FREDERICKSBURG, Texas (Reuters) - A U.S. admiral demoted after the surprise Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor should be cleared of blame and have his rank posthumously restored, his grandson said on Wednesday, the 64th anniversary of the carnage.
Thomas Kimmel, born two years after the December 7, 1941, assault on the major U.S. naval base in Hawaii, said President George W. Bush should exonerate Rear Adm. Husband E. Kimmel.
"My grandfather never knew anything about ... the secret decoding of Japanese diplomatic and spy communications, which gave us indications of the plan for the Pearl Attack and even the timing of the attack," Kimmel said. "That information was kept in Washington and never provided to my grandfather."
Kimmel, commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet, and Army Maj. Gen. Walter E. Short, commander of the Hawaiian Department of the Army, were reassigned from their leadership positions after an investigative commission blamed them.
The Japanese assault destroyed several U.S. warships and planes and killed more than 2,000 people, raising the curtain on the Pacific Theater of World War II.
The U.S. Senate approved a resolution in 1999 exonerating the two officers and restoring their ranks. But the White House has the final decision, and neither Bush nor predecessor Bill Clinton has followed through.
Kimmel and Short were forced to retire at reduced rank, and were exempted from a 1947 law which allowed World War II era officers to retire with the pay and benefits of the highest field rank they held during the war, the younger Kimmel said.
"Think about that," Kimmel said. "The only two persons who were officially punished for the Pearl Harbor attack were my grandfather and General Short. I think it's time for that unjust punishment to be removed from the record of this very honorable man."
Kimmel died in 1968 and Short in 1949.
Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051207/us_nm/life_pearlharbor_dc_1
Thomas Kimmel, born two years after the December 7, 1941, assault on the major U.S. naval base in Hawaii, said President George W. Bush should exonerate Rear Adm. Husband E. Kimmel.
"My grandfather never knew anything about ... the secret decoding of Japanese diplomatic and spy communications, which gave us indications of the plan for the Pearl Attack and even the timing of the attack," Kimmel said. "That information was kept in Washington and never provided to my grandfather."
Kimmel, commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet, and Army Maj. Gen. Walter E. Short, commander of the Hawaiian Department of the Army, were reassigned from their leadership positions after an investigative commission blamed them.
The Japanese assault destroyed several U.S. warships and planes and killed more than 2,000 people, raising the curtain on the Pacific Theater of World War II.
The U.S. Senate approved a resolution in 1999 exonerating the two officers and restoring their ranks. But the White House has the final decision, and neither Bush nor predecessor Bill Clinton has followed through.
Kimmel and Short were forced to retire at reduced rank, and were exempted from a 1947 law which allowed World War II era officers to retire with the pay and benefits of the highest field rank they held during the war, the younger Kimmel said.
"Think about that," Kimmel said. "The only two persons who were officially punished for the Pearl Harbor attack were my grandfather and General Short. I think it's time for that unjust punishment to be removed from the record of this very honorable man."
Kimmel died in 1968 and Short in 1949.
Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051207/us_nm/life_pearlharbor_dc_1
