Eagle Maung Maung - A Day in Pearl Harbor

Monica, a young Army nurse, and Barney, a young Coast Guard artillery officer, left the Pearl Harbor Officers' Club together. They walked down a narrow alleyway near the sycamore trees and arrived at the club's dock. There, they paused to watch the motorboats ferrying sailors back and forth to the anchored warships.

The two are already engaged, and everything is in order for them to get married sooner or later.

The silence of the night hides the large factories, the powerful cranes, and the vast objects, large and small, of the U.S. Navy's vast Hawaiian base. The noisy noises of the midday sun are completely gone. Only beauty remains. The soft, melodious music drifting from the silver moonlit club, the bright lights of the Pacific Fleet spreading out over Pearl Harbor... Only this beauty remains.

In fact, there were even more lights on tonight than usual, because it was the first time in a week since the Fourth of July that warships had been docked in Pearl Harbor.

As usual, warships would rotate in and out. For example, Admiral Pierre would be accompanied by six battleships as a strike force, or Admiral Hasley would be led by three aircraft carriers as a strike force. They would rotate in and out in this way.

These days, General Pierre's ships are in port, and it is the turn of General Hasley's ships to travel abroad. However, General Hasley is somewhere on a special mission, and his ships have to be docked at Pearl Harbor.

A secret 'war warning' had been received from Washington. It stated that Japan was expected to attack "the Philippines, Thailand, or the Kara Peninsula or the Tonoy Islands." The battleship Enterprise had therefore set out to reinforce the landing force towards Waitakere. In fact, the presence of the battleships slowed the advance of the entire attack force from 30 to 17 knots. Moreover, the attack by battleships alone, without the protection of the large carriers, was very dangerous. Now, the only aircraft carrier, the Lexicon, was transporting aircraft to Midway Island, and all the warships were gathered in the safety of Pearl Harbor.

With so many warships moored in the harbor, the officers' club was even more crowded and cheerful than usual.

Monica and Barney returned to the club and sat down with their friends. One of them suggested that they call Captain Sylvester. It turned out that Captain Sylvester was having dinner tonight, about 8 miles downriver from Honolulu.

Monica called Sylvester, leaving her friends behind and accusingly asking him if he should go alone like this. This was a common practice among young people who often followed each other from one place to another after dark. However, this time, following him was a surprise. Because tonight was the last night for the young captain Sylvester.

After finishing her phone call, Monica returned to the dance floor and joined in. The dance was a traditional Dutch dance, and everyone danced in a circle. Along with this dance, the entire club was bustling with private parties where high and low officials invited their friends and entertained them.

"Colonel Maung Gomari and his wife are officers of Pearl Harbor."

A reception is being held at the club....”

"Navy Admiral Mr. Harold and his wife, Pearl Harbor Officer

"Dinner at the club."

The advertising clerk at the Sunday "Advertiser" in Honolulu is scrambling to type up the above news item for the social column in the next morning's newspaper.

The night was really fun. But there was no need to get drunk and have fun, the bar always closed at 12 o'clock. The music of the band was also getting softer and softer. This band's favorite song "Smiling Little Girl" has been playing for more than forty years. This place, this place is a very traditional place in this area. The building is made of plywood and upholstered in imitation leather, and it is not modern, but old-fashioned, and it is in the same style as other official clubs.

But this club is cheap. A meal costs only one dollar. And there is camaraderie. Because of these clubs, on that day (December 6, 1941), the Navy

It almost seems like no one knows everyone.

Twelve miles from here, General Wilson, who commanded the 24th Infantry Brigade, was having a similar evening of fun at the Officers’ Club at Scofield Barracks. The Saturday night dance at the club was even more fun and lively than usual, not least because the men of the 24th and 25th Brigades had returned from a week of hard field training, but also because the famous dancer Inezla was to entertain them with her songs and dances. This was no ordinary evening of entertainment. It was a real spectacle, held only once a year, and, as Brigadier General Wilson cheerfully put it, “a selection of the most beautiful girls in the area.”

This event was just a fun song and dance performance, and it might have been a bit boring. However, it was a fundraiser, so everyone, including General Walter Shaw, the commander-in-chief of the entire Hawaiian military district, supported the event.

In fact, General Shaw was late to the party tonight. This was because he and his intelligence officer, Lieutenant Colonel Fielder, were just about to leave for the party when the telephone rang. The person on the other end of the line was Lieutenant Colonel T. Knell, a counterintelligence officer. He was telling the generals something of interest.