Kermit Tyler: Officer got warning of Pearl raid, didn’t act - SignOnSanDiego.com Daniel Martinez, Pearl Harbor historian for the National Park Service, said Mr. Tyler’s role at Pearl Harbor was misunderstood. “Kermit Tyler took the brunt of the criticism, but that was practically his first night on the job, and he was told that if music was playing on the radio all night, it meant the B-17s were coming in.” The music played all night so the B-17 pilots could home in on the signal, and when he heard the music as he was driving to work, Mr. Tyler figured the aircraft would be coming in soon. Though the decision he made haunted him, he believed it was the right one at the time.
Tyler's action was symptomatic of the attitude of the whole command at the time. No one had made clear to him that he was operating under a war warning or that conditions were different from any other time some junior officer took his turn on duty. Anyone else would probably have done the same. Nor is there any reason to think anyone would have leaped into action if Tyler had raised the alarm. More likely, whomever he called would say "don't worry about it, kid".
Definitely a transitional organization, 75% peacetime thinking, 25% wartime thinking. The testimony is full of examples of that.
Saw this tonight on the evening news. Unfortunately the story was only given 2 minutes or less of airtime. Cleared of all charges but it never did talk about how this haunted the poor fellow for the rest of his life or what he was put through. Rest in peace Mr. Tyler and thanks for you service.
The San Diego story reported Tyler was 86, which would make him a 17 year old Lt. in 1941. He was actually 96.
