Book review: 'The Other Pearl Harbor' tells lesser-known story

"THE OTHER PEARL HARBOR: The Army Air Corps & Its Heroes on December 7, 1941," by John Martin Meek, Tate Publishing & Enterprises, $14.99, 219 pages (nf)

Many people are aware of the devastating attacks on naval forces the day of the deadly attacks on American forces at Pearl Harbor, but there are aspects to the story that are less well-known, even 70 years after the attack occurred. One aspect that seems to be rarely discussed regarding that day is the attacks that occurred on Army Air Corps troops at air fields all over Oahu and those troops’ reaction to the attacks.

Tasked with protecting the Navy ships stationed at Pearl Harbor, the 47th Pursuit Squadron is where author John Martin Meeks concentrates his efforts in the new book “The Other Pearl Harbor: The Army Air Corps & Its Heroes on December 7, 1941.” As Meeks points out in his writing, this squadron was home to two bona fide American heroes — heroes whose stories and lives are often forgotten by most Americans when discussing what happened that Sunday in 1941.

“The Other Pearl Harbor” specifically tells the stories of lieutenants George Welch and Kenneth Taylor, who were two of only 14 American pilots credited with being in the air during the attacks by the Japanese forces.

According to records from that time, Welch and Taylor were awakened by low-flying planes and machine gun fire. They took it upon themselves to drive from Wheeler Air Field to Haleiwa Field, where their planes were kept for training exercises, and joined the battle without having received any direct orders from superior officers to do so.

The pilots were the first to register any enemy kills and were at the time credited with downing a total of six planes (Welch with four and Taylor with two; new information and research credits both pilots with four kills each).

Because of their actions against an armed enemy, the two lieutenants were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and designated as the first two heroes of World War II by the U.S. War Department.

Both pilots were also recommended for the Medal of Honor, but didn’t receive the award because of the fact that they had entered the battle without orders to do so.

Written in “the creative nonfiction style used by Truman Capote (in) ‘In Cold Blood’ and many other literary works,” the author follows the two pilots on a day-by-day journey beginning a week before the attacks, then culminating in the pilots’ actions on the “day which will live in infamy.”