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Accuracy in Review

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In Accuracy in Review, I look through books, films and games (concerning World War 2 in Asia and the Pacific) and check them for historical accuracy and whether they are worth reading, watching or playing

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Say Again: The American President knew about the Pearl Harbor attack in advance!

Attack on Pearl Harbor, as depicted in the game Order of Battle Everyone loves a good conspiracy theory, as they seem to grant secret knowledge to its adherents and allow them to defend their deeply-held paradigms. In this post, I will examine the claim that the American government knew about the incoming Pearl Harbor attack in December 1941, and did not warn the base there. This conspiracy claimed that this would allow the American government to garner support for direct entry into World War 2 in a time where they were isolationist. Discussion point 1: Discouraging attack The first point is that the odds were against the Japanese. Hawaii is more than 6000 km away from Japan (in a time when the maximum range of ships was about 4000 km). The Japanese had to refuel their ships halfway on choppy waters. Radio silence had to be observe to reduce the chance of the Americans from detecting them. It was agreed among the Japanese naval command that if there were signs that the Americans knew t

Relics of War: St Andrew's Cathedral

Located in the heart of Singapore, St Andrew's Cathedral was declared a national monument of Singapore in 1973. Serving an Anglican congregation, few people know that this church has a storied history during World War 2. During World War 2 As bombs reached Singapore shores in December 1941, the church turned into a temporary hospital by the Australian Field Ambulances. Despite the continued Japanese bombing of Singapore, the church remained largely intact. As Singapore fell to the Japanese on 15 February 1942, the Bishop of Singapore John Leonard Wilson proceeded with holding a service at the cathedral. They fully expected that this would be the last service held in Japanese-occupied Singapore. Bishop Wilson, like many Caucasians prisoners-of-war were rounded up and interned in Changi camp. However, he and some clergy were released within the week. Andrew Ogawa In some fortunate twist, Andrew Ogawa, a Japanese appointed to be the Director of Education and Officer in Charge of Rel

War Stories: The Niihau Incident

Niihau Island, where the incident took place Shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack, some Japanese Americans in Hawaii defected to help aid a wounded Imperial Japanese pilot attempt an escape. This shocked the Americans as these Japanese Americans had not shown any previous loyalty to Imperial Japan. This event would be known as the Niiahu Incident. Straight after Pearl Harbor After the Pearl Harbor attack on 7 December 1941, Japanese pilot Shigenori Nishikaichi crashed landed on Niihau Island. Niihau Island was believed to be uninhabited and therefore was designated as a safe area to land if the pilots could not return to their carriers. Little did Nishikaichi know that actually the island had a population of 136, and most of them were native Hawaiians who spoke mainly Hawaiian. Due to its isolation, the Hawaiians on Niihau did not know about the attack on Pearl Harbor, and treated Nishikaichi respectfully. As a precaution, they disarmed Nishikaichi, took his papers and put him unde

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