IV.
THE COMMANDING GENERAL HAWAIIAN DEPARTMENT—HIS MAJOR MISSION
A.
THE COMMANDING GENERAL
Major
General W. C. Short, USA, became Commanding General of the Hawaiian Department
in February, 1941, and was relieved December 16, 1941 (page 220). General
Marshall testified that he considered General Short a very superior officer (page 853).
Colonel
W. C. Phillips, USA, became General Short's Chief of Staff on November 5, 1941,
prior to which he had worked through the various staff sections. He
PROCEEDINGS OF
HEWITT INQUIRY 379
stated that General
Short discussed all important communications with him. He was relieved December
18, 1941 (page 477, 493).
B.
GENERAL SHORT'S MAJOR MISSION
General
Marshall said that he wrote to General Short on February 7, 1941, when General
Short took command. The reason for the letter was a conference he had had with
Admiral Stark on the inadequacy of Army equipment for the protection of Pearl
Harbor (pages 865‑6). His letter stated that Kimmel had written Stark
about it but did not realize that the Army was tragically lacking in AA
material, and that Hawaii was on a better basis than other places. The fullest
protection for the fleet, he stated, is "The rather than a major
consideration for us."
Captain Wellborn said that generally it was the Navy's view
that there was no more important commitment that the Army might have than the
defense of Pearl Harbor, but that this view appeared not to be completely
concurred in by the War Department. (p. 386)
The
Navy itself, he said, made demands for other places that made it difficult to
meet their demands for Hawaii. He was doing everything to build up the defenses
but could not perform a miracle; Short was to make this clear to Kimmel; he
was sending planes, some of which were not up to Jap speed, et cetera; he was
trying to augment the machine guns. The Navy had approached the Army for
barrage balloons and probably the first test would be in June in Hawaii.
General
Marshall's letter also stated (page 867), "The risk of sabotage and the
risk involved in a surprise raid by air and by submarine, constitute the real
peril in the Hawaiian Islands."
In
this letter he also said that Short should keep clearly in mind, "that our
mission is to protect the base and the Naval concentration, and that purpose
should be made clearly apparent to Admiral Kimmel." (Page 867.)