A Boy at War

1. A Boy at War A novel about Pearl Harbor by Harry Mazer

2. Who is Harry Mazer? • Harry was born in New York and grew up in the Bronx. • His family of four lived in a two-room apartment on the fourth floor. • To pass the time, he read, played games on the street, and spent a lot of time alone. • His “ladder” for writing came from encouragement from his wife who also hoped to be a writer. They bought notebooks and started writing in them every day.

3. Who is Harry Mazer? • Harry Mazer is an acclaimed author who has won numerous awards. • He has his works published in several countries, including France, Germany, and Finland. • He works collaboratively with his wife, Norma Fox Mazer, on some works.

4. Pearl Harbor Facts • Pearl Harbor is located on the island of Oahu in Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. • Pearl Harbor is mainly used for training of America’s naval forces. • Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese early on the morning of December 7, 1941. • Nearly 2400 people lost their lives due to the attack. (1,177 of these were on the Arizona.) • The attack lasted nearly two hours. • Of the 96 ships in port, the Arizona was the heaviest hit during the attack.

5. Attack on Pearl Harbor Early in the morning of December 7, 1941, Japanese submarines and carrier-based planes attacked the U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor. Nearby military airfields were also attacked by the Japanese planes.

6. Attack on Pearl Harbor Eight American battleships and 13 other naval vessels were sunk or badly damaged, almost 200 American aircraft were destroyed, and approximately 3,000 naval and military personnel were killed or wounded. The attack marked the entrance of Japan into World War II on the side of Germany and Italy, and the entrance of the United States on the Allied side.

7. Attack Map and Battleship Row

8. Pearl Harbor Trivia • The average age of the casualities was 23. • Army pilot and Lieutenant Philip Rasmussen was one of the few airmen to get airborne during the attack. He left Wheeler airfield in his P-36... wearing his pajamas. He survived an Aerial onslaught and returned to Wheeler. After the battle subsided, he counted nearly 450 bullet holes in his plane. • Dutch seamen from the passenger liner, which had arrived in Pearl Harbor at 0900, helped stave off the onslaught of Japanese aircraft, with her antiaircraft guns. The crew and passengers later continued their help by donating much needed blood for the wounded Americans.

9. Pearl Harbor Trivia • As the damaged USS Nevada made a break for the open seas, 3 survivors of the USS Arizona swam to her and were rescued. The 3 promptly requested to be assigned to man a machine gun. • In spite of the devastating air assault, the 4,500,000 gallons of fuel stored at the tank farm, survived undamaged. It was supposed to have been a priority target of the second wave of attack. • Four Japanese officers who participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor had attended college in the United States.

10. Pearl Harbor Trivia • 390 American military aircraft were based in Hawaii on December 7, 1941. Of those, 38 got airborne during the battle. 10 were shot down. Most had been destroyed on the ground. • The USS Arizona Memorial is America’s only major naval memorial to disaster and defeat. • Only those who served aboard the USS Arizona on December 7, 1941 may be interned with her. Those who served prior may have their ashes scattered above her.

11. Tears of the Arizona • The Arizona went down with between 800,000 to 1.7 million gallons of oil inside and although it burned for three days after the attack, no one knows how much fuel it still holds. • Less than 2.5 gallons of oil leak from the ship each day. Approximately 1 drop every 9 to 15 seconds.

12. Ironies of Pearl Harbor Before 7 am, the radar station at Opana Point picked up a signal indicating a large flight of planes approaching from the north. These were thought to be either aircraft flying in from the carrier USS Enterprise or an anticipated flight of B-17s from the mainland, so no action was taken.