This is an IHeart podcast.

And we continue with our American stories.

Up next, the story of the most unexpected event of the 20th century in a way you've never heard it told before.

While we all certainly know what happened after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor,

most of us don't know about the

feelings of those calling the shots on the ground and what happened leading up to our terrifying

entry into World War II. Here to share the story is Steve Toomey, author of Countdown to Pearl Harbor.

Let's start this off, the story of an individual man.

His name is husband Kimmel. And on the morning of December 7th, he was supposed to go out and play golf.

But about 8 a.m., a telephone call led him to leave his house on a small

rise above the harbor. It was actually an extinct volcanic rim because this phone call had told him

in effect to do so. And as he did that, he was watching dozens and dozens of Japanese warplanes pouncing on those ships in the harbor.

Those were his ships. He was the commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet.

And until that moment, he had enjoyed nearly 40 absolutely spotless years of service in the Navy. He had succeeded at everything

he had done and risen steadily through the ranks. If you ever see a picture of him, he looks

exactly like you'd expect an admiral to look. Handsome, impressive, confident.

Standing with him in his yard was a neighbor, the wife of one of his officers

who had come out of her home, and together they stood there, and they could see a battleship

in the harbor already starting to tip over. Everything that Kimmel knew about military logic,

everything he knew about the Japanese and their ability,

was being blown up before his eyes. All the decisions he had made were being nullified.

And she said that his face was as white as the uniform he wore. I think that's one of the most

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