Page Two of Two
Award Reccomendation of Commander VP-14 with synopsis of report of PBY 14-P-1 regarding the sinking of a Japanese Miniature Submarine at the entrance to Pearl Harbor, and also a briefer synopsis of the report of PBY-14-2 regarding the attack upon that plane by planes of the Japanese Pearl Harbor strike force.
Curator's Additional Notes, 9/1/02: Note that this report indicates the belief of the reporting officer, subsequently becoming the belief of the United States Navy and Government, that this was the first combat between Japanese and American forces in World War Two, and that the US forces had sunk the Jap Sub, meaning the US had struck the first blow, rather than the Japanese, in self defense of course. Skeptics have always doubted this, particularly that the miniature sub was sunk. In August 2002, the Japanese miniature submarine was found off the entrance of Pearl Harbor on the bottom with a shell hole from the Ward's gun in the submarine's Conning Tower. This verfies the story and the sinking, though whether or not the depth charge dropped by Ensign Tanner is not yet clear at this time. But it is clear, however, is that this is in some ways, the Shot that Began the Pacific War.
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