Goodevening,
I recently saw the movie Pearl Harbor (from Michael Bay) and I was wondering how accurate the representation of the actual attack was? A specific example: the communication in Washington failed and a couple hours after the attack the commander of the fleet gets a message that a Japanese attack was imminent. --> was the communication really that bad during that period.
I'd also like to know if the 2 leading roles (Rafe and Danny) really were considered heroes after they were the only 2 pilots to take off.
It's not mandatory to respond to the question about communication, it was just an example.
Thanks and have a nice evening.
So there were actually between 6 and 10 pilots reported to have gotten airborne in defense during the attack. The commonly reported number is 8.
The pilots that served as the movie's closest inspiration were LTs Welch and Taylor who were returning from a party and each credited with 2 kills and both received the Distinguished Service Cross. They both went on speaking tours to sell War Bonds before returning to active service.
Additionally tragedy would strike that evening when planes from the carrier Enterprise arrived to land on Ford Island but several of the pilots were killed by friendly fire despite the word going out.