Kimmel Family Record -- Admiral Husband E. Kimmel

Latest News on Admiral Kimmel:

The grandsons of Admiral Kimmel are continuing the call* for the President to advance Rear Admiral Kimmel and Major General Short to their highest held rank served during WWII as called for by Congress in 2001. This would complete the Officer Personnel Act of 1947's order for all flag and general officers to be awarded such ranks. Kimmel and Short were the only officers not afforded the advancements. See the web site for Admiral Kimmel's grandson Tom Kimmel at http://pearlharbor911attacks.com/ for the most up-to-date information.

*In 1984 the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association formally requested that the sons of Admiral Kimmel assist them in pushing for restoration of highest rank for both commanders. That generation has passed on and the grandsons have stepped up to the task.

You can support the cause by urging President Obama to initiate the posthumous promotions of Admiral Kimmel and General Short to their highest wartime ranks on the Navy and Army retired lists, for which they were eligible through the Officer Personnel Act of 1947. Contact info.

Not sure what to write? Here is recent correspondence to President Bush written by Kimmel supporter and crusader Captain Vincent J. Colan, USNR-Ret.

Year 2001 Defense Authorization Bill (Public Law 106-398)
* Amended by the House 5/20/2000 to include call for advancement of rank
for Kimmel and Short (Sec. 537, HR4205), bill not yet passed
* Amended by the Senate 6/8/2000 to include call for advancement of rank
for Kimmel and Short (Sec. 582, S1059), bill passed in July
* Signed by President Clinton 10/30/2000; became Public Law 106-398
* President Clinton did not follow through on restoration of ranks for Kimmel
and Short, and President Bush ignored the call. So, act of restoration is left for President Obama.
* Text of Call to Restore Rank for Kimmel and Short
* Access to full Text of Public Law 106-945

Material regarding the advancement of rank referred to President George W. Bush by Admiral Kimmel's family: * 2001-2002 correspondence between Edward R. Kimmel and President George W. Bush: Kimmel letters of Feb. 22, 2001; June 12, 2001; January 10, 2002 and February 6, 2002 (no correspondence yet from the President)

The following material accompanied Edward Kimmel's February 22, 2001 letter:: * 1991 correspondence between the Kimmels and President George H. W. Bush; * Vice Admiral Richardson's critical analysis of the Dorn report and letter to Edwin Dorn; * Washington Times commentary "Should Kimmel and Short still live in infamy?" by Edward R. Kimmel -- Oct. 8, 2000; * Washington Post article "Pearl Harbor Scapegoat" by James L. Holloway III -- Oct. 6, 2000

The following material accompanied Edward Kimmel's June 12, 2001 letter:: * Vice Admiral Richardson's article "You Be the Judge" in the July 2001 issue of American Heritage Magazine.; * Chicago Sun-Times news article by Edward Epstein -- May 29, 2001

The Pacific Ship and Shore Historical Society Review web site maintains current information on the movement to restore the ranks of Admiral Kimmel and General Short.

Recent articles:

The Conclusions of the Naval Colloquium of 1999 Concerning Admiral Kimmel the Pearl Harbor attack

Pearl Harbor Facts, and impressions concerning the DORN REPORT of Dec. 1996
"Advancement of Rear Admiral Kimmel and Major General Short on the Retired List"
By Edward R. Kimmel (Jan. 1998)

Admiral Husband Kimmel & General Walter Short PEARL HARBOR SCAPEGOATS
June 18, 2000 CAPT Vincent J. Colan, USNR-Ret.

The U.S. Naval Institute web site

"Advance Warning? The Red Cross Connection" Naval History Mag. 1999

The New American web site

"Pearl Harbor: Scapegoating of Kimmel and Short" by James Perloff, December 4, 2008

"Pearl Harbor: Hawaii Was Surprised; FDR Was Not" by James Perloff, December 4, 2008

"Pearl Harbor: Motives Behind the Betrayal" by James Perloff, December 4, 2008

Latest in print, audio and video:

12/7/2010 broadcast:

Kevin Barrett's interview of Tom Kimmel on his program at No Lies Radio (noliesradio.com). Important notice: You will need to turn OFF the radio playing on the right side of the web page, then turn ON the player on the left side to start and hear the program.

2010 release:

"Pearl Harbor; The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy" by Percy L. Greaves, Jr. 927 pages, Ludwig von Mises Institute, Auburn, Alabama. ISBN 9781933550336 Percy Greaves was chief of the minority (Republican) research staff of the (1945-1946) Joint Congressional Committee to Investigate the Pearl Harbor Attack. He worked on this book until his death in 1984 and his wife Bettina completed it, relying totally on Percy's material. The book concentrates on the pre-war relations between Japan and FDR and the events leading up to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The book review page at the publisher's web site: http://mises.org/store/Pearl-Harbor-The-Seeds-and-Fruits-of-Infamy-P10391.aspx

2007 release:

"The Pearl Harbor Myth; Rethinking the Unthinkable" by George Victor. 370 pages, Potomac Books, Inc. ISBN 1-59797-042-5 / 978-1-59797-042-6 Refines and updates the details of Pearl Harbor hashed through in previous books on the topic.

Description on the publisher's web site:

http://www.potomacbooksinc.com/books/BookDetail.aspx?productID=167947

Edward R. Kimmel spoke at the Land's End U.S.S. San Francisco CA-38 Memorial Service on May 26, 2002. In his speech he reviewed the history of the cause to bring the truth of Pearl Harbor to light. Read the transcript here..

The Winter 2002 issue of "The Quarterly Journal of Military History" (MHQ; vol. 14, no. 2) presents opposing articles on whether or not Kimmel and Short were unfairly punished for their performance at Pearl Harbor. In defense of the Pearl Harbor commanders: "Unfairly Shouldering the Blame" by Husband Kimmel's grandson Thomas K. Kimmel, JR., a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, lawyer and former FBI agent and consultant. In opposition: "Justice Was Served" by Frederic L. Borch III, colonel in the Judge Advocate General's Corps.

The BBC's "Sacrifice at Pearl Harbor" is available on tape. The 2001 remastered VHS video is distributed in the U.S. and Canada through Warner Home Video. Order through their web site; enter the title on their online store's search page http://store.warnervideo.com

2001 release:

"Pearl Harbor Story" by Major-General Henry Dozier Russell. 160 pages, Mercer University Press, Macon, Georgia ISBN 0865547696

Recollections as a member of the Army Pearl Harbor Investigation Board established in 1944. Dictated in early 1946 and stored in a vault until the mid-1990's. Russell explains why the board recommendations were so different from their actual observations. See the book description on the publisher's web site:

http://www.mupress.org/webpages/books/russell.html

August 2001 release:

"Pearl Harbor Betrayed: The True Story of a Man and a Nation Under Attack"

by Michael V. Gannon. 320 pages, Henry Holt & Co., Inc., 8/2001 ISBN 0805066985

Parts of Gannon's research has appeared in other publications. His own book here offers some of his own selected data and views, partially to counter that presented by others. Flattering of Kimmel, but Gannon offers no firm overall conclusions as to why the High Command left Kimmel and Short so uninformed about the oncoming attack.

June 2001 release:

"Deceit at Pearl Harbor" by Lt. Cmdr. Kenneth Landis USNR (ret.) and Staff Sgt. Rex Gunn USAR (ret.). 272 pages, 1st Books, 6/19/2001 ISBN 1-58820-962-8

Firsthand accounts from Landis, last surviving officer of Kimmel's staff at Pearl Harbor on December 1941 and commander of the USS Isabel, one of "the tethered goats;" and Gunn, a member of the early warning radar crew. The book can be reviewed and ordered from 1st Books at their web site at www.1stbooks.com.

May 2001 movie release:

"Pearl Harbor" the movie -- released May 25, 2001:

A lot of creative license was taken with this film in producer Michael Bay's attempt to reduce a lot of detail down to the "essence" of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the later raid on Tokyo. Keep in mind that the movie was intended to please it's audience with romance, action and special effects; it wasn't offered as a documentary. Admiral Kimmel is presented in a positive light and that should please Kimmel supporters. Let's hope the movie inspires its audience to learn more.

For a more accurate accounts see:

* The movie "Tora! Tora! Tora!" -- 1970, 20th Cen. Fox, available through Fox Video (and any video store.)

* History Channel's "Sacrifice at Pearl Harbor." -- produced in 1989 by the British Broadcasting Company and licensed by A&E for the U.S. You can find the next showing on their schedule at www.historychannel.com. (Click on "ON TV" and enter the title under "Search for a Program".) The BBC Video 2001 remastered VHS tape is distributed in the U.S. and Canada through Warner Home Video and can be ordered through their web site; find the video by entering the title at the store's search site at http://store.warnervideo.com/

May 2001 edition, revised from 1999 edition:

"Pearl Harbor Mother of All Conspiracies"

by Mark Willey. 424 pages, published by the author, 5/25/2001, ISBN 0-7388-6889-2. Revision of the 250 page 10/1999 edition. It can be reviewed and ordered through www.xlibris.com/PearlHarbor.html

The author presents and explains the events leading to the Pearl Harbor attack in chronological order, details the history of the Japanese Fleet Code and the evidence showing how easily we broke the codes, and then uses lists of specific data to show why the attack had to happen. The boldest book yet supporting the FDR Conspiracy Theory.

Transcripts of Documents:

Take a Mud Water Sailor to Sea--And He Becomes Head of U. S. Battle Fleet. January 18, 1941 newspaper account from Kimmel's hometown of Henderson, Kentucky about his appointment to Rear Admiral over the Pacific Fleet.

Web Links:

Leigh Kimmel's Naval Website offers sources for publications about Admiral Husband Kimmel and Pearl Harbor at the start of World War II.

The Pearl Harbor Attack Hearings web page provides online access to transcripts of the first nine investigations of the Pearl Harbor attack (1941-1946), plus additional papers presented at the last one, the 1946 Joint Congressional Committee; other memos and reports include the "14-part message."

Kimmel Hearings. Transcript of the April 27, 1995 meeting of the Office of the Secretary of Defense and members of the Kimmel family regarding the posthumous restoration of the rank for Admiral Kimmel. This copy is posted on Ned Beach's home page.

The Dorn Report, part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5. Report submitted December 15, 1995 by Undersecretary of Defense Edwin Dorn to Congress in response to the Kimmel Hearings of the previous April.

The Memory Hole offers some excellent articles on Pearl Harbor Revision. Find and click on the "enter" button on the first page, then click the tiny button in front of "Anti-War Propaganda." This will display a list of articles including Harry Elmer Barnes' "Pearl Harbor After a Quarter of a Century" and "The Public Stake in Revisionism." Also, "Pearl Harbor: Antecedents, Background and Consequences," by James J. Martin. And the text of all nine Pearl Harbor Investigations.

Pearl Harbor Attacked web site, with message board.

Naval Historical Center Brief on Admiral Kimmel's career and several fine images.

After Pearl Harbor: Wake Island

"The Race for Wake Island", by Major M.R. Pierce, US Army in the May-June 2000 issue of "Military Review" online.; Biographical Essay of Siege of Wake Island by Gregory J.W. Urwin

Admiral Husband Edward Kimmel

Latest News on Admiral Kimmel:

Transcripts of Documents:

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For those who have wondered how they are related to Admiral Kimmel, here is his Kimmel lineage: