The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service attacked United States military installations in the Territory of Hawaiʻi beginning at 8 a.m. on Dec. 7, 1941. Known as Operation Z during planning, the Japanese military leadership referred to the attack as the Hawaii Operation and Operation AI.

Japanese aircraft and submarines targeted numerous installation, the largest of which was the U.S. Navy’s Naval Station Pearl Harbor. Also attacked were Ford Island Naval Air Station in the middle of Pearl Harbor, Hickam Field, Bellows Field and Wheeler Field, Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, Kaneohe Naval Air Station and Ewa Marine Corps Air Station. At the time, the United States was a neutral nation in the ongoing wars in Europe and East Asia later known as World War II. Japanese forces simultaneously attacked U.S., British and Dutch bases in the Pacific.

The attack on Hawaii and other U.S. territories led the United States to formally enter World War II on the side of the Allies on Dec. 8, 1941, the day following the attack. The United Kingdom, the Dutch government-in-exile , Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras and Nicaragua also declared war on Japan on Dec. 8, 1941.

The major Axis powers, Nazi Germany, formally known as the German Reich, and Kingdom of Italy and their minor power allies, the Kingdom of Hungary, Kingdom of Romania, Tsardom of Bulgaria, Slovak Republic and the Independent State of Croatia, militarily collapsed in early 1945 following the Allies’ invasions of Italy and Normandy and major Soviet offensives in Eastern Europe. The war in Europe officially ended on May 8, 1945, with Germany’s unconditional surrender.

After U.S. and Allied forces pushed Japanese naval forces back to the Home Islands and effectively eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy as a fighting force in the Pacific, the Japanese government rejected calls to surrender in summer 1945. The U.S. Army Air Forces dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima on Aug. 6 and Nagasaki on Aug. 9, the same day the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and invaded several Japanese islands.

Japanese Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s surrender over the radio on Aug. 14, 1945, or Aug. 15, 1945, due to the international time zone difference. Aug. 15, 1945, is the official commemoration of Victory over Japan Day in the United Kingdom and British territories while the official U.S. commemoration of “V-J Day” is Sept. 2, 1945, marking the day when representatives of the Empire of Japan signed the Instrument of Surrender aboard the USS Missouri (BB-63) battleship in Tokyo Bay.

By David Isquith

edited with additional information by Christopher Fox Graham/Larson Newspapers

My uncle, Lt. Cmdr. Solomon S. Isquith, was the engineering officer and the senior officer on board the battleship USS Utah [BB-31/AG-16], a World War II battleship converted to a target ship for aerial bombing practice, when, at 8 a.m. that Sunday morning, Dec. 7, 1941, two Japanese torpedoes crashed into Utah’s port side.

In T.J. Cooper’s book, “The Men of the USS UTAH [BB-31/AG-16] The Forgotten Ship of Pearl Harbor,” he describes the torpedoing and sinking of the Utah, its rolling over, and the heroic actions of officers and crew.

Although the first U.S. Navy ship sunk by Imperial Japanese Navy torpedo bombers, the Utah sinking was overshadowed by the spectacular explosion and huge loss of life in the sinking of the USS Arizona [BB-39]. Thus, the Utah was termed the “Forgotten Ship of Pearl Harbor” by Cooper.

Like the previous Delaware-class battleships, the USS Utah and her sister USS Florida carried 10 12-inch gun in five twin, center-line turrets. Displacing 23,000 tons, Utah could make 21 knots on steam turbines.

The Utah engaged in her first combat action off Veracruz, Mexico, in April 1914, when 6,000 U.S. Marines and sailors invaded the port city and occupied it for seven months during the Mexican Revolution.

The Utah was later a convoy escort after the U.S. entered World War I in 1917. The Utah became the flagship of the Sixth Battle Squadron, ferried President Wilson to France to participate in the negotiations that led to the Treaty of Versailles and remained active after the war serving as flagship of U.S. warships in Europe until 1922.

“Her services remained in demand during the interwar period,” according to Robert Farley, of the Center for the National Interest. “In 1924, she hosted General John Pershing on a goodwill tour of South America. In 1925, she went into modernization, receiving refurbished oil-fired boilers, losing her aft cage mast, getting a suite of anti-aircraft guns, and an aircraft catapult. In 1928, she took a second cruise to South America, hosting President-elect Herbert Hoover.”

According to the terms of the London Naval Treaty of 1930, Utah was converted into a radio-controlled target ship. On 1 July 1931, Utah was redesignated from BB-31 to AG-16. All of her primary and secondary weapons were removed, though her turrets were still mounted.

The ship was modified to train anti-aircraft gunners and equipped with a new 1.1-inch (28 mm)/75 caliber anti-aircraft gun in a quadruple mount, in addition to her target duties as a bombing target for pilots and battleship gunnery crews. In April 1941, 5-inch (127 mm)/38 caliber dual-purpose guns in single mounts were installed to improve her ability to train anti-aircraft gunners.

It was early Sunday morning, Dec. 7, 1941 when the Imperial Japanese Navy struck Pearl Harbor. The attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy fighters and torpedo planes was based on the location of U.S. Navy ships at Pearl Harbor prior to our carriers putting to sea, provided by spies.

Absent Aircraft Carriers

None of the U.S. Navy’s seven active aircraft carriers were at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7.

• In order to augment the air defenses for Midway Island, USS Lexington [CV-2] departed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 5 with 18 Vought SB2U-3 Vindicators of Marine Scouting Bombing Squadron 231 aboard. Along with the heavy cruisers USS Chicago [CA-29], USS Portland [CA-33] and USS Astoria [CA-34] and five destroyers, the Lexington formed Task Force 12.
• On Dec. 7, USS Saratoga [CV-3] was just entering San Diego after an interim dry docking at Bremerton, Wash.
• USS Ranger [CV-4] was returning to Norfolk, Va., from an ocean patrol extending to Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, in the British West Indies.
• USS Yorktown [CV-5] was at Norfolk, Va.
• USS Enterprise [CV-6] departed Pearl Harbor on Nov 28 on a mission to deliver 12 Grumman F4F-3 Wildcats of Marine Fighting Squadron Two Eleven [VMF-211] to Wake Island. The Enterprise, with the accompanying three heavy cruisers and nine destroyers, comprised Task Force 8. The Marine fighters were launched on Dec. 2 when the Enterprise was 75 miles north of Wake Island. She then turned east and headed back to Pearl Harbor where she was due to arrive on Dec. 6. Due to a storm, Vice Adm. William Halsey, commander of TF 8 in Enterprise, ordered reduced speed thus delaying the carrier’s arrival at Pearl Harbor until Dec. 7.
• USS Wasp [CV-8] was at anchor in Grassy Bay, Bermuda.
• Based at Norfolk, Va., USS Hornet [CV-9] was undergoing training cruises during December 1941.
• USS Long Island [AVG-1], an auxilliary aircraft carrier, was based at Norfolk, Va.
• There were four aircraft carriers under construction: The USS Bon Homme Richard [CV-10], later named USS Yorktown after USS Yorktown [CV-5] was sunk at the Battle of Midway in June 1942; USS Intrepid [CV-11]; USS Cabot [CV-16], renamed USS Lexington after USS Lexington [CV-2] was sunk at the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942; and USS Bunker Hill [CV-17].

The USS Utah attacked

The Utah was moored at an aircraft carrier pier off Ford Island and northwest of Battleship Row and was mistaken by Japanese torpedo bombers to be an aircraft carrier, because of removal of the ship’s large guns and thick planking on Utah’s deck to absorb the shock of practice bombs.

The commander of the Japanese torpedo bombers recognized Utah’s demilitarized condition, and instructed his pilots to attack other targets. Nevertheless, six torpedo bombers initiated runs on Utah, hitting her with two torpedoes at around 8 a.m.

Fortunately, a good portion of the Utah’s crew, officers and enlisted, were on liberty and the ship’s engineering officer, Lt. Cmdr. Solomon S. Isquith was the senior officer onboard.

Isquith was a member of the U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1920 — but the class was graduated a year early due to World War I, and served in the Far East and European areas in various combatant ship types during that war.

Upon the first torpedo exploding into Utah’s side and the ship taking on water, Isquith sent the crew at Battle Stations to secure the ship and assess the damage.

When the Utah was torpedoed and started to flood, Isquith ordered the crew to abandon ship and take shelter on shore from strafing aircraft. When the crew — officers and enlisted who had not been killed in the attack — were off the ship, Isquith escaped through a porthole, as Utah keeled over.

Once clear of his ship and ashore, he organized a team of survivors and, while under fire from enemy aircraft, crossed the harbor in a small boat to ships that had “turned turtle,” or capsized, and, with an acetylene torch, cut holes in hulls to allow four trapped crew members to escape.

Only 58 of the Utah’s 417 crew members died.

For his heroism, Isquith was awarded the Navy Cross, the highest award for valor in the U.S. Navy, as well as the Purple Heart for his injuries, and was promoted to the rank of commander.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, now-Cmdr. Isquith was appointed as the base salvage officer, responsible to salvaging ships that had sunk or capsized, for which he was “written up” for the Bronze Star.

Engineers attempted to refloat the Utah, but efforts failed and the warship sank further into the water, where it remains. As it was a decommissioned warship prior to the attack, there was little military value to refloating it.

He later served on battleships and the commanding officer of several destroyers in Pacific operations.

Following Pearl Harbor, Commander Isquith served on battleships and destroyers, and commanded the destroyer, USS Tattnal [DD-125], in the Pacific operations against Japanese-held islands. He was promoted to Captain and, then to the flag ran rank of Commodore, in the troop ship USS Noble [APA-218].

He was ultimately promoted to the two-star rank of rear admiral and given the job of commander of the Brooklyn Naval Ship Yard prior to his retirement after 30 years of service.

Isquith was a major fundraiser for war bonds and the lead spokesman for the American Jewish war veterans, personally meeting with Jewish luminaries as David Ben-Gurion, founder of the State of Israel and its first prime minister of Israel.

In 1953, Rear Admiral Isquith and five other WWII and Korean War veterans, each who had been awarded their service’s highest honors for valor, were nominated by members of the U.S. Congress for an upgrade to the Congressional Medal of Honor. After seven years of review by the Board of Medals and Decorations, only one nominee, a Korean War veteran who won the Silver Star, not the Distinguished Service Medal, received the CMO.

Today, there are two war memorials at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii: One for the battleship USS Arizona [BB-39] and the other for the battleship USS Utah [BB-31/AG-16].

USS Arizona (BB 39) is the final resting place for many of the ship’s 1,177 crewmen who lost their lives on Dec. 7, 1941, in an attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service’s 1st Air Fleet on U.S. Navy’s Naval Station Pearl Harbor, headquarters of the Pacific Fleet.

Approximately 1,100 sailors and Marines remain entombed within the ship’s hull. The ship was officially decommissioned in 1942.

After the ship was sunk during the attack, significant portions were salvaged for re-use among the fleet during the war. Ammunition, armament, electric motors and large amounts of scrap metal were recovered. The final removal of material took place in 1961, in order to construct the memorial over the ship. This last portion removed came from the aft deckhouse superstructure of the ship and was brought to its final resting place on a quiet, remote parcel of land on Waipio Point located in Pearl Harbor.

The Arizona Superstructure Relic Program was developed by the Navy to address requests for pieces of USS Arizona stored on Waipio Point while it is still possible to retrieve them.

The Department of the Navy, recognizing the historical value in the superstructure, placed the removed pieces under the jurisdiction of the Naval Historical Center in Washington, D.C. — now Naval History and Heritage Command.

The Navy later notified Congress in 1994 that it intended to donate pieces of this deckhouse to qualifying organizations in accordance with federal law. To date over 150 relics pieces have been distributed through the United States as well as the Imperial War Museum in London.

Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, initiated a program to provide USS Arizona (BB 39) superstructure relic pieces to U.S. Pacific Fleet ships and submarines on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 2021, in coordination with the NHHC ASRP, designed to reinforce the importance of the Navy’s history and heritage to naval personnel aboard ships, submarines, and other commands, signified in the Arizona relic piece.

The ASRP anticipates the demand for display relics will extend beyond the CPF, to potentially include requests from all US ships, Navy commands, and the greater Department of Defense.

Courtesy Navy Region Hawaii Public Affairs Office

Sedona resident David Isquith retired from the U.S. Navy with the rank of captain after 27 years of service. Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024 is the 83rd anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that prompted the United States to enter World War II.