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Last year’s 75th anniversary of the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor brought international attention and a full slate of commemorative events to mark the occasion and honor those killed and the few remaining survivors.
Led by military affairs reporter William Cole and design and concept director Michael Rovner, a team of Honolulu Star-Advertiser staff writers, designers, photographers and editors produced a comprehensive 88-page special edition on the world-changing event and its place in history.
“Our intent was to be very thorough in telling the arc of Dec. 7: What preceded it, what happened on that day and what followed,” Cole said.
Due to overwhelming reader response, the Star-Advertiser and Mutual Publishing have repackaged the special edition, with additional material, in a new book, “Remember Pearl Harbor: The Attack that Plunged America into World War II.” The large-format, 159-page volume, whose official publication date is Monday, contains 270 photos, maps, illustrations and other graphics.
The book’s design organizes the content into colorfully and poignantly illustrated vignettes on a variety of subjects and perspectives. These range from the fate of individual ships to eyewitness accounts from civilian and service members and overviews of the salvage and reconstruction process.
Asked if “Remember Pearl Harbor” provides a uniquely Hawaii perspective, Cole said: “Absolutely. I think that comes through eyewitness accounts, each of which offers a different glimpse into the horror of that day, and it’s in their own words.” Included are several reminiscences from local people who witnessed the attacks as schoolchildren.
The book also examines the ongoing controversy as to whether President Franklin D. Roosevelt knew about the attack ahead of time, and provides a detailed look at the saga of the radar operators in Kahuku who called in a report of incoming aircraft and were told not to worry about them.
But apportioning blame is not so simple, Cole said.
“There was gross arrogance on the part of the U.S., a disbelief that Japan would attack the U.S. in Hawaii,” he said.
“Remember Pearl Harbor” culminates with accounts of a Dec. 7, 2016, dinner for survivors and other veterans of the war, and of rites of reconciliation conducted when President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met at the USS Arizona Memorial on Dec. 27.
The book is available for $25 at Barnes &Noble, the USS Missouri and Bowfin museums; $18 if ordered directly from mutualpublishing.com.