December 7, 1941
Lower Decks of the Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryu

It was a calm winter night in the North Pacific as the Japanese battle fleet began making preparations for their planned attack, months in the making and the result of a nation desperately lashing out. K

T’s B5N got into formation as the planes began flying southward toward their distant target, the only lights they could see came from their cockpit dashboards. T

Hawaiian Foreign Ministry
Honolulu

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Crew Quarters of the Battleship IMS Colorado
Pearl Harbor, Oahu Province

In the so-called “Battleship Row” next to Ford Island, the Colorado was anchored at the southernmost end and her crew was asleep. One such crewsar was Donald Griffin, Able Seasar who worked above deck, operating one of the anti-aircraft guns. The previous Saturday had been one of wild partying, lots of drinking and dancing with assorted gals in various Pearl City taverns were involved; Sunday would be leisurely, most crews would attend church and Griffin only did so lightly, being more interested in lounging around while recovering from yesterday’s frivolities. It was at least a break from the constant drills and cleaning, especially after the previous week when various Allied ships had put out to sea for live fire, as well as worrying about family back home.

Griffin and the rest of the Colorado’s crew supported the Free Californian government currently based in Manila which opposed President Lopez’s communists, the bulk of the country's navy siding with the FCG which included nearly all of its capital ships. There were bouts of homesickness, as the crew had little to no word on their families, given that correspondence with people living in enemy territory was impossible; the only updates they had on events back home was in newspapers and newsreels detailing the current situation in the People’s Republic and its war with the US, Texas Federation, Alyeska, and the UK. The two-year long siege of Denver was finally broken and the Californian troops occupying southern Oregon and Idaho had been pushed back and US troops were now approaching Bonneville City, which was in the throes of a Mormon rebellion.

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Opana Point Radar Station
Opana 

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The formation passed through a pass in the low mountains, flying over villages, farmland, and manor houses; to the west rose distant Mauna Kea, the largest mountain on earth. The view of it made Mount Fuji seem like a gentle hill in comparison,