I notice that nobody has posted a Pearl Harbor Day story, which seems odd to me. So I offer my slightly off-topic ruminations:
65 years ago today, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Roosevelt said it was an attack that would live in infamy.
Perhaps not coincidentally, but certainly less consequentially, it was 19 years ago this month that I moved into an old building on Schofield Barracks that still bore the fist-sized pock-marks of Japanese strafing runs on Wheeler Field. Wheeler Field (in 1941) was an Army Air Corps field. The Japanese destroyed the runway, then the planes, to insure that no one from the inland Air Corp installation would be able to get a plane in the air. They destroyed the airfield, a quadrant of barracks buildings on Schofield, and damaged a number of other buildings and equipment, before joining the rest of their squadron over Pearl Harbor.
It was also a day that would shape the future of our country and the future of the entire globe. The ensuing war changed America’s role in the world, and it also changed the nature of humanity.
Pre-war technology was the result of a steady progression of human development – mostly a repeated adaptation of knowledge and techniques going back to ancient times.
Post-war technology was truly revolutionary. Just the metallurgical advances alone made during those few short years, 1941 to 1945, changed the world.
As a single example, take the electric motor and its construction and use. Before the war, power to run several factory machines was usually supplied by a single, large, heavy-framed electric motor. Power from the motor was distributed by a system of pulleys and leather belts to each machine. Each machine had to have an individual operator who was responsible not only for making sure the product went through the machine properly, but also adjusted, shifted, or removed the power transmission system.
The motors were incredibly expensive, and the bearing surfaces for both the motor and pulley shafts were made of a soft metal substance called babbitt. (If you want to see this kind of pre-war setup in action, drop by the machine shop on Flat Street.) The more work the motor or pully shaft was expected to do, the bigger the bearings had to be.
But the military, and the defense industry, needed motors (whether electric or liquid fuel propelled) that were light, fast, and reliable. They needed ball-bearings.
Ball-bearings were in use well before the beginning of the war, but they weren't particularly reliable, nor were they suitable for heavy-duty applications. But by the end of the war, advancements in metallurgy and technology allowed mass production of small, sealed, hard-wearing ball-bearing units – which allowed the production of cheaper, smaller electric motors – the kind that can be used to run a single machine more efficiently. The improvement in electric motor building allowed more automation, reduced the size of machines – allowing more machines to fit on the factory floor, and reduced factory downtime. When a motor broke, only one machine went down and, instead of repairing the motor on the spot, it could be exchanged for a new or reconditioned one. The result was an explosion of production and economic vitality for the country.
The improvement in electric motors is one of thousands and thousands of other small but important advances that the attack on Pearl Harbor triggered. Taken together, they have had an earth-shaking effect on our society. It isn’t the point of this story, but it has recently been noted that the length of the war in Iraq has surpassed World War II. What advances in technology or society has this war triggered? Why?
Here’s an excellent website detailing the events of December 7
http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/pearlharbor/
A fascinating account from a Japanese perspective
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/pearl2.htm
Wikipedia has an excellent entry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor
Wheeler Field:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/aviation/whe.htm
-Maus