Admiral Husband Edward Kimmel


Latest News on Admiral Kimmel:


The families of Kimmel and Short are pushing for their advancement of rank.  See the web site for Admiral Kimmel's son Tom Kimmel at http://pearlharbor911attacks.com/ for information.

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.

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..


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

"Resurrecting the Kimmel Case" by Fred L. Schultz for "Navel History Magazine" (1995)
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 and video:
 
2002 release:
"The Secret Court Martial of Admiral Kimmel" by James Edwin Alexander and William R. Burkett.  Paperback, Macedon Publishing Company.  ISBN 0-939965-28-3.
In a mock trial, author-historian James Edwin Alexander and attorney William R. Burkett team up to give Admiral Husband E. Kimmel the court martial he always wanted but never received  See the book description at the publisher's web site:  http://www.macedonpublishing.com/books/admiral_kimmel.htm
 
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.  Review.
 
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.  Review.
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  Summary.   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.
 
March 2001, Husband Kimmel's 1954 book, "Admiral Kimmel's Story" is now online at http://www.rooseveltmyth.com and joins Read Admiral Robert A. Theobold's "The Final Secret of Pearl Harbor" online at this web site.

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.  Click "enter" on the first page, then click the 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.

Pearl Harbor Attacked web site, with message board.

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

Read what National Geographic says of of Admiral Kimmel.  (Also Roosevelt and Stark)

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.

"Nadir of the Navy:  Operations to Relieve Wake Island" at Microworks' Battle of the Pacific War.

Biographical Essay of Siege of Wake Island by Gregory J.W. Urwin

 

 
Suggested Books on Admiral Kimmel and Pearl Harbor revised history:

"Day of Deceit; The Truth About FDR and Pearl Harbor" by Robert B. Stinnett.  386 pages, published by Free Press, New York 12/1999.  ISBN: 0684853396  Note:  at least part of Stinnett's work will be archived at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and the FOIA papers at the National Security Archives -- but not contributed yet (7/2001).

"Scapegoats; A Defense of Kimmel and Short at Pearl Harbor" by Captain Edward L. Beach, USN.  212 pages, published by Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 1995.  ISBN 1-55750-059-2.  Review by John Weir  in "Journal of Historical Review."

"Days of Infamy; MacArthur, Roosevelt, Churchill - the Shocking Truth Revealed: How Their Secret Deals and Strategic Blunders Caused Disasters at Pearl Harbor and the Philippines" by John Costello.  452 pages, published by Pocket Books, 12/1994, ISBN 0-671-76986-3.

"Infamy; Pearl Harbor and Its Aftermath" by John Toland.  366 pages, published by Doubleday, Garden City, NJ, 1982, ISBN 0385145594 and 376 pages published by Anchor Books, NYC, 1992, ISBN 038542051X 

 "And I Was There; Pearl Harbor and Midway - Breaking the Secrets" by Rear Admiral Edwin T. Layton, USN.  596 pages, published by William Morrow and Company, Inc. 1985, ISBN 0-688-04883-8.

"Admiral Kimmel's Story" by Husband E. Kimmel.  208 pages, published by Henry Regnery Company, Chicago 12/1954.  Most book stores can locate copies of this out-of-print book.  Note:  papers of Husband Edward Kimmel 1954-1955, 200 items on microfilm #11-182-1N in the Manuscript Reading Room (Madison, LM101) of the Library of Congress.  You can read this book online (as of March 2001) at http://www.rooseveltmyth.com/KimmelStory/ .

This is an abbreviated list.  For more books see Leigh Kimmel's sizable list of publications dealing with Pearl Harbor.

Publications now online:

"Admiral Kimmel's Story" by Rear Admiral Husband E. Kimmel
"The Final Secret of Pearl Harbor" by Rear Admiral Robert A. Theobold 
"The Final Secret of Pearl Harbor" by John T. Flynn, Oct. 1944
"Held to a Higher Standard:  The Downfall of Admiral Kimmel" by Matthew R. Pettinger, 1990 accepted thesis for Master of Military Art and Science; published 2003

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

1) Husband Edward Kimmel (1882 Henderson, Kentucky -1968)
2) Manning Marius (Marius Manning*) Kimmel (1832 Perry County, Missouri -1916 Henderson, Kentucky) and Sibella Lambert.
3) Joseph Singleton Husband Kimmel (1797 Berlin, Pennsylvania -1868 Cape Girardeau, Missouri) and Caroline Monica Manning.
4) Peter Kimmel (1771 Somerset County, Pennsylvania -1843 Jonesboro, Illinois) and Phoebe Husband.
5) Johann George Kimmel (1743 Eich, Palatinate -1818 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) and Julianna Ruby
6) Johann Philip Kimmel (1695 Gimbsheim, Palatinate -1777 York County, Pennsylvania) and Anna Elizabeth Voltz.
7) Johann Michael Kimmel (1662 Alsheim, Palatinate - 1734 Gimbsheim, Palatinate) and Anna Margaretha Sauter.
 
* Usually identified as "M.M.Kimmel," descendants believe his name to be Marius Manning, but documents such as his military record and his own obituary have it the other way around.  Nobody is sure why.

 
Details on the pages of the Kimmel Family Record web site come from the collection of
Timothy W. Kimmel of Fort Wayne, Indiana.  You can contact Tim at tim@kimmelfamily.net

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