ABSTRACT
Monday morning's newspapers published the documents that told much about the origins of the conflict and even more about the state of mind of the contestants. The Mutual Broadcasting System reported a Japanese aircraft carrier sunk off the Oahu coast. In a battle of dueling claims, Japanese headquarters claimed a US aircraft carrier sunk by a Japanese submarine. There were continuing reports of a naval engagement off Oahu and confused stories of the sinking of an American, or perhaps Japanese, aircraft carrier. Washington announced damage to Army and Navy aircraft and hangars. In another report, the US fleet was portrayed as sweeping out to sea protected by clouds of airplanes as it searched for the carriers that had launched the attack. The US Navy, reported, would be operating out of Singapore to protect shipments of tin and rubber vital to the defense effort, and immediate steps would be taken to meet the threat to China's lifeline, the Burma Road.
