A Boy At War By Harry Mazer

A Boy At War By Harry Mazer - Transcript

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Attack Map and Battleship Row

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 B­17s from 
the mainland, so 
no action was 
taken.