Chapter II: Historical Record

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a historical context for World War II remains in Pearl Harbor. As discussed in Chapter I, the research project reported here primarily documented the archeological materials remaining from the December 7 attack. In order to understand the significance of these materials as cultural resources, it is important to place them in their contemporary historical context.

As is the format for historical/archeological studies, the discussion will focus primarily on remains that are known or suspected to be still present in the archeological record. The degree of emphasis placed on discussion of individual ships, events or places has been strongly influenced by what sites the archeologists chose to concentrate their energies on during the survey.

In addition to the remains directly at tributable to the attack, a discussion of the West Loch disaster that occurred in 1944 is also included. This event is thought to be a major contributor of additional World War II remains to the universe of potential sites that might be encountered in the harbor.

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