- [last lines]
- Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto: I had intended to deal a fatal blow to the American fleet by attacking Pearl Harbor immediately after Japan's official declaration of war. But according to the American radio, Pearl Harbor was attacked 55 minutes before our ultimatum was delivered in Washington. I can't imagine anything that would infuriate the Americans more. II fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.
- [a bullet smashes through the window of Kimmel's office and hits him in the chest, but only tears his uniform before falling to the floor. Commander Curts picks it up]
- Commander Maurice E. Curts: It's spent, sir.
- [Kimmel stares at the bullet]
- Admiral Husband E. Kimmel: [somberly] Would've been merciful had it killed me.
- Private George E. Elliott: [Telephone conversation from the radar station to the Information Center]
- Private George E. Elliott: Sir, this is Private Elliott at Opana Point. There's a large formation of planes coming in from the north - 140 miles, 3 degrees east.
- Lieutenant Kermit A. Tyler: Yeah? Well... Don't worry about it.
- Lieutenant Kermit A. Tyler: [Click!]
- [after a Japanese bomber flies over his head at the start of the attack]
- Captain Logan C. Ramsey: [to a nearby officer] Get that guy's number Dick, I'll report him for safety violations!
- [the plane drops a bomb. After the explosion the two men stare after it dumbfounded]
- [a Chief Petty Officer is showing ship identification silhouettes to pilots aboard Akagi]
- Eager Pilot: Enterprise!
- Chief Petty Officer: No, you idiot! It's your own flagship!
- [laughter]
- [Halsey has been ordered to take his Task Force to Wake Island to deliver a squadron of fighters]
- Admiral Halsey: Kim, level with me. I want a clear directive... If I run into a Jap ship, what action do I take?
- Admiral Kimmel: Use your common sense.
- Admiral Halsey: That's the best damn order I ever had.
- [Halsey walks away, then turns around]
- Admiral Halsey: If I see so much as a sampan near it, I'll blow it out of the water.
- Kameto Kuroshima: Genda's plan for attacking Pearl Harbor is foolproof. lt's brilliant! He stresses the importance of combat aircraft. Just think of it. We use six aircraft carriers, torpedo planes, high-level bombers, dive bombers. Zero fighters for cover, go by the northern route, use the new torpedoes, we attack on a weekend. Genda has thought of everything, refueling, the weather.
- [after seeing one of his pilots miss a practice bombing target]
- Admiral William F. Halsey: Well, you can tell Lt. Dickinson from me, he couldn't hit a bull in the butt with a bass fiddle.
- Prince Fumimaro Konoye: If war does come, tell me frankly, from the Navy's viewpoint, what are our chances against the Americans?
- Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto: If we must, we can raise havoc with them for a year. After that, I can guarantee nothing. Mr. Prime Minister, I hope you will continue the negotiations. Please remember, there is no last word in diplomacy.
- Commander Minoru Genda: Everything is strangely quiet. The American anti-aircraft batteries haven't fired a shot! And no enemy fighters over the harbor, sir! We've done it! Send the message: "Tora! Tora! Tora!"
- Commander Genda's Co-Pilot: And no enemy fighters over the harbor, sir!
- Commander Minoru Genda: We've done it! Send the message: "Tora! Tora! Tora!"
- Lieutenant Kaminsky: [to Captain John Earle, who demanded confirmation of the attack before doing anything] You wanted confirmation, Captain? Take a look! There's your confirmation!
- [Earle, horrified, looks out and sees several ships in flames]
- Andrew Flying School Instructor: [surrounded by Zeroes] I'm taking over, Davey!
- Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto: I feel like a damn fool. Without even consulting me, our Army has decided to occupy lndo-China. There is no hope for peace now. l've said it before and l'll keep on saying it, if we fight the Americans, we can't stop at Hawaii or San Francisco. We'll have to march into Washington and dictate peace terms in the White House! Army hotheads who speak so lightly of war should think about that!
- Cordell Hull: In all my fifty years of public service, I have never seen a document so crowded with infamous falsehoods and distortions, on a scale so huge that I never imagined until today that any government on this planet was capable of uttering them.
- Ambassador Nomura: [pleading] Mr. Hull...
- Cordell Hull: [wearily] Go!
- Major Landon's Co-Pilot: [flying in a B-17] There's Hickam, Sir.
- Major Landon's Navigator: Hey, Major, I just heard something funny on the Honolulu radio.
- Major Truman Landon: [surrounded by Zeroes] What the hell kind of traffic control is this?
- Major Landon's Navigator: I was trying to tell you sir. The radio said something about an attack.
- Major Landon's Co-Pilot: They're Japs, sir!
- Major Truman Landon: What a way to fly into a war: unarmed and outta gas.
- [on the radio]
- Major Truman Landon: Oboe Leader to Oboe Flight, we've flown smack into the middle of a war. Get out as fast as you can! Anywhere you can! If you can't make Hickam try Bellows or Wheeler.
- Hickam Air Traffic Controller: Tower to B-17, there's a Jap on your tail. Juice yer engines and get outta here!
- Major Truman Landon: [trying to land amid heavy friendly flak] Tell those damn fools to stop shooting at us, we're Americans!
- Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto: Finally, gentlemen... many misinformed Japanese believe that America is a nation divided... isolationist... and that Americans are only interested in enjoying a life of luxury, and are spiritually and morally corrupt. But that is a great mistake. If war becomes inevitable, America would be the most formidable foe that we have ever fought. I've lived in Washington and studied at Harvard, so I know that the Americans are a proud and just people.
- Lt. Cmdr. Fuchida: Exceptional people get exceptional treatment!
- Japanese Pilot: You outrank me, so it must be true.
- Frank Knox: But do you really think that this Kurusu can do any good?
- Cordell Hull: Well, I doubt it, Frank. He's hardly the most tactful choice. When he was ambassador in Berlin, he signed the Axis Pact on behalf of Japan.
- Lt. Commander Kramer: Can anybody trust anybody anymore? Can you trust your own wife?
- Lt. Colonel Rufus S. Bratton: Do you?
- Lt. Commander Kramer: As a matter of fact, I believe I do.
- Lt. Commander Kramer: You know, since we're going to be sharing this assignment, come take a look at this.
- [Unlocks a cabinet, revealing a list of names]
- Lt. Commander Kramer: Behold, the Twelve Apostles. The only individuals authorized to read the Magic intercepts.
- Lt. Colonel Rufus S. Bratton: But, Hap Arnold, Chief of the Air Corps, isn't on the list.
- Lt. Commander Kramer: No, and not one of our overseas commanders.
- Admiral Husband E. Kimmel: [Being notified of the Ward's attack on a Japanese midget submarine] You mean to tell me that a submarine was trying to sneak into the harbor over an hour ago, and it took this long for me to know about it? I don't care if it hasn't been confirmed, I should've been notified when the Ward filed its first report! A submarine that close is a serious matter, it's a very serious matter! Now, get the confirmation, or the reports, to my office. I mean, right now!
- Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto: lf we are forced into a war with America, Japan's only hope - is to annihilate the American Pacific fleet at the outset. l wonder if we could use torpedo planes at Pearl Harbor?
- Adm. James O. Richardson: Look at that entrance to the harbor. Sink one good-sized ship in the channel and you've bottled up our whole fleet. You know as well as l do, this harbor is a mousetrap. Fleet should have stayed in San Diego where it belongs. l made the mistake to point that out to Roosevelt.
- Adm. James O. Richardson: This was my command, and it's become habit to worry about the security of the fleet. I can't forget that the British, flying some old biplanes, torpedoed and sank three ltalian battleships at Taranto. A harbor very much like this one.
- Admiral Husband E. Kimmel: Well, l share your concern, Jim, but CNO doesn't think it can happen here.
- Adm. James O. Richardson: Why not?
- Admiral Husband E. Kimmel: Well, a torpedo dropped from a plane will plunge to a depth of 75 feet or more before it levels off.
- Adm. James O. Richardson: l know and Pearl is only 40 feet deep. l'm still worried, Kim.
- Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto: It is hard to believe the Emperor agreed to fix a date by which the final decision must be made between war and peace.
- Prince Fumimaro Konoye: His Majesty's signature is a mere formality. The cabinet is responsible for all matters of national policy. The Emperor recently read a poem to his Ministers to show how he feels. "If all people are brethren, then why are the winds and the waves so restless?"
- Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto: "If all people are brethren, then why are the winds and the waves so restless?" This clearly shows how much the Emperor wants to avoid a war.
- Prince Fumimaro Konoye: Yes, he has urged us to solve our differences with Washington.
- US Army Air Corps Officer: We got 183 combat planes on this base, general. The way they're parked now, a one-eyed monkey hanging from a balloon could scatter them to hell with one hand grenade.
- Admiral Nagumo Staff Officer: Sir, a message!
- [reads]
- Admiral Nagumo Staff Officer: "From Admiral Yamamoto, Commander-in-Chief, Combined Fleet, to Admiral Nagumo, Third Fleet, climb Mount Niitaka."
- Admiral Chuici Nagumo: Hostilities will begin on December 7th - exactly as scheduled.
- Admiral Kimmel: It looks good on paper, but for God's sake... that's not a paper fleet sitting out there.
- Lt. Colonel Rufus S. Bratton: [rushing in with a message warning about a possible attack] Ed, here's a message; I need this typed up immediately!
- Colonel Edward F. French: [in no hurry whatsoever] R-i-ight.
- [he studies the paper]
- Colonel Edward F. French: Umm... the General's handwriting - hard to read. You're going to have to help me out with this, Rufus.
- [looking nervously at French, Bratton takes the paper from French and sits down at a typewriter, rolling paper in as if to begin typing the handwritten message]
- Lt. Cmdr. Fuchida: It's the Nevada, she's making a run for the sea. If we sink her in the channel, the harbor will be blocked for months.
- Captain John Earle: [Captain John Earle receives a phone call from Kaminsky about a submarine sunk in the harbor] Confirmation, Kaminsky. I want confirmation.
- [Admiral Stark is reading through the final part of the Japanese diplomatic ultimatum at his desk with Kramer, McCollum, Wilkinson, and two other officers]
- Captain Arthur H. McCollum: Sir, the fourteenth part of this intercept which Kramer just delivered, indicates to me that the Japanese are going to attack.
- Admiral Harold R. Stark: None of us doubt that war is coming. We know they have an expeditionary force heading south.
- Rear Admiral Theodore S. Wilkinson: Sir, as hostilities seem imminent, may I recommend that you telephone Admiral Kimmel... in Hawaii.
- [Stark looks around the room, undecided, while Kramer and Wilkinson watch anxiously. Finally he reaches for one of the telephones on his desk. He hesitates for another long moment]
- Admiral Harold R. Stark: No...
- [He hangs it up]
- Admiral Harold R. Stark: I'd better call the President first. Now if you'll all please excuse me.
- [the others nod and leave the room. Kramer, the last to leave, looks back at Stark as he goes, extremely worried. Alone, Stark stares at the telephone. It is 11:05 AM, Washington time on December 7th]
- Fisherman: [annoyed by Fuchida's planes flying past him during a training flight] Navy pilots attract geisha girls, but they frighten the fish!
- [Ramsey and Lieutenant Ballinger have dashed into Ford Island's administration building and over to a seaman manning the building's telegraph station]
- Captain Logan C. Ramsey: Alert, all commands: Air raid. Pearl Harbor. This is no drill.
- General Short: We're going on alert. Right now.
- Maj. Gordon A. Blake - Hickam Field Operations Officer: Again, sir? But the men are confused, sir.
- General Short: Well, dammit, un-confuse them!
- General Short: [On the phone, first hearing of the attack] What in the hell is going on... Well, why wasn't the Army notified? And did anyone *think* to inform Washington? Eh, I thought so!
- Cook #1 (Japanese version only): The Date Line makes up for that time difference by turning today into yesterday.
- Cook #2 (Japanese version only): I don't quite understand, but if we see the enemy across the line, I guess it would be useless to shoot at them.
- Cook #1 (Japanese version only): Why?
- Cook #2 (Japanese version only): Because how can today's shells hit yesterday's enemy?
- Admiral Nagumo Staff Officer: The men are in good spirits, sir. They are eager to go.
- Admiral Chuici Nagumo: Yes. They are eager because they do not know the taste of battle.
- Admiral Nagumo Staff Officer: We cannot turn back now. We must destroy the American carriers and their dry docks - no matter how long it takes!
- Admiral Chuici Nagumo: You're wrong! Our mission has been completely accomplished. This task force is vital to us. It is my duty to return it intact. This war is just beginning. We have a long way to go.
- General Short: [hearing that an important military spot is off limits due to concern for wildlife] Wildlife Preservation Society!
- Frank Knox: [reading a report of the attack] Oh, no, no, this can't be right; they must mean the Philippines!
- Admiral Stark: No, sir. It's Pearl!
- Frank Knox: [to his aide] Get me the White House, the direct line!
- Cook #1 (Japanese version only): You know today's date?
- Cook #2 (Japanese version only): December 1st.
- Cook #1 (Japanese version only): Yes, but tonight will be November 30th.
- Cook #2 (Japanese version only): What?
- Cook #1 (Japanese version only): When we cross the International Date Line we'll push the clock ahead five hours and turn the calendar back a full day, making today yesterday.
- Cook #2 (Japanese version only): Don't be silly! Today can't change into yesterday!
- Lt. Commander Kramer: You're late!
- Mrs. Kramer: Well, I was...
- Lt. Commander Kramer: Please, take me to the White House.
- Mrs. Kramer: Well, if you'd told me we were invited to the White House, I would have dressed. You know Mrs. Roosevelt. Although she's very informal personally, I've heard she's a stickler for protocol.
- Lt. Commander Kramer: Darling, will you shut up and drive.
- Admiral Chuici Nagumo: The Commander-in-Chief has sent a message wishing us good luck. That, plus the Imperial Proclamation has undoubtedly stirred your loyalty to the Empire. The success of this mission depends on surprise. If we achieve it, the code words "Tora, Tora, Tora," will be sent out.
- Ambassador Nomura: Tokyo has ignored my repeated inquiries and still has made no reply to the compromise proposals offered by Secretary Hull. The war that l have dreaded for so long may soon become a reality.