Meanwhile, the relentless attackers destroyed nearly all the planes on the airfields, making it impossible for the Americans to muster a credible counterattack. At Hickam Field, the Japanese scored direct hits on the engineering building, then attacked the hangars and American planes. Ironically, to avoid ground-based sabotage, the planes had been parked wingtip to wingtip, but this made them easier to destroy from the air.

Some attackers repeatedly strafed the base's new barracks. There, Private Ira Southern ran to the window in time to see a warplane drop a bomb on the engine repair shop across the street, utterly destroying the structure. Just seconds later, another plane zeroed in on the barracks itself. A bomb smashed through a window, blasted a huge hole in the floor, and sent bits of deadly shrapnel flying in all directions. Luckily unscathed, Southern made...