did radar malfunction at pearl harbor?

my wife and i took our 11-yr-old son to oahu, hawaii at the end of january.

one of our visits was to the USS Arizona memorial

at pearl harbor. aside from being moved to tears during the movie presentation they show just before boarding the US Navy boat that takes you to the actual memorial across the harbor, i took note of one of the displays in the museum.

in the midst of displays of highlighting sporting events on board the Arizona, maps of the Japanese fleet’s route, models of the ship before and after it was hit in its ammunition hold (and sank 9 minutes later), i took note of a display that detailed perhaps the one device that could have prevented the entire tragedy.

there was actually a functioning radar array on oahu. and…it actually worked! (isn't this where oliver stone signs on?) two operators, joe lockard and george elliott, had seen the Japanese planes approaching as early as 7 am. (bombs started falling at about 8 am).

according to http://crm.cr.nps.gov/archive/15-8/15-8-2.pdf :

“Elliot and Lockard reported their findings to the temporary information center at Fort Shafter. Since this report came in after the designated watch time (4-7 a.m.), the information center staff had already gone. On duty that morning was Lt. Kermit Tyler, a pilot with the 78th Pursuit Squadron, stationed at Wheeler Field, HI, and a telephone operator. Lt. Tyler had been on duty since 4 a.m. and this was only his

second time at the Information Center. After receiving Lockard’s report, Tyler reasoned that the radar blip was a flight of Army B-17 bombers due in that morning [from California]. Tyler instructed the Opana Radar operations to disregard the information and ‘not to worry about it.’

For most observers, the most immediate lesson of this history is the story of the first operational use of radar by the United States in wartime.

The failure to warn the Army command in Hawaii on the morning of December 7, 1941, was not a failure of the technology as much as it was a failure of organization. The use of radar was not fully incorporated into an integrated air defense system. While the technology of radar functioned, as intended, and detected the incoming planes, there was no way to accurately assess the information and communicate this knowledge to those in command. The Army aircraft remained on the ground and Army high command did not learn about the Opana radar sightings until after the attack.”

in addition to being fascinating history (especially military history), it’s compelling in a personal-application-kind-of-way. more on that to follow…watching election returns (oh, boy!)

ok, so super tuesday is over now (by a week, i know, i know).

i guess one of the most obvious things is this: we have a very real enemy that not only has a real desire to destroy us, but he has a very real plan to do so. peter calls him a lion, Jesus names him

a thief, john the apostle calls him the destroyer. i used to think his biggest goal was to make my life miserable by causing all kinds of problems to crop up in my life - problems like finances, health, leaky toilets (actually, pretty much leaky anything!). the sufferings of job come to mind.

however, the longer i walk with the Lord, the more i think his plan is not just to cause problems & misery, but to distance me & alienate me from the Heavenly Father. truly it rains on the just and the unjust; and Jesus promised us trouble in this life. pain and suffering are pretty much inevitable, but distance from God is optional - and the option is all ours! satan's plan is to whisper doubt, anger, bitterness in the midst of life's problems - an attempt to keep us from drawing near & depending on the Lord. wasn't that the essence of job's temptation as well? "forget [curse] God & die." perhaps that's the essence of distance! so, don't be surprised by life bumps & bruises. the destroyer wants to use them to increase distance between us and the Lord; but the Lord want to use them to draw us to Himself. how cool is that!?

i also note that the primary failure was not with the radar apparatus that december 7. it was with the interpretation of the data that the radar provided. it was so new - very few people knew what to do with it or what to make of it. but with time & training, our armed forces now rely very heavily on radar & what it tells us.

perhaps the time and continued training we need in this area is in how our heart (the radar) is to work in conjuction w/ the Holy Spirit (interpretation of data). paul says to let the peace of Christ rule (kind of like an umpire) in our hearts (col. 3:15). rom. 12:1,2 indicates that it's by continually renewing our minds (& not letting the world dictate its brand of truth to us) that we'll know what His good, perfect & pleasing will is. isaiah says we'll hear a voice telling us to go to the right or to the left (isa. 30:21). the key is having the courage to act on what our radar is picking up - calling or writing someone that may be hurting, sharing with someone we might see everyday, helping someone with a project, etc. obedience to the Spirit's still small voice begets having a growing understanding of what He's leading us to do. the more we say yes to His leading the more clearly we'll hear His voice.

one last thought on pearl harbor, at least for now...;) one of the biggest mistakes of the japanese & therefore one our biggest blessings is that they missed the opportunity to bomb the fuel reserves (billions of gallons!). according to eyewitness to history.com

Although stunned by the attack at Pearl Harbor, the Pacific Fleet's aircraft carriers, submarines and, most importantly, its fuel oil storage facilities emerged unscathed. These assets formed the foundation for the American response that led to victory at the Battle of Midway the following June and ultimately to the total destruction of the Japanese Empire four years later.

had they bombed just one of the many "sitting duck" fuel tanks the entire fuel reserves for the pacific fleet would have gone up in smoke and would have taken years & years to replenish. clearly, the outcome of the war would have looked vastly different. we were victorious as quickly as we were because we had fuel to strike back.

our fuel as believers is just as essential and critical. what is the fuel that will keep us functioning even in the face of a full-on assault? paul knew a thing or two about this and said in 2 cor 5:12-14:

For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; or if we are of sound mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; ^ and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

paul says it's the love of Christ that is the fuel that continues to compel us even when we should be losing our minds! but isn't our love of Christ somewhat vulnerable? (it shouldn't be but it is). it's vulnerable to our moods, our circumstances, our fatigue, our present comfort, etc.

but wait, paul is indicating that it's not our love of Christ, but it's His love for us that compels! and you know, that a storage facility that is unassailable!!!! His love is eternal! His love is unconditional! His love never fails! i am so glad that the fuel that can keep me & you going, compelling us on in life is His love for us, not our love for Him!

you are so loved! and it's the cross that shows that love. "One died for all." you and i are part of that "all." Jesus died in your place - grab a hold of that love, receive it, embrace it, jump up and down because of it - for that's the fuel that will keep you going - no matter what you're going through today!