-man crews and armed with torpedoes. And the blob on the radar screen was the first wave of Japanese attack planes. Authorities failed to respond to both warnings that morning. And meanwhile, American sailors, soldiers, and civilians in Pearl Harbor and other military bases on the island were still sleeping or just starting their day. And then, just before 8 a.m., the attack began. Two waves of Japanese planes, 353 in all,

flew in from six aircraft carriers that had traveled from Japan and were stationed more than 200 miles north of Oahu. Pilots used the signal from a Honolulu radio station to guide them toward the island. The architects of Japan's aerial assault knew that Sunday morning was an ideal time to attack, thanks to intelligence provided by spies at the Japanese consulate in Honolulu. They knew that many U.S. servicemen and their superiors would be sleeping late, going to church, or playing golf. Also, many of the ships would be at their moorings, not out on maneuvers. The Japanese raid's primary target was Pearl Harbor, especially the battleships tied side by side next to Ford Island, a cluster known as Battleship Row. The two top commanders

on Oahu were Admiral Husband Kimmel, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet, and Lieutenant General Walzer Short, head of the Army's Hawaiian Department. The two men were on friendly terms, and that morning they both had been up early, getting ready for their bi-weekly golf game at the Fort Shafter course. When Kimmel finally received a call about the destroyer USS Ward having fired on an unidentified submarine, he canceled his golf game and called his driver for a ride from his home to the command center. It was then that Kimmel's duty officer called back with an urgent message. The Japanese are attacking Pearl Harbor. While still buttoning up his uniform,

Kimmel ran into his front yard and stood beside a neighbor, watching in disbelief as enemy airplanes roared overhead. They were low enough that he could see the crimson rising sun circle of Japan's flag painted on every wing. Kimmel raced to his office at fleet headquarters on Ford Island as the ground-shaking concussions of enemy bombs and aerial torpedoes rained down. The island was under attack, and nearly everyone was caught by surprise. Seeing the first bombs hit, and realizing what was actually happening, Lieutenant Commander Logan Ramsey at the Navy's command center sent a message on all frequencies. Air raid Pearl Harbor. This is no drill.

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and more Exhibit C True Crime shows like Morbid early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery+. Check out Exhibit C in the Wondery app for all your true crime listening. This is the emergency broadcast system. A ballistic missile threat has been detected inbound to your area. Your phone buzzes and you look down to find this alert. What do you do next? Maybe you're at the grocery store. Or maybe you're with your secret lover.

Or maybe you're robbing a bank. Based on the real-life false alarm that terrified Hawaii in 2018, Incoming, a brand new fiction podcast exclusively on Wondery Plus, follows the journey of a variety of characters as they confront the unimaginable. The missiles are coming. What am I supposed to do? Featuring incredible performances from Tracy Letts, Mary Lou Henner, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Paul Edelstein, and many, many more, Incoming is a hilariously thrilling podcast that will leave Thank you. When the first swarms of Japanese planes appeared in the skies over Oahu, many people on the ground assumed they were American, perhaps part of some new training exercise. But when the bombs and torpedoes began to explode, confusion turned to disbelief and then to horror. The pilots of Japan's fighter planes, torpedo bombers and dive bombers, knew exactly where to find U.S. ships and air to horror. The pilots of Japan's fighter planes, torpedo bombers, and dive bombers knew

exactly where to find U.S. ships and airfields, and they unleashed a relentless assault on a completely unprepared fleet. One Japanese bomb struck the battleship USS Arizona, whose forward artillery magazines then exploded. The ship practically jumped from the water, then crumpled and began to sink, with more than a thousand sailors and marines on board. Seven other battleships were hit. Four would sink. The Japanese Navy had developed special torpedoes that could be dropped by air into the shallower water of Pearl Harbor and still strike their targets.

These torpedoes or other bombs tore into the steel hulls and decks of cruisers, destroyers, and other ships, including the battleship Oklahoma, which capsized with hundreds trapped inside. But this was just the first wave of the attack. At 8.54 a.m., a second wave began an hour after the first. While Pearl Harbor was the main target during both waves, this second assault ravaged other military bases on Oahu as well. The Army Air Corps lost hundreds of aircrafts at Wheeler's Field and Hickam Field. Other planes were destroyed at the Navy's Kaneohe Air Station on Oahu's eastern shore,

preventing all but a few planes from mounting any response. As the head of the Army's Hawaiian Department, General Walter Short was in charge of protecting the islands, including the naval fleet from enemy harm. But his focus was not on an invasion from thousands of miles away. Instead, Short had been one of the ones worried about sabotage by Hawaii's Japanese population. With that in mind, he had ordered that the Army's airplanes be lined up in tight rows on their runways, believing that this would make them easier to guard. But these clumped-together groups of planes became easy targets from the air. Short had also ordered that weapons and ammunition stay locked up to prevent theft and sabotage. So as the attack began, soldiers couldn't find keys, had to bust open ammunition lockers to

reach their weapons. Sailors, soldiers, and marines scrambled to fight back, firing anti-aircraft artillery and machine guns, even rifles and pistols, whatever they could find. They managed to shoot down more than two dozen enemy planes, but in the chaos, some anti-aircraft shells missed their targets and landed in residential areas of Honolulu, killing civilians. All told, more than 60 civilians died, half of them Japanese-Americans, and most were killed by friendly fire. One anti-aircraft shell exploded inside a noodle shop, killing the couple that owned the restaurant, their three children,

plus seven Japanese men who were having breakfast. The attack was so unexpected and so swift that many civilians didn't know what was happening or why. Radio stations did broadcast orders to residents, stating the island is under enemy attack. Do not use your telephone. Stay off the streets. Keep calm. Stay undercover. But for many, it was not enough warning. Around 10 a.m., after two hours of terror, the assault ended. Japan's planes raced back north to their awaiting aircraft carriers. And with fire still raging and

black smoke billowing into the December skies, officials at Pearl Harbor began to assess the damage. Eighteen warships and more than 300 planes were damaged or destroyed. Fortunately, the Navy's huge aircraft carriers were not in Pearl Harbor at the time and were thus spared, but a large portion of the Navy's Pacific fleet was in ruins. Loss of life was catastrophic, too. More than 1,100 sailors died on the Arizona alone, another 400 on the Oklahoma. Fatalities would eventually exceed 2,400, mostly servicemen, but also dozens of civilians. Over 1,100 were additionally wounded. Admiral Husband Kimmel had watched the devastation from his office on Ford Island. At one point, a spent.50 caliber

bullet broke through a window and struck him, but not with much force. It dropped to the floor, leaving a smudge on his uniform and a welt on his chest. Later, Kimmel said, it would have been more merciful had it killed me. He, like General Short, knew that a surprise attack on his watch and the death of men he'd known for decades likely meant the end of his career. One naval officer later put it, they caught us flat-footed. Another would say, we were looking in the wrong direction. At 11.41 a.m., the Army ordered all radio stations off the air,

fearing more Japanese planes might navigate by their signals for another attack. The territorial governor, Joseph Poindexter, sped to the headquarters of radio station KGU and in a shaky voice announced over the air a state of emergency. Then the Army called the station and ordered them to shut down. An hour later, General Short visited Poindexter and urged him to place the territory under martial law. The governor contacted the White House to get President Roosevelt's approval,

and soon the Army would take control of Hawaii. By that afternoon, mere hours after the attack began, everyone across the islands knew America was at war. Imagine it's the afternoon of December 7th, 1941. You're the 16-year-old daughter of a naval commander at Pearl Harbor. In fact, your father had sent the first air raid alarm as Japanese planes began attacking that morning. Now you've joined others caring for the injured.

Dozens of wounded sailors are washing ashore here on Ford Island, crawling out of flaming waters. You're standing just outside the basement of an admiral's house, which has been turned into a makeshift triage unit. You're looking out at Battleship Row and the burning hulk of the USS Arizona when you see a young man stumbling across the lawn toward you. His clothes are so tattered he's practically naked. He's badly burned, covered in hot diesel oil. He hardly seems

any older than you. You run over to him and gently lead him by the arm toward the safety of the basement shelter. What's your name? Charles. From Boise, Idaho. I think I'm hurt pretty bad. Come with me, Charles. Let's get you covered up. Can I get you a blanket?

Yeah. I'm awfully cold all of a sudden. Inside the basement, you use a towel to wipe off some of the oil from his arms and legs. Then help him sit down on a mattress. Wrapping a blanket around his shoulders, you cradle the stunned sailor. As a medic jabs his arm with a morphine shot, you try to distract him. What ship were you on? Oklahoma.

Not many of us got off in time. Jed. My best friend, Jed. I saw him shot to pieces. Young sailor hangs his head and begins to weep. Oh, it's okay. An ambulance should be here soon and they'll get you over to sickbay. You think they're coming back? Who?

The Japs, that's who. I mean, what the hell is happening out there? Oh, I don't know. My father's a commander and I don't even know where he is or if he's alive. You both grow quiet, the groans of other wounded men filling in the space. Yeah. Well, hey, do you have a cigarette? I sure could use one. Your fingers fumble as you light a cigarette and hold it to the sailor's lips. He takes a puff, but then his eyes flutter and close. You lay him down, hoping it's just the morphine taking effect. Unsure of how else to make yourself useful,

you go to the man on the next mattress and offer the barely-smoked cigarette to him. Japan had given no warning of its attack and had not declared war against the U.S. in advance. It wouldn't officially do so until more than seven hours after the raid began. Japan's declaration, printed in Japanese newspapers, vowed to crush every obstacle in its path. The next day, on December 8th, President Roosevelt addressed a joint session of Congress, declaring Japan's premeditated invasion an act of war. Calling the prior day,

December 7th, a date which will live in infamy, Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. Jeanette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress and an avowed pacifist, cast the only no vote. Canada and Great Britain also declared war on Japan. Other countries soon followed. Days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S., and Congress responded with reciprocal declarations. America was now fully engaged in the global conflict of World War II. But it would be a while before most Americans felt effects of the war. But in Hawaii, curfews and blackouts went into immediate effect. Many residents worried that another attack might be coming, or even an all-out ground assault.

The islands would remain on alert for days. False rumors also swirled about Japanese residents assisting the attackers or engaging in sabotage. Some people accused Japanese plantation workers of cutting signals in the cane fields or lighting fires to direct Japanese pilots to Pearl Harbor. One group of armed civilians responded to rumors of Japanese parachutists poisoning water tanks, but it turned out to be a group of high school kids who volunteered to guard the tanks. Other citizens feared that Japanese fishermen were secretly signaling offshore

ships and subs, and the day after the attack, four groups of Japanese fishermen were secretly signaling offshore ships and subs. And the day after the attack, four groups of Japanese fishermen returned to shore west of Pearl Harbor, where they were strafed by army aircraft. Six men were killed and seven wounded. All across the islands, Japanese residents were scrutinized for any signs of disloyalty. Military officials began arresting anyone considered suspicious or dangerous. Most of these were longtime residents of Japanese descent,

including Japanese families trying to leave Honolulu, fearful of another attack. Many such families, traveling with whatever possessions they could carry, were detained and accused of looting. The United States was now at war with Japan. And that made many view Hawaii's largest ethnic group as the enemy. Now streaming. Welcome to Buy It Now,

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How'd they do it? Nintendo never fires anyone, ever. Follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. After weeks of shock, panic, and fear, Pearl Harbor and Honolulu slowly

began to recover. Boarded-up shops reopened and patrons waited in long lines outside the Piggly Wiggly grocery store. Tourists who had been vacationing on Oahu crowded outside the Castle and Cook travel agency, hoping to board the next Mattson Liner that would take them back to the mainland. But Japanese residents of the Hawaiian Islands faced a different set of challenges. In the wake of the attack, their loyalty had become suspect. Neighbors, police, and soldiers watched them warily. At the time, people of Japanese descent accounted for 37% of the territory's population. Three-fourths of them had been born in Hawaii to immigrant parents. These second-generation

Japanese, known as Nisei, were American citizens, and many of them wanted to prove that they were just as patriotic as any other American. So Japanese community groups organized volunteer exercises. They helped dig trenches at schools and bomb shelters and public parks. Japanese students from the University of Hawaii dug ditches, repaired roads, and strung barbed wire fencing at various strategic points, including a beachfront barrier at Waikiki. But suspicions about the allegiance of Hawaii's Japanese population lingered. Some of those concerns predated the attack.

More than a year earlier, FBI Chief J. Edgar Hoover had written to the White House stating that the loyalty of the entire group is questionable and highly speculative. Hoover's field agent in Honolulu was Robert Shivers, who had come to Oahu in 1939. Two years later, by 1941, Shivers had gotten to know many of the leaders of the Japanese community and had decided that the majority were in fact quite loyal to America. But in the early days after the attack, Shivers and his FBI men did arrest hundreds of Japanese men deemed to be potential threats. But Washington, D.C. wanted more. Hoover and Shivers were under pressure from military leaders in Honolulu and politicians in D.C. to round up all of Hawaii's Japanese residents. The War Department suggested the idea just three days after the

attack. But by this time, Shivers had been able to convince FBI Director Hoover to do an about-face. As a result, Hoover now tried to persuade President Roosevelt to reject the War Department's proposal, citing a report from early 1941 that found there will be no armed uprising of Japanese. Unfortunately, Roosevelt did not see it that way. On February 19, 1942, he approved an executive order to round up all persons deemed a threat to the United States. While that order did not specifically mention Japanese Americans, the intent was clear. And soon, more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were forced to leave their homes in California, Washington, Oregon, and Arizona. Families had 10 days to pack their things and report for transport to hastily constructed

internment camps. More than two-thirds of those incarcerated were American citizens. And in Hawaii, roughly 1,400 Japanese people were arrested and held at an internment camp on Sand Island in Honolulu Harbor. About a third were soon released, though. FBI agent Shivers, some military and law enforcement representatives, and Japanese community leaders argued that Hawaii's Japanese residents were hardly a military threat and, in fact, were a potential asset. After its attack on Oahu, Japan went on to invade the Philippines, Burma, Guam, and Wake Island, then Singapore and Hong Kong.

But it wasn't long before the United States began to fight back. Since the Navy's aircraft carriers were not damaged in the Pearl Harbor assault, they began to deliver U.S. fighter squadrons to battles in the South Pacific. Navy ships that had sustained only minimal damage were quickly repaired. And by mid-1942, only months after Pearl Harbor, the U.S. started taking back island after island from Japan. And as the war continued, Japanese Americans lobbied to join the fight. Many of these Nisei were eager to enlist, including those held at West Coast internment camps. In early 1943, they would get their chance.

Imagine it's March 30, 1943. You and a friend are in line at a Honolulu recruitment center. You've been working as a paramedic for the city, with plans to eventually study medicine in Seattle. But when you learned the U.S. Army was looking for Japanese volunteers for a new combat unit, you decided medical school could wait. You're hoping to enlist and prove once and for all that you're loyal to the country in which you were born. Once you get to the front of the line, an Army officer in a crisp green uniform eyes you suspiciously. I'd heard you talk to your friend in there. Was that Japanese? No, sir. I don't know how to speak Japanese. I was born on Maui. You probably heard me using a few words of Hawaiian pigeon. Tell me, what are your thoughts on Emperor Hirohito? I mean, I've heard of him, but he's

not my emperor. The recruiter shifts his gaze down and studies some forms you filled out. Says here you're a student and paramedic. That's right. I've been a volunteer since the attack. How about your parents? What do they do? They run a tailor shop. They make Aloha shirts, that kind of thing.

They came to Maui from Japan to work a sugar plantation. Then moved to Honolulu in 1920. The recruiter nods his head, but doesn't look up from the paperwork. This questionnaire here looks to be complete, but I need to be sure about a few things. Question number 27. Are you willing to serve whenever and wherever you're ordered? Yes, sir, absolutely. Question number 28. Will you swear unqualified allegiance to the United States and forswear any form of allegiance or obedience to the Japanese emperor. For a second, you hesitate, because you know some other recruits were insulted

by this question and refused to answer. It rubs you the wrong way, too. It implies you had an allegiance to the Japanese emperor, but you're not going to mess up your chance to join up. Yes, sir. The answer is yes. Is that right? Yes, sir. I'm ready to fight. My allegiance is to the country where I was born, America. Yeah, well, I know some of you boys feel pretty kicked around by Uncle Sam right now. I had one kid tell me we wounded his pride, locking all his people up back on the mainland. Is that how you feel? You take a deep breath because this question is trickier. You feel disgusted at the thought of all those Japanese-American families being held behind barbed wire. But here again, you know there's only one way to answer. No, sir, I don't feel that way.

I just want the chance to prove that I'm as American as you are. Well, I don't know about that, but you seem all right. Welcome to the Army, son. The officer shoves some papers across the desk for you to sign, and soon enough you'll be joining the all-Japanese 442nd Regiment Combat Unit. Your first stop will be Camp Shelby in Mississippi for basic training, and then you'll be heading off to war. Japanese community leaders argued that there was no reason to keep Nisei men off the battlefields,

and that included the tens of thousands being held in internment camps. Thanks to their lobbying, momentum grew in Washington for the creation of a segregated combat team comprised entirely of Japanese Americans. On January 28, 1943, the Army announced that Japanese men between the ages of 18 and 45 could volunteer. Days later, Roosevelt signed a memo that announced, Every loyal American should be given the opportunity to serve. In Hawaii, Japanese American men rushed to selective service offices.

The Army had hoped to get 1,500 recruits from Hawaii and 3,000 from internment camps on the mainland. But in Hawaii alone, nearly 10,000 volunteers overwhelmed the small recruitment centers. More than 2,600 were accepted, and most would become part of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which was formally organized on March 23, 1943. Joining them in the fight were more than 2,000 Native Hawaiians, some of them alongside Japanese Americans with a 442nd. But Army officials had decided not to send the mostly Japanese regiment to the Pacific, where they would face Japanese forces. Instead, they would join the fighting in France and Italy, and there the 442nd Regiment would become one of the Army's most decorated units.

After six years of war in Europe, the fighting ended in May of 1945, when Germany surrendered to the Allies. But the war in the Pacific continued for three more months, finally coming to an end after the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These attacks killed tens of thousands of civilians, and many Japanese Americans living in Hawaii lost family members that day. But the Empire of Japan surrendered on August 12, 1945, sparing more lives. Throughout World War II, thousands of Japanese American and Native Hawaiian soldiers

fought with valor, and their efforts contributed to arguments in favor of making Hawaii a state. In January 1946, at a congressional committee hearing on statehood, FBI agent Robert Shivers testified that the Japanese people of Hawaii had shown their loyalty and that Hawaii deserved to become America's 49th state. But it would take another 13 years before Hawaii would gain statehood due to lingering resistance in Congress and opposition from many Hawaiians. It took until August of 1959, seven months after Alaska became America's 49th state, for Hawaii to become the 50th.

That same year, a Japanese-American veteran of the 442nd Regimental Combat Unit was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and four years later to the U.S. Senate. Daniel Inoue, a Medal of Honor recipient, would represent Hawaii for more than 50 years. In the latter years of the 20th century, various U.S. presidents would acknowledge some of the injustices that had been inflicted upon the Hawaiian Islands and its residents, as well as the Japanese Americans who had been incarcerated during World War II. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act, acknowledging that the mass internment of Japanese had been motivated by racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a failure of political leadership. In 1990, 70,000 survivors of the camps received reparations of $20,000 each. Five years later, in 1993, President Bill Clinton signed a formal apology for the coup of 1893 that dethroned Queen Liliuokalani, acknowledging that the native Hawaiian people never directly relinquished to the United States

their claims to their inherent sovereignty. Today, Hawaii's history, culture, and geography still make it one of the most unique corners of the United States that has in many ways had a profound influence on the rest of America. Its exports include not only the pineapple, surfing, and aloha shirts that the islands are so well known for, but a model of American multiculturalism. It's a region where diversity is intrinsic in patriotism.

It's the birthplace of the nation's first black and biracial president, Barack Obama. And even as a state, it has its own official language, its own unique music, fashion, and food ways, and an indigenous population that still proudly calls itself Hawaiian. From Wondery, this is Episode 4 of Hawaii's Journey to Statehood from American History Tellers. On the next episode, I'll speak with New York Times bestselling author Julia Flynn Seiler, author of Lost Kingdom, Hawaii's Last Queen, The Sugar Kings, and America's First Imperial Adventure. We'll discuss the life of Hawaii's first and, The Sugar Kings, and America's First Imperial Adventure. We'll discuss the life of Hawaii's first and only queen,

Liliuokalani, and how she fought annexation by the United States, her life post-annexation, and her legacy today. If you like American History Tellers, you can binge all episodes early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. If you'd like to learn more about the attack on Pearl Harbor and its aftermath,

including the internment of Japanese residents of Hawaii and the West Coast, we recommend At Dawn We Slept by Gordon Prang and Facing the Mountain, an inspiring story of Japanese-American patriots in World War II by Daniel James Brown. American History Tellers is hosted, edited, and produced by me, Lindsey Graham, for Airship. Audio editing by Christian Paraga.

Sound design by Molly Bach. Music by Lindsey Graham. This episode is written by Neil Thompson. Edited by Dorian Marina. Produced by Alita Rozansky. Our production coordinator is Desi Blaylock. Managing producer, Matt Gant. Senior managing producer, Tanja Thigpen. Senior producer, Andy Herman. Executive producers are Jenny Lauer-Beckman and Marsha Louis for Wondery. For more than two centuries, the White House has been the stage for some of the most dramatic scenes in American history. Inspired by the hit podcast American History Tellers, Wondery and William Morrow present the new book, The Hidden History of the White House. Each chapter will bring you inside the fierce power struggles,

the world-altering decisions, and shocking scandals that have shaped our nation. You'll be there when the very foundations of the White House are laid in 1792, and you'll watch as the British burn it down in 1814. Then you'll hear the intimate conversations between FDR and Winston Churchill as they make plans to defeat Nazi forces in 1941. And you'll be in the Situation Room when President Barack Obama approves the raid to bring down the most infamous terrorist in American history. Order The Hidden History of the White House now in hardcover or digital edition, wherever you get your books.