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World at War Forum

Pearl Harbor: Attack, Aftermath, and Legacy: Dec. 7, 1941

The World at War Forum, in partnership with the Library, presents their inaugural meeting. Join us for a lecture and discussion about the attack on Pearl Harbor presented by Frank O'Grady.

“Air Raid Pearl Harbor. This is no drill.” This message flashed out over US Navy air waves 80 years ago on December 7, 1941. “A Day of Infamy” as famously labeled by President Franklin Roosevelt a day later when he addressed Congress and asked them to declare war on the Empire of Japan. Join The World at War Forum, a group of local amateur historians and folks interested in historical events, to examine this watershed event in American history. There will be a presentation on the attack and aftermath including investigations, conspiracy theories, and our evolving understanding of what happened and its impact. Twenty-first century analysis and scholarship will be shared along with a tribute to Admiral Kidd, a Cleveland native, killed on the USS Arizona in the opening minutes of the attack.

Questions to be asked and maybe answered include:

• Was the Japanese attack really brilliantly planned and executed?
• Were Admiral Kimmel and General Short responsible or scapegoats?
• Did FDR know the attack was coming?
• Did the Japanese blunder in not making a third attack to take out the oil tanks?
• How timely was the US response and how effective was it?
• Which movie got it right? Tora, Tora, Tora or the Ben Affleck 2001 Pearl Harbor movie?
• “What If …?” you fill in the blank!

If you want to know more about this event or you have a particular theory you want to advance, come on out for what will be a spirited program as audience involvement and participation will be encouraged.

The World At War Forum is a group of local people interested in the history of the first fifty years of the twentieth century and the cataclysmic World Wars and associated events that helped shape our current world. Following meetings will discuss a range of topics about both World War I and World War II, and other events encompassing the years generally from 1900 to 1950. More information about the World at War Forum by emailing wawfsp@gmail.com. At this time the Westlake Porter Public Library is requiring that masks be worn while attending in person events in meeting rooms.

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