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America’s Disastrous “Second Pearl Harbor”
The disaster at Clark Field and how MacArthur escaped with his job
The attacks on Pearl Harbor that unfolded on December 7th were a catastrophe for the US military. The suddenness of the attack, the complete surprise attained by the Japanese, and the material damage wrought spawned a series of investigations and inquiries. Heads rolled. Many were stunned and outraged that such a thing could have happened and took the United States with such shock.
However, another attack, potentially more egregious, unfolded just nine hours later in the skies over Luzon in the Philippines. Despite having nine hours of warning regarding the military footing of the Japanese military, General MacArthur did nothing to prepare his defenses on Luzon.
When the Japanese bombers appeared over the airbase at Clark Field, the Americans on the ground were caught by surprise — again. The damage was not as catastrophic, but the unpreparedness is inexcusable. The Japanese once again had caught the US by surprise despite the previous attacks in Hawai’i. General MacArthur escaped the same level of ruinous criticism that doomed many careers at Pearl Harbor.
