Rick Thompson
Screenwriter
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2008
- Messages
- 1,866
Regarding the "watching an air show," that was actually quite accurate. I was present at an interview of retired Capt. Joseph Taussig, who was officer of the deck aboard USS Nevada on December 7, 1941 (he was then an ensign). When the first Japanese plane dropped its torpedo, he said his reaction was, "It will be interesting to watch them dig that out." Everyone on the bridge knew Pearl Harbor was too shallow for torpedoes and so it would get stuck in the mud; the salvage work would be interesting to watch. Of course, the Japanese had solved that problem. Within seconds, said Taussig, "I saw the meatballs on the wings and it was like a kaleidoscope -- everything happened at once."Robert Harris said:As the planes fly low over military buildings, battleships, aircraft carriers, etc. our presumed idiot military appears to be watching an air show. These are Japanese planes! Two officers suggest that for flying low they should be reported. "Get that fellas number!" The leader of a military band just continues on, finally realizing that something might be up, and has the band play faster, just before bullets and bombs fly.
RAH
As for the national anthem, two notes: (a) morning (and evening) colors and the anthem are taken VERY seriously on military bases, and (b) musicians follow the conductor and don't stop until the conductor stops them. The combination of military and musical discipline were much in evidence. They wouldn't stop until the job was done.
And yes, that last quote is a Hollywood invention (director Fleischer admits his authorship in the supplement documentary), but it is a quote that Yamamoto would have totally agreed with. He was completely against war with the U.S., and was later appalled to learn that the declaration of war had followed the attack, not preceded it. He knew that, indeed, "nothing could infuriate the Americans more."