First American shots fired in World War II

While debate over the First American shots fired in World War II existed for some time, specifically concerning the Attack on Pearl Harbor, it is now generally accepted that the first American (and the first American-caused) casualties actually occurred on December 7, 1941 when the USS "Ward" attacked and sank a Japanese midget submarine near the entrance to Pearl Harbor prior to the commencement of the Japanese air attack upon Pearl Harbor, which caused the United States to become directly involved in World War II. As a result of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, America declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941 and upon Germany two days later.

The USS "Ward" made sonar contact with what turned out to be a midget submarine and sank it, all shortly before the Japanese air attack began. As this occurred prior to the air attack, the other contenders could not have been the first.

Some have argued that the deliberate attack on the United States gunboat USS "Panay" in 1937 on a river in China by the Japanese in the Panay incident might qualify. However, World War II is generally considered to not have begun until Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. On the other hand, Japan had been involved in military actions in China since 1931, when it first attacked Manchuria, later making a full scale attack upon China.

The first time Americans engaged in hostile action after September 1, 1939 was on April 10, 1941, when the destroyer USS "Niblack" attacked a German U-boat that had just sunk a Dutch freighter. The "Niblack" was picking up survivors of the freighter when it detected the U-boat preparing to attack. The "Niblack" attacked with depth charges and drove off the U-boat. There were no casualties onboard the "Niblack" or the U-boat.

One could argue that the sinking of the USS "Reuben James" by the German U-boat "U-552" on October 31, 1941 might be considered the first American losses of World War II. However, America was not directly involved in the war yet, nor did this cause America to declare war. An interesting quirk of history, the "Niblack" was in the same convoy as the "Reuben James" when the "Reuben James" was sunk.

The first overt, pre-planned offensive action by Americans in WWII came in January 1942 when the aircraft carrier USS "Enterprise" attacked Japanese bases in the Marshall Islands.

Contenders

This is a list of those once considered deserving of this distinction.

Doris Miller, an African-American sailor. He took control of an unattended machine gun and used it in defense of Pearl Harbor. He was awarded the Navy Cross.

Bob Warnock, a Sailor on the deck of the submarine,
USS "Cachalot" (SS-170), when the attack began. After witnessing a Japanese plane torpedo the nearby USS "Pennsylvania" (BB-38), he fired upon the plane with his sidearm.

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Barracks/1041/niblack.html USS Niblack site]