10 Astounding World War 2 Facts You Didn't Know

5. US Admiral Was Fired Because He Foresaw Pearl Harbor's Attack

THE UK INVADES ICELAND
U.S. Navy / Public domain

The United States was neutral in the opening stages of the war, though to be fair they were really bad at being neutral. Helping to fund the Allied war effort and sending paramilitary forces to China to help combat the Japanese invasion is generally not a 'neutral' idea.

Regardless, the US Fleet was under the command of Admiral James O. Richardson. Richardson was largely considered the perfect person to handle naval preparations in the Pacific, given that he had actually studied Japanese warfare tactics while at the naval academy and had helped design the planned defense against potential Japanese aggression in the Pacific.

It's really no surprise then, that when the higher-ups ordered the Pacific fleet to move from its traditional base in San Diego, California to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii he protested the move. He stated that placing the fleet there would leave it vulnerable.

Many believed President Roosevelt would promote the respected Admiral to be the post of Chief of Naval Operations to shut him up. In a surprising move he was, instead, demoted to Rear Admiral and put into forced retirement. 10 months later the Japanese would devastate Pearl Harbor and force the US into the war - just as Richardson warned.

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Author of Escort (Eternal Press, 2015), co-founder of Nic3Ntertainment, and developer behind The Sickle Upon Sekigahara (2020). Currently freelancing as a game developer and history consultant. Also tends to travel the eastern U.S. doing courses on History, Writing, and Japanese Poetry. You can find his portfolio at www.richardcshaffer.com.