5 DEC--This Day in US Military History

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 09:03:11 -0500

1941 – USS Lexington, one of the two largest aircraft carriers employed by the United States during World War II, departs Pearl harbor to make its way across the Pacific in order to carry a squadron of dive bombers to defend Midway Island from an anticipated Japanese attack.

Negotiations between the United States and Japan had been ongoing for months. Japan wanted an end to U.S. economic sanctions. The Americans wanted Japan out of China and Southeast Asia and Japan to repudiate the Tripartite “Axis” Pact with Germany and Italy before those sanctions could be lifted. Neither side was budging. President Roosevelt and Secretary of State Cordell Hull were anticipating a Japanese strike as retaliation-they just didn’t know where. The Philippines, Wake Island, Midway Island-all were possibilities.
American intelligence reports had sighted the Japanese fleet movement out from Formosa (Taiwan), apparently headed for Indochina. The U.S. State Department demanded from Japanese envoys explanations for the fleet movement across the South China Sea. The envoys claimed ignorance. Army intelligence reassured the president that, despite fears, Japan was most likely headed for Thailand-not the United States. The Lexington never made it to Midway Island; when it learned that the Japanese fleet had, in fact, attacked Pearl Harbor, it turned back-never encountering a Japanese warship en route or employing a single aircraft in its defense. By the time it reached Hawaii, it was December 13.

http://thisdayinusmilhist.wordpress.com/2014/12/05/december-5/

December 5

5 December 1775 – At Fort Ticonderoga, Henry Knox begins his historic transport of artillery to Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1782 - Martin Van Buren, 8th President (1837-1841) and first born in the Un...

Response by SGT Kyle Taylor made Dec 5 at 2014 9:19 AM

SGT Kyle Taylor — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 09:19:04 -0500

I really like seeing these kinds of post. Today is my sons birthday and to see what else has happen on these days is just really neat.

Response by Maj Kim Patterson made Dec 6 at 2019 11:31 PM

Maj Kim Patterson — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 23:31:36 -0500

1SG Private RallyPoint Member thank you for this little know history. Most people only know of The attacks on Pearl Harbor.