"Attack By Japan Would Be Made Without Previous Declaration of War"--Admiral Frank Upham

"This Day in History"

June 20, 1934

Admiral Frank Upham started his Naval career serving with the Pacific Squadron after graduating from the United States Naval Academy in 1893.  Commissioned as an Ensign, Upham spent his time in the Far East, eventually working his way up the ranks to Captain.  He commanded the cruisers USS Columbia and USS Pueblo during World War I and earned a Navy Cross.  In 1933, Upham returned to the Far East as a Fleet Admiral, Commander in Chief of the Asiatic Fleet, where he gave his testimony to the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) on the Japanese.

Photograph courtesy of United States Navy.

During Upham's report to the CNO on June 20, 1934, he said that "based on analyses of Japanese radio traffic, any attack by Japan would be made without previous declaration of war or international warning."  This ominous prediction came to reality on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked the base on Pearl Harbor and officially brought the United States into World War II.  Admiral Upham passed away before this event, but his words and predictions live on in history.

USS Razorback saw action during the end of World War II, but without the United States declaration and involvement in this war, the submarine may never have been built.  The Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum, where the submarine is based, has a wide historical view on many different wars throughout the history of the United States, but none more awe inspiring than touring an authentic World War II submarine.  Admiral Upham may have tried to war the United States about an impending Japanese threat, but Razorback was able to successfully sail into Japanese waters in 1944 to 1945 and help to defeat this enemy.

Author: Nicolette Lloyd