Mrs. Gunn's Diary: Jan. 25, 1942

Admiral, lieutenant general blamed for Pearl Harbor by presidential commission

“Today we have the report about Pearl Harbor,” Mrs. Gunn wrote. Indeed, the headlines about the findings of the Roberts Commission, headed by Associate Supreme Court Justice Owen J. Roberts, were splashed across the front pages of the nation’s newspapers, with excerpts of the 50-page report running in the Evening Star. Paid subscribers can read about how blame was assigned and the consequences for the commanding officers.

“Went to church today for the first time in several weeks,” she continued. “Ross Sr. is so tired he doesn’t feel like anything except sleep.” Her husband, a physicist working for the U.S. Navy, was doubtless working 20 hours a day!

The photo above, from the National Archives via Wikimedia Commons, shows the explosion of the USS Shaw during the Japanese attack on Dec. 7.