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"CARLSON, VERNON L. (Ole): Vernon Lyman Carlson was born at Havre, MT on 8 January 1922 and passed over on 14 October 2003. The family moved to Vista,CA in 1931. He graduated Vista, CA High School in June 1940, enlisting that month in the US Marine Corps. He was in the Detachment of Marines, USS West Virginia when she was sunk at Pearl Harbor on 7 Dec.'41. Subsequent assignments included the defense of Midway; training mortarmen at then Camp Elliot, CA; 1st Prov. Marine Brigade, Guadalcanal, preparing to invade Guam; the Guam Operation; Okinawan Operation with the Sixth Marine Division, then to China with the same Division disarming Japanese military. "Ole" was honorably separated from the USMC on 17 Jun.'46. He attended San Diego State College for one year then transferred to the Univ. of Montana at Bozeman, MT. He married Belma (Peggy) Brown, a former USMC Aux. in '48, graduating with a degree in Civil Engineering in June '50. His career in that field took him to many places. Knoxville, TN; the Arabian nation of Aden; Kuwait; France; Mexico; Libya; El Cajon, CA; Philippines; Thailand; Vietnam; and Moffat, CA to name a few. He retired to Alabama, the home State of Peggy who passed over three months before he succumbed to a series of strokes. They had no children. His survivors are brothers Carsten D. Carlson of San Marcos, CA and Charles R.(Ole II) Carlson of Sultan, WA, sister Sarah E. Jones of Ridgecrest, CA and several nieces and nephews. His ashes were placed in a niche at the Cemetery, Fort Rosecrans, CA where his father, PFC Charles A. Carlson, (France, WWI, US Army Signal Corps Air Service) has rested since October '60. A memorial service and military honors were provided by the USMCRD, San Diego at Fort Rosecrans Cemetery on 9 January 2004.
Central Pacific Campaign (1941-43)/Attack on Pearl Harbor
From Month/Year
December / 1941
To Month/Year
December / 1941
Description The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941 (December 8 in Japan). The attack led to the United States' entry into World War II.
The attack was intended as a preventive action in order to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions the Empire of Japan was planning in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States. There were simultaneous Japanese attacks on the U.S.-held Philippines and on the British Empire in Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
From the standpoint of the defenders, the attack commenced at 7:48 a.m. Hawaiian Time. The base was attacked by 353 Japanese fighters, bombers and torpedo planes in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers. All eight U.S. Navy battleships were damaged, with four being sunk. All but one were later raised, and six of the eight battleships were returned to service and went on to fight in the war. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer. 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed; 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were wounded. Important base installations such as the power station, shipyard, maintenance, and fuel and torpedo storage facilities, as well as the submarine piers and headquarters building (also home of the intelligence section) were not attacked. Japanese losses were light: 29 aircraft and five midget submarines lost, and 65 servicemen killed or wounded. One Japanese sailor was captured.
The attack came as a profound shock to the American people and led directly to the American entry into World War II in both the Pacific and European theaters. The following day (December 8), the United States declared war on Japan. Domestic support for non-interventionism, which had been strong, disappeared. Clandestine support of Britain (e.g., the Neutrality Patrol) was replaced by active alliance. Subsequent operations by the U.S. prompted Germany and Italy to declare war on the U.S. on December 11, which was reciprocated by the U.S. the same day.
Years later several writers alleged that parties high in the U.S. and British governments knew of the attack in advance and may have let it happen (or even encouraged it) with the aim of bringing America into war. However, this Pearl Harbor advance-knowledge conspiracy theory is rejected by mainstream historians.
There were numerous historical precedents for unannounced military action by Japan. However, the lack of any formal warning, particularly while negotiations were still apparently ongoing, led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to proclaim December 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy".
Due to the fact the attack happened without a declaration of war and without explicit warning, the attack on Pearl Harbor was judged by the Tokyo Trials to be a Japanese war crime.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
December / 1941
To Month/Year
December / 1941
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories Was a Marine aboard the BB West Virginia on 7 December 1941. He informed the family by telegram after the attack... 'Japs came by and broke my whiskey. I'm OK'
