Pearl Harbor

Lt. Cmdr. Edwin T. Layton was a worrier. And as 1941 drew to a close, Layton, the U.S. Pacific Fleet's intelligence officer, had much to worry about.War with Japan appeared imminent, and on Dec. 1, the Japanese navy suddenly changed the radio call signs of its ships. This shift was ominous because the Communications Intelligence Unit at Pearl Harbor plotted the position of the Japanese fleet by intercepting these signals. Traffic analysts quickly identified the most commonly used new calls but were unable to locate a single Japanese aircraft carrier.

John C. Ford Jr., who as a young World War II cryptanalyst was part of a team whose work resulted in the shooting down of the bomber carrying Japanese Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto, died Wednesday from respiratory failure at a son's Arnold home. He was 94. The son of an oil salesman and a homemaker, John Cecil Ford Jr. was born in Federal Hill and raised in Catonsville, where he ran track and played lacrosse at Catonsville High School. He graduated from there in 1935. "He was at the Baltimore Business College at the time of Pearl Harbor, and he was about to be drafted into the Army.

J oseph Lloyd Alsop, who was stationed aboard a Navy minesweeper during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and later participated in the D-Day landing in Normandy, died Nov. 23 of respiratory failure at St. Joseph Medical Center. The longtime Towson resident was 88. Mr. Alsop was born and raised in Fredericksburg, Va., and after high school enlisted in the Navy in 1939. On Dec. 6, 1941, Mr. Alsop's ship, the USS Boggs, an old three-stack World War I-era destroyer that had been converted to a high-speed minesweeper, was steaming into Pearl Harbor after a week at sea towing targets for gunnery practice.

Good morning it's December 7th and, yes, it's still a day that will live in infamy. Seventy-one years later, Pearl Harbor is attracting a fair amount of search traffic on the Internet. Things should pick up photo wise as remembrances get under way in Hawaii later this morning.  We're mostly relying on Twitter today because Google is being a bit stingy this week with the trends. The search giant hasn't updated its hot trends data since Tuesday. I know we all love the Victoria Secret Fashion Show , but I'm thinking America has finally moved on to something else.

Seventy years ago today, Japan launched a surprise attack on America's Pacific fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, drawing the United States into the second World War. More than 2,400 Americans were killed in the attack, including four Marylanders, all of whom were serving aboard the U.S.S. Arizona: Fireman 1st Class Howard T. Anderson; Boatswain's Mate 1st Class Clyde J. Rawson; Yeoman 2nd Class Jack M. Restivo; and Shipfitter 3rd Class Victor C. Tambolleo. The war that followed would take a terrible toll - including 770 from Maryland killed, 928 wounded and 18 missing in action.

Good morning it's December 7th and, yes, it's still a day that will live in infamy. Seventy-one years later, Pearl Harbor is attracting a fair amount of search traffic on the Internet. Things should pick up photo wise as remembrances get under way in Hawaii later this morning.  We're mostly relying on Twitter today because Google is being a bit stingy this week with the trends. The search giant hasn't updated its hot trends data since Tuesday. I know we all love the Victoria Secret Fashion Show , but I'm thinking America has finally moved on to something else.

Myrtle M. Watson, an Army nurse whose indelible memories of the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor remained with her for the rest of her life, died Feb. 11 of vascular disease at Oak Crest Village. The Northeast Baltimore resident was 98. Early in the morning of Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, Mrs. Watson was busy working her first solo weekend assignment in the orthopedic ward at Schofield Hospital near Pearl Harbor, which was short-staffed because it was a weekend. She began pushing bedridden men out to a second-story lanai so they could take in a barefoot inter-regimental football game that was to be played on the hospital lawn.

On Dec. 7, 1941, a young Army nurse reported to Schofield barracks hospital in Hawaii for what would be her first solo weekend assignment. She would not leave for about three months. At 97, Myrtle Miller Watson, a longtime Baltimore resident who lives at Oak Crest Retirement Community in Parkville, can vividly recall the details of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the men whose lives she touched. She remembers the fatally wounded soldier, who could barely breathe but asked her to check on his buddy.

An observance to mark the 49th anniversary of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor will be held tomorrow aboard the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Taney in the Inner Harbor.Members of Maryland Chapter No. 1 of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association and other service organizations will gather noon to hear an address by the U.S. Coast Guard commandant, Adm. J. William Kime. During the ceremony, Admiral Kime will present a spyglass used on the Taney during World War II to the Baltimore Maritime Museum.

A year short of the 50th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that drew America into World War II, the U.S. is again facing the prospect of an unpredictable war far from home.It may be recalled that the Pearl Harbor attack was precipitated by a U.S. economic embargo against Japan intended to force it to withdraw from China -- just as the U.N. sanctions now seek to dislodge Iraq from Kuwait. By 1945 Japan lay in ruins under American occupation. Yet the Chinese government we sought to protect ultimately fell anyway, as much a victim of its own inefficiency and corruption as of the communists.

I had always wished that my great-grandmother, who lived in Maryland during the Civil War, had written some personal notes as to what it was like for her at the time. They would be especially interesting for us now. With that thought in mind, I wrote some of my memories of World War II for my grandchildren. I attach the article for your review since Dec 7 is today, it puts a human touch on the anniversary date. Some things you never forget, and those of us living with memories of WWII recall with great sadness a quiet Sunday morning, Dec. 7, 1941.

Laurel Park She's All Scat rallies to win Gin Talking Stakes Barry and Joni Butzow 's She's All Scat led to the furlong marker, lost the lead for a few strides, then fought back to win in the $100,000 Gin Talking Stakes for 2-year-old fillies Saturday afternoon at Laurel Park. Jose Caraballo rode the daughter of Scat Daddy for trainer Michael Pino to a clocking of 1 minute, 26.18 seconds for the seven-furlong distance. Ek Haseena , who battled She's All Scat into the deep stretch, lost the win by a length and a half but finished a length and a half ahead of post-time favorite Disco Barbie, who took third.

Recent reports suggest that the U.S. government was likely engaged in two very sophisticated cyber attacks: one that spied on Iran's nuclear program and another that slowed it by destroying centrifuges. These attacks encourage a twinge of national pride in our cyber capabilities. Yet there's a dark corollary to this news. Our enemies can use similarly sophisticated cyber tactics to attack the U.S. government and our private sector. Billions in intellectual property and state secrets are at risk, as well as the critical infrastructure that supports modern American life.

President Barack Obama reacted a few months ago to a question aboutIran's deliberate efforts to develop a nuclear weapon. His reply and how he was going to prevent it was "all options are on the table. " That's sort of like imagining General George Custer threatening Crazy Horse at the Little Bighorn with, "Surrender! I've got you surrounded!" The only option he failed to include was the upcoming sequestration (read elimination) of $500 billion in defense spending which will begin in earnest next January and will progress into deeper cuts well past 2014.

Myrtle M. Watson, an Army nurse whose indelible memories of the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor remained with her for the rest of her life, died Feb. 11 of vascular disease at Oak Crest Village. The Northeast Baltimore resident was 98. Early in the morning of Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, Mrs. Watson was busy working her first solo weekend assignment in the orthopedic ward at Schofield Hospital near Pearl Harbor, which was short-staffed because it was a weekend. She began pushing bedridden men out to a second-story lanai so they could take in a barefoot inter-regimental football game that was to be played on the hospital lawn.

Thanks to Gilbert Sandler ("It still lives in Infamy," Dec. 7) for reminding us of some of the costs of war in his account of Baltimore after Pearl Harbor. What a contrast with today. Our leaders can carry on wars without affecting most of us one bit. No danger, no draft, no rationing, no tax increase, no blackouts. Only if we serve in the armed forces or have a family member there do we suffer anything. We do not even have to pay for the war - we can borrow to cover the cost. It is almost enjoyable and certainly exciting.

WEATHER Today's forecast calls for rain, heavy at times with temperatures falling throughout the day after starting in the low 60s. A winter weather advisory for snow is in effect for Northeastern Maryland from 7 p.m. today until 3 a.m. tomorrow morning. The low temperature will be around 32 degrees. TRAFFIC Here are today's morning traffic issues . REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR Edenwald residents recall infamy and impact of Pearl Harbor On this 70th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, residents of Edenwald Retirement Community in Towson share their memories of Dec. 7, 1941 and the resulting World War II. Opinion: Remembering Pearl Harbor: 'We shall win' Here is an editorial from The Baltimore Sun on Dec. 8, 1941, which includes the declaration: "We have the right on our side.

Seventy years ago today, Japan launched a surprise attack on America's Pacific fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, drawing the United States into the second World War. More than 2,400 Americans were killed in the attack, including four Marylanders, all of whom were serving aboard the U.S.S. Arizona: Fireman 1st Class Howard T. Anderson; Boatswain's Mate 1st Class Clyde J. Rawson; Yeoman 2nd Class Jack M. Restivo; and Shipfitter 3rd Class Victor C. Tambolleo. The war that followed would take a terrible toll - including 770 from Maryland killed, 928 wounded and 18 missing in action.