December 7, 1941 will forever be one of the most memorable dates in American history. The attack on Pearl Harbor, a preemptive assault to prevent the U.S Pacific Fleet from entering the War in the Pacific, began at exactly 7:48 a.m. Over 350 Japanese fighter planes destroyed 188 U.S aircraft, 4 naval battleships, and killed 2,402 Americans, as well as wounding 1,282 others. At this point WWII had been going on for nearly two years, and the United States had been maintaining its isolationist policy to avoid becoming involved in another world war. The following day, December 8th, the United States declared war on Japan.
Niles W. Bond was a consular officer in Yokohama, Japan from 1940-1942 and was there during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Bond and the other American diplomats were then confined to the U.S. embassy by the Kempeitai or Military Police Corps, a secret police similar to the German Gestapo. Here, Bond recounts what life was like during his internment and describes the frantic attempts to burn important U.S. documents, including the code book, playing baseball with the guards, and the food they ate (which ranged from cat to meals prepared by a Swiss hotel), and their eventual release in Mozambique several months later in an exchange of “enemy aliens.” You can read other stories from World War II, including how U.S diplomats were treated by the Gestapo. Read Robert Fearey’s account of the failed attempt to avert war with Japan.
