OUR WWII STORY: 'Shocked out of all complacency and false security'

American Legion Department of Hawaii Vice Commander A.A. Kempa submitted to national headquarters a firsthand account of the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that sent the United States into World War II. The message, from his diary, appeared in the January 1942 National Legionnaire newspaper, an edition loaded with calls to wartime action.

The publication, printed just weeks after the attack, laid out plans for American Legion posts to support the war effort – emphatically to assist with draft registration, civil defense and home-front military labor – along with support for air and sea operations.

Kempa’s message, first summarized on legion.org in December 2019, describes the confusion, reaction and implementation of martial law in the immediate aftermath of the bombing. Following is his entire account:

My wife and I were awakened about 7:30 by a far-away rumble of gunfire. We paid little attention to this other than thinking, ‘how strange for the Navy to hold target practice at this hour on Sunday morning.’ As I mulled over this, I thought to myself, ‘Lahaina Roads is a hundred miles distant – too far to hear even the biggest salvos – and the restless channel between Oahu and Molokai is no place for target practice. Surely the Navy would not hold target practice near Honolulu without previous warning.’ Gradually, the far-away rumble became a roar with frequent sharp explosions as if from rapid-fire cannons.

Suddenly we heard a shell with its strange, dying whistle pass through the air. Then I said to my wife, “Maud, this is not maneuvers.” I sprang out of bed and rushed to the radio. Sure enough, it was war! The announcer kept shouting in a nervous, breathless voice, “Pearl Harbor is being bombed. This is war, no fooling – this is not maneuvers – it is the real McCoy.” Bob (our 17-year-old son) got out my Russian field glasses (which, by the way, had once before served me on a like occasion as the Japanese pulled their sudden, unprovoked attack on Vladivostok on April 4, 1920).

Calling All Legionnaires

At 10:45 the radio was calling all Legionnaires to assemble at once at their club house on McCully street. I bade my wife and family good-bye and backed the car out into the street. Just as I did there was a terrific explosion nearby. It seemed only a block away. I'll ad- mit that last one made me shaky. But I kept going, since I knew my duty was with the Legionnaires— bombs or no bombs. As I crossed King street, another terrific explosion a few blocks to my left. Then I saw two great fires only several blocks away. One of them was the Lunalilo School. I kept going until I reached the clubhouse at the Ala Wai. There I helped organize a detail of forty men to fight the nearby fires. We jumped upon the running boards of several cars and some ran to the school, others to the corner of King and McCully, where the stores were burning rapidly.

Here from the corner drug store they carried a little girl with legs badly mangled. I think She was Japanese-American. I was told she died. There was no fire apparatus in sight. A high wind carried the flames to the rear and ewa side of the stores. The gang got to work and carried every bit of furniture – bag and baggage – from several houses. As soon as we would get one house empty, the roof would be in flames. After twenty minutes of this, one piece of fire apparatus came screaming down King Street. A nearby water main was spouting water fifty feet into the air. At least two-thirds of the block burned to the ground. The school building was saved, except for the roof and one wing.

So that was the start of that fateful Sunday for me and the fifteen hours that followed – filled with anxiety and a determination to be of utmost service in a situation where for the early moments all of us seemed as helpless children, nervously pacing about waiting for orders that did not come. Some of us went out into the streets and did what we could to help the traffic, assist the police reassure the frightened Oriental women and children, and organize small details of Legionnaires for hurry-up calls.

I was assigned as an aide to the coordinator of civilian defense, Mr. Thomas Walker. My shift was from 6 a. m. to noon. After that I went to my job at the "Y."

Six Legionnaires stayed on this job for ten days – day and night – and we had many strange duties to perform, ranging from orderly, standing long hours at the coordinator’s door, to taking care of panicky men and women. That first night I went out for two hours trying to trace blinking lights in the Kakaako district. This is a tough part of town and near the waterfront. It was a dark, drizzling night. Time and again we were challenged by soldiers or startled by the sudden crack of a rifle. The rattle of machine guns near Kewalo Basin made us turn around and hasten to the city hall, where I arrived at 12:30 a.m. The rumor spread that the Japanese were trying to make a forced landing at Kewalo Basin. This proved false. Dizzy rumors filled the air. In fact, the fear stories and rumors of the past two weeks have been of such a quality and intensity that our fair city has easily won the title of "undefeated rumor town of the USA."

Bob Does His Bit Also

But let me get back to Sunday. After 15 hours of duty, I returned home, weary, headachy, pains in my legs and too tired to sleep. I went to bed at 1:30 a. m. All night I tossed and ached – no sleep for me or for Honolulu that first night. I was proud to learn that Bob did not hold back. Chafing at the bit, he joined a group of high school boys as ambulance drivers. He was on duty for 48 hours without rest. These boys have guts and endurance when under stress and can take it. Bob served with this group all week and after that joined a gang of laborers at Wheeler Field. Maud volunteered her services as a nurse for six hours a day, but they did not call her, except to be registered and fingerprinted.

The losses have been great enough to shock all of us, and life for every man, woman and child in these beautiful islands is now different. There is a determination that this shall never happen again to us – for we shall give our all to prevent it. The public morale is the finest I have ever seen in a like crisis. Everybody wants to serve and help the other fellow – help defend our land – help to relieve the homeless and suffering – sharing to the limit with the evacuees. Hundreds of homes have been opened to the evacuees. The city is organized for total defense. And I am sure our armed forces are ready for any eventuality.,

Honolulu Is Armed Camp

Honolulu is now an armed camp. I have never seen an event change the lives of all the people of a city as quickly as did this attack. Schools are closed. Hospitals, school buildings, offices, city hall, Iolani Palace, parks, YMCAs, restaurants, buses, cars, homes, factories, ships, airlines, radio stations, newspapers, auditoriums, banks, business firms, garages, gas stations, beaches, churches, luncheon clubs, athletic organizations, civil laws, jails, policemen, doctors, dentists, lawyers, judges, executives and thousands of workmen have all suddenly been changed from the ordinary routine of peace to that of total defense.

Public buildings, streets, big utilities and plantations and every place vital to defense now are armed forts, guarded with steel helmeted soldiers and machine guns. Sandbags are piled high in front of doorways and windows of important buildings, plate glass windows downtown in every store are crisscrossed with tape; zigzag trenches and bomb shelters have been dug in front of the public library, the Palace grounds, in parks, playgrounds and nearly every open space. Householders are seen every evening and Sundays digging bomb shelters in front yards.

Martial Law in Force

Martial law is in force and M-Day is here. The commanding general of the Army is now the military governor. The courts have been taken over by the Provost-Marshal. Saloons are closed – beer and liquor banned, and crime has fallen to a low mark. Many aliens and suspects have been rounded up. Food, gas, auto parts, radios, flashlights, firearms and various defense materials are rationed and controlled.

The long, lonesome nights seemed hideous the first week, but now we are getting used to it. The city is a total blackout at night. Only those on defense jobs are allowed on the streets after dark. Autos creep along blacked out. Failure to halt or comply with a sentry’s challenge at night results in death. Yes sir, this is war, and we now find ourselves getting used to it at the end of two weeks. The people of Hawaii are united as one.

There has been some evidence of racial hatred but more are the stories of unity and loyalty and sacrifice – especially on the part of Oahu’s young Americans of Japanese parentage. Stirring tales of valor and all devotion to American ideals on the part of all races appear in the papers every day. The valor and bravery of our sailors and airmen who fought off the attackers was marvelous. And many civilians of all races here have already made themselves heroes.

No More False Security

Just as the people of these fair islands have been shocked and sorely tried by these heavy days and weeks – so, too. we hope that you who are back there in the brighter

side of the U.S. will be shocked out of all complacency and false security. We have now entered a new era of life. We need to be shocked out of our lethargic way. From now on, we must roll up our sleeves and stand together – to work and fight for the complete annihilation of this hellish totalitarianism and for a better world. The masses of America must be awakened now. The 200,000 civilians and the thousands of our forces who watched the scene I have tried to describe – yea, the thousands of dead who fought off the attackers or died without a chance under the most hellish circumstances ever inflicted upon American soil – all, I am certain, raise up their voices and cry out to you – “Wake Up. America!”