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National Archives Photo 80-G-279375
Ford Island, seen on 10 October 1941from much the same angle as Japanesebomber pilots viewed it on 7 December.
1
Infamous Day:
Marines at Pearl Harbor
by Robert J. Cressman and J. Michael Wenger
On the afternoon of 6December 1941, TaiSing Loo, the colorfulPearl Harbor NavyYard photographer, arrangedwith Platoon SergeantCharles R. Christenot, the noncommissioned-officer-in-chargeof theMain Gate at the Navy Yard, to havehis Marines pose for a photographbetween 0830 and 0930 Sundaymorning, in front of the new concretemain gate. The photo was to be fora Christmas card.
As war clouds gathered over thePacific basin in late 1941, the UnitedStates Pacific Fleet operated, as ithad since May 1940, from Pearl Harbor.While the security of that fleetand for the island of Oahu lay in theArmy’s hands, that of the Navy Yardand the Naval Air Stations at PearlHarbor and Kaneohe Bay lay in thehands of Marines. In addition, onboard the fleet’s battleships, aircraftcarriers, and some of its cruisers, Marinesprovided security, served as orderliesfor embarked flag officers andships’ captains, and manned secondaryantiaircraft and machine gunbatteries—seagoing duties familiar tothe Corps since its inception.
The Marine Barracks at Pearl Harborcomprised a Barracks Detachmentand two companies, A and B,the men living in a comfortablethree-story concrete barracks. CompanyA manned the main gates at theSubmarine Base and Navy Yard, andother “distant outposts,” providingyard security, while Company B enforcedtraffic regulations and maintainedproper police and order underthe auspices of the Yard PoliceOfficer. In addition, Marines ran theNavy Yard Fire Department. Elementsof Marine defense battalionsmade Pearl Harbor their home, too,residing in the several 100-man temporarywooden barracks buildingsthat had been completed during 1940and 1941. Less commodious but noless important was the burgeoningairbase that Marines of Marine AircraftGroup (MAG) 2 (later 21) hadhewn and hammered out near BarbersPoint—Ewa Mooring Mast Field,home for a Marine aircraft groupconsisting of fighting, scout-bombing,and utility squadrons.
On 27 November, having been privyto intelligence informationgle