This Military Service Page was created/owned by
CWO2 Philip E. Montroy
to remember
Marine BGen Bankson Holcomb Jr..
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Contact Info
Home Town Wilmington
Last Address U.S. Consulate London, England
Date of Passing Oct 05, 2000
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
BGen B. Holcomb, USMC retired in 1952. He was given a "Tombstone Promotion" to BGen upon retirement.
Other Comments:
BGen Holcomb was a cousin to Gen Thomas Holcomb, 17th CMC, and served under him from 1936-1943.
BGen Bankson Holcomb Jr., along with his friend & cohort Col. Alva Lasswell, is considered one of the "Founding Fathers" of the USMC Cryptologic Program. Like Lasswell, his career seems to have been impacted due to his years of duty with Naval Intelligence. The problems this caused didn't dampen the BGen.'s dedication or performance. He served his Corps and Country well. Holcomb, like Lasswell, blazed the trail for all of the Crypto/Signal Intelligence Marines to follow. BGen Holcomb was a great Marine Officer and a fine example for all Marines to follow.
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.