Like much of the United States, Cape Cod was touched in many ways by the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, which opened the door for our country’s entrance into World War II.
Following the disaster at the Hawaiian base, the military went through a quick overhaul of its high command in the Pacific, reaching out to a Cape Cod regular. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, a summer resident of Wellfleet, was appointed as as Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and Commander in Chief of Pacific Ocean Areas, commanding Allied air, land, and sea forces.
Nimitz was described by the Dec. 11, 1941 edition of the Provincetown Advocate as being “much admired by those who have come in contact with him” in Wellfleet.
While the promotion of Nimitz, who was the United States' last surviving officer who served in the rank of fleet admiral, was an eye opener for the locals, many others awaited word from the Pacific about their loved ones’ fates.
For many, the news was tragic.
According to the Dec. 11, 1941 edition of the Chatham Monitor, Cape Cod’s first soldier to die in the attack was Pvt. Robert S. (“Scotty”) Brown, 26, of Chatham. Brown served on an Army bomber plane as a bombardier. He was killed at Hickam Field, Pearl Harbor.
Others lost included Lt. Commander Clarance Bowley of Provincetown, who was killed on the U.S. Destroyer Phelps, and Capt. Lewis H. Delano and Howard Delano, both of Orleans, on the U.S.S. Minneapolis.
Mrs. Arthur Cobb of Truro received more positive news. Her son, Major Richard Cobb, sent a telegram to his mother that he was stationed at McClellan Field in Calif. after returning from Pearl Harbor.
“In his message Major Cobb said that his wife and child, who live near Hickam Field, Pearl Harbor, are safe and that the residential district was unharmed by Japanese bombs,” the Advocate reported.
Sales of U.S. Defense Bonds increased at the Hyannis Post Office the week after the attack. Postmaster E. Thomas Murphy said that 38 Defense Bonds, valued at $4,875, were sold. Sales were boosted by posters, featuring Santa Claus and the words, “This year give a share in America,” posted everywhere, including on Page 1 of the Monitor.
Over at Camp Edwards, Jack Johnson was covering the war preparation for the Monitor. He reported that civilians weren’t allowed in the camp “without a definite mission,” and a system had been worked out for meeting an attack on the base, with soldiers being trained how to spread out their trucks to avert damage from a bombing raid.
“The new spirit of the men, the smooth functioning of fighting equipment and thorough discipline from the officers in command gives the civilian observer a definite feeling of confidence,” Johnson wrote. “Devotion and loyalty to country … are more than mere oratorical words out there today.”
Photo: Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, left, shown here at Pearl Harbor in 1942, was placed in command of the Pacific Fleet following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. Nimitz was a summer resident of Wellfleet and was “much admired by those who have come in contact with him there,” according to the Provincetown Advocate. [U.S. NAVY PHOTO]
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