Description

They're Killing my Boys is a detailed combat narrative of the 7 December 1941 Japanese attacks on Hickam Field--then one of two major U.S. Army airfields on the island of O'ahu. Since the field served as a base for long-range bombers, the Japanese military desired to put Hickam out of action to prevent U.S. forces from searching for and attacking their carrier force. Typically, military historians tend to focus on the destruction sustained by the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. Although the loss of life at Hickam Field was less than that sustained by the Pacific Fleet, the attacks on the former location caused destruction and mayhem that was disastrous and wrenching. This work describes actions in the air and on the ground at the deepest practical personal and tactical level, from both the American and Japanese perspectives. Such a synthesis is possible only by pursuing every conceivable source of American documents, reminiscences, interviews, and photographs. This accumulation of data and information makes possible an intricate and highly-integrated story that is unparalleled. The interwoven nature of the narratives of both sides provides a deep understanding of the events at Hickam Field that has been impossible to present heretofore.