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
  Americas 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 Americas 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.