Being that the anniversary of this event is today, I think it's very fitting to address it with something I only recently discovered.

William W. Outerbridge was a Rear Admiral in the US Navy and holds the distinction of firing the first shots in defense of the US in World War II.

He was aboard the ship "Ward" when it was discovered that a Japanese mini-sub was approaching the harbor area. He and his crew sank that sub. Then he radioed his superiors about it... who promptly dismissed it. So he radioed them again, and was dismissed again. 70 minutes later, Japanese aircraft filled the skies over Pearl Harbor.

In 2002, the mini-sub that the Ward sank was found in 1,300 feet of water.

Outerbridge was portrayed in the movie Tora! Tora! Tora! from 1970.

The coolest thing... William W. Outerbridge was raised right here where I live.

Well, you learn something new everyday. I didn't know that the Japanese sent their subs in advance before launching the planes.

One of the ships that were stationed at Pear Harbor during the attack (the cruiser USS Phoenix) was much later sold to Argentina and renamed ARA General Belgrano. 

Interesting! My grandfather was at Pearl Harbor during the attack. He was aboard the USS Raleigh. Based on what my dad told me he helped man some Anti-aircraft guns to take down some of the attackers. He was really lucky to have survived the attack.