e possibility of attacking Pearl Harbor was not some bogus idea thought up by a paranoid sailor. Henry L. Stimson, the United States Secretary of War, in a report giving in the Joint Committee on Investigating Pearl Harbor said, We had spent several million dollars in defense of HawaiiThat Hawaii could be attack if Japan went to war was obvious to everyoneThere was a certain part of the pacific Ocean that we called the "Vacant Sea" in which there were practically no ships and in which larger movements of ships could occur without anybody seeing them. Stimsons above statement should have made Pearl Harbor even more alert and prepared. However, they seemed more relaxed and unconcerned with the present danger than ever with General Short in command.One thing Short did that helped make things easier for Japan was keeping the planes in tight formation while they were grounded. He might as well have placed and painted them like a bulls eye to help the Japanese practice aiming skills. Short said that the reason the planes were packed so close was to help protect against sabotage. (Pearl Harbor Show) Again this only seems to be encouraging damage to navy equipment because if one was to blow up one plane, the explosion and shrapnel would also hurt the planes nearby as well. Another thing Short did was keep his antiaircraft ammunition so stored that it could not be promptly and immediately available. Short also set up certain times in which the radar was to be used. For example, the radar was to be turned off after 7:00 am. This seems to be especially senseless and ignorant. The radar can detect things farther and better than the naked eye. By having the radar off during daylight hours, valuable time is wasted from when the radar would see planes to when the gaurds eye does. This time could be spent warning the sailors and letting them get to their battle stations. On the morning of December 7th the radar was left on a little bit ...
