Original Items: One-of-a-Kind. This is an incredible historically significant  collection of items attributed to the USS Ward which fired the first shots of America's involvement in World War Two occurred one hour an ten minutes before the Japanese aerial attack.

We now know that the Japanese government intended to declare war on the United States and attack Pearl Harbor an hour later. But a snafu inside the Japanese Embassy on the weekend and an issue with the decoding and typing of the message delayed the message until after the attack was over.

The US fleet was caught unaware and unprepared and most of the ship’s fleet were asleep on a Sunday morning. By the time the Japanese warplanes withdrew, eight battleships, the pride of the Pacific fleet lay sunk or damaged, 18 ships in all were sunk or damaged. Over 200 planes were destroyed on the ground. And 2407 sailors, Marines and soldiers were killed on that day with 1247 others wounded.

But what many people don’t realize is that the Japanese didn’t fire the first shot in the war when they commenced bombing. The first shot was fired by the destroyer USS Ward, who fired on and sunk a Japanese midget submarine that was trying to sneak into the harbor. Unfortunately, the reports from the Ward were discounted and disbelieved by Navy brass. Something, they’d pay dearly for. The ship’s crew didn’t get confirmation that they’d sunk the submarine for over 60 years.

For years, no one believed the crew of the Ward had actually fired upon and sunk a Japanese midget submarine. Finally, in 2002, a team of deep-sea researchers found a perfectly preserved Japanese midget sub, exactly where the Ward reported the contact. And sure enough, the conning tower had a hole where the #3 gun punched a hole in it. She still carried her two torpedoes which had never been fired. The Ward had indeed fired the first shots of World War II for the United States and had sunk an enemy vessel.

The document in this collection shows that the Captain of the Ward did recognize and report the Wards actions with a commendation to one of his men. The citation was issued on December 17th, 1945.

On the morning of 7 December 1941, under the command of LCDR William W. Outerbridge, Ward was conducting a precautionary patrol off the entrance to Pearl Harbor when she was informed at 03:57 by visual signals from the coastal minesweeper Condor of a periscope sighting, whereupon Ward began searching for the contact. At about 06:37, she sighted a periscope apparently tailing the cargo ship Antares whereupon she attacked the target. Though unconfirmed at the time, her guns holed a Japanese Ko-hyoteki-class, two-man midget submarine. The death of its two-man crew was the first American-caused casualties in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, occurring a few hours before Japanese carrier aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor. The submarine was attempting to enter the harbor by following Antares through the antisubmarine nets at the harbor entrance. By entering territorial waters of a neutral country without signaling any intent to stop, the submarine was not entitled to "innocent passage" protections and the neutral party had a right to use whatever means to protect its territory. Ward fired several rounds from its main guns, hitting the conning tower of the submarine, and also dropped several depth charges during the attack.

The Following Items Are Featured In The Grouping:

- Framed Commendation For SF3c Carl August Barfuss: To say that this framed document is incredible would be selling it short. The document is dated for December 17, 1941 just ten days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Measures 13 1/4"W x 15 5/8"H. It is profession framed with archive matting and UV protective museum grade glass. The document shows a raised seal under the signature.

The Document reads as Follows:

DD139/P15
U.S.S. WARD

PEARL HARBOR, T.H.,
DECEMBER 17, 1941

From:  Commanding Officer.
To:       BARFUSS, Carl August, 410 90 62, SF3c

Subject: Commendation
     1.      On December 7, 1941 you were a member of this ship’s company and participated in the sinking of a Japanese submarine at 0645 in the Pearl Harbor Defensive Sea Area.

     2.      In the subsequent bombing of the Pearl Harbor Area and while the WARD was making additional attacks under a rain of shrapnel and other missiles from various sources, you carried out your assigned duties with coolness, despatch, and in accordance with the tradition of the service.

     3.      This individual action on the part of all hands is highly commendable as it enabled the ship to receive a “well done” for an assignment successfully carried out.

     4.      A copy of this letter is filed with your official record.

W. W. OUTERBRIDGE

William Woodward Outerbridge was the commanding officer of the Ward at the time of the attack and retired as a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy.

Early in the morning of December 7, 1941, the Ward, while on patrol near the entrance to Pearl Harbor, was alerted by the cargo ship Antares (AG-10) to the presence of a Japanese midget submarine attempting to infiltrate into the harbor entrance. The Ward opened fire with her number three deck gun, then dropped depth charges, and sank the submarine. Outerbridge's radio reports were discounted by senior officers at naval headquarters despite his efforts to emphasize that there could be no mistake, sending a second report with more explicit detail: "We have attacked, fired upon, and dropped depth charges upon submarine operating in defensive sea area." This happened just 70 minutes before the Japanese naval air forces commenced their attacks on Pearl Harbor. The action by the Ward's crew was thus the first naval action by U.S. forces in World War II, and the gun that fired the first shot was installed as a memorial at the Minnesota State Capitol in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The midget submarine the Ward sank that morning was finally located in August 2002 in 1,300 feet (400 m) of water just outside Pearl Harbor.

For this action Outerbridge was subsequently awarded the Navy Cross.

Accompanying The Citation is the Following:
- Miniature Submarine on Red/Orange Bakelite Stand: The submarine base has a label stating “MADE FROM JAP SUB / PEARLY HARBOR HAWAII / DECEMBER 8, 1941. The model was constructed out of a section from a Japanese mini sub that washed up on shore on the morning of December 8, 1941. Its surviving crew member, Kazuo Sakamaki, was captured along with his craft. The submarine was studied and then toured the U.S. to promote the sale of War Bonds. It is now on permanent display at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas.

- Commemorative Button: This 3” button is a commemorative piece that was more than likely given out during war bond drives and donations. It reads “1st SHOT U.S.S. WARD DEC. 7TH, 1941 PEARL HARBOR. It is in excellent condition.

- Desktop Torpedo Model: The torpedo has a length of 12 inches and is mounted on a 10” x 3” wood base and sits at a height of 3 ¼”.

- USS Ward 24k Gold Clad Commemorative Coin From The Arizona Memorial Museum Foundation: This is a beautiful commemorative gold coin for the USS Ward. The coin is marked with various hallmarks which confirm the 24k .999 cold content. The coin is in mint condition and is still in a lovely coin case.

- 6 ¼” x 4 ¼” Framed War Bonds Newspaper Clipping For Captured Japanese Sub: This was the Japanese mini sub that washed up ashore Pearl Harbor on December 8, 1941. Its surviving crew member, Kazuo Sakamaki, was captured along with his craft. The submarine was studied and then toured the U.S. to promote the sale of War Bonds. It is now on permanent display at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas.

- 7 ¾” x 5 ¾” Framed Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor Propaganda Postcard Circa 1943: These cards were issued to commemorate the second anniversary of what Japan termed the Great East Asia War, which the Japanese promoted as an unqualified success up to this point in 1943. The image was originally painted by Yoshioka Kenji. The condition is excellent with minimal fading.

- Framed 7 ¾” x 5 ¾” “Hero Gods” Japanese Mini Sub Crew Photo: None of the 10 crew members of the attacking midget submarines expected to return. To his shame, Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki was captured, and the remaining nine crewmen were declared "hero gods" by Japanese propagandists. The crew of midget submarine I-16tou, Masaji Yokoyama and Sadamu Uyeda; I-18tou, Shigemi Furuno and Shigenori Yokoyama; I-20tou, Akira Hiro-o and Yoshio Katayama; I-22tou, Naoji Iwasa and Naokichi Sasaki; and I-24tou, Kazuo Sakamaki and Kiyoshi Inagaki.

Kazuo Sakamaki was a Japanese naval officer who became the first prisoner of war of World War II to be captured by U.S. forces, and the second to be captured by Americans.

Ensign Sakamaki was one of ten sailors (five officers and five petty officers) selected to attack Pearl Harbor in five two-man Ko-hyoteki class midget submarines on 7 December 1941. Of the ten, nine were killed (including the other crewman in submarine HA. 19, CWO Kiyoshi Inagaki.) Sakamaki was chosen for the mission due to his large number of siblings.

Sakamaki's submarine became trapped on a reef off Waimanalo Beach, Oahu, as it attempted to enter Pearl Harbor. The book Attack on Pearl Harbor claims that his submarine hit four coral reefs and sank. Sakamaki ordered his crewman, Kiyoshi Inagaki, to swim to shore, and Sakamaki attempted to scuttle the disabled submarine and swim to shore as well. The explosives failed to go off and Inagaki drowned. Sakamaki made it to shore, but fell unconscious once on the beach, where he was found by a U.S. soldier, David Akui, and was taken into military custody. When he awoke, he found himself in a hospital under U.S. armed security. Sakamaki became the first Japanese prisoner of war in U.S. captivity during World War II and was stricken from Japanese records and officially ceased to exist. His submarine was recovered and taken on tours across the United States to encourage war bond purchases.

After being taken to Sand Island, Sakamaki requested that he be allowed to kill himself, which was denied. Sakamaki spent the rest of the war in prisoner-of-war camps in the continental United States. At the war's end, he was repatriated to Japan, by which time he had become deeply committed to pacifism.

- Cased Model of a Type A Kō-hyōteki-class “midget” submarine in Great Condition: The Type A Ko-hyoteki class was a class of Japanese midget submarines (Kō-hyōteki) used during World War II. They had hull numbers but no names. For simplicity, they are most often referred to by the hull number of the mother submarine. Thus, the midget carried by I-16-class submarine was known as I-16's boat, or "I-16tou."

This class was followed by: Type B (甲標的乙型, Kō-hyōteki otsu-gata), Type C (甲標的丙型, Kō-hyōteki hei-gata), and Type D (甲標的丁型, Kō-hyōteki tei-gata), the last one better known as Kōryū (蛟龍).

Five of these boats participated in the Pearl Harbor attack, with possibly two actually making it into the harbor. Secret war records show that submarine crews had been ordered to scuttle their subs after the attack and provisions were made to recover stranded crews. Of the five used at Pearl Harbor, No.19 was captured with its pilot Kazuo Sakamaki where it grounded on the east side of Oahu. During World War II, No.19 was put on tour across the United States to help sell War Bonds. Now a U.S. National Historic Landmark, No.19 is an exhibit at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas.

- Original Picture of “Jap Sub Captured at Pearl Harbor”: The photo measures 3 ½” x 2 ½” and appears to have been in a photo album. The writing on the photo states that the image was taken on December 30, 1942 in Gila Bend, Arizona.

This is a remarkable grouping packed with amazing history. With the holidays coming up, this is perfect for the WWII US Navy collector. Comes more than ready for display.

The Ward was commanded Lieutenant William Outerbridge, who had been in the Navy for only 14 years and had taken command of her less than 24 hours before. He was thrilled to be off of his previous ship and finally get a command of his own for the first time. She was part of an older squadron of destroyers assigned to Inshore Patrol Command along with USS Schley, USS Chew, and the USS Allen. Their mission was to protect the outer edges of the harbor against an enemy ships or submarines trying to sneak into Pearl Harbor.

The Ward’s crew, 84 men, were mainly Navy Reservists from St. Paul, Minnesota. Early in the morning of Dec. 7,  the Ward was on patrol outside the channel entrance to Pearl Harbor. At 0400, a minesweeper signaled the Ward that it had sighted a submerged submarine in the area. A search was initiated but failed to detect anything.

At 0458 Pearl Harbor’s anti-torpedo net gate was opened to allow passage of a number of small ships including the Stores Ship USS Antares (AKS 14). Antares was towing a target back to base when at about 0635 a lookout on Ward noticed a wake following the auxiliary between her and her the raft.

Alerted, the crew called Outerbridge from his sleeping cot to the bridge.  Outerbridge came to the bridge dressed in a kimono and took a look for himself. He spied the object and confirmed that it was a conning tower of a submarine. And it was a different one than on American subs. It was trying to draft in the wake between the Antares and her towed target.

Outerbridge didn’t hesitate at all, he called the crew to general quarters and ordered the ship to increase speed to 25 knots. He was approaching the oblivious sub and near ramming speed and then gave the order to “commence firing!” Less than 200 yards away the Ward opened up the shooting war for the Americans. A shell from the ship’s No. 1 gun missed, but now only 50 yards away, the nine-man crew of the No. 3 gun four-inch gun next fired a shot that hit the base of the conning tower. The sub shuddered, slowed and slowly disappeared beneath the waves. The Ward rolled four depth charges off the stern set for 100 feet and they exploded. Outerbridge reversed his course and found an oil slick, but sonar picked up nothing. World War II had begun for the United States, however, no one knew it yet.

The Ward immediately notified Naval Command at Pearl Harbor that it had attacked and fired upon a submarine operating in the restricted area. To emphasize that this was a real emergency, Outerbridge sent another message at 0653 “Attacked, fired upon, depth bombed, and sunk submarine operating in the defensive sea area.”

If the Americans react, they have more than an hour to scramble aircraft and get their ships moving off their moorings. His report was met with skepticism and disbelief. The 14th Naval District’s Chief of Staff, Captain John B. Earle, had the impression “it was just another one of these false reports which had been coming in, off and on.” His boss, Admiral Claude Bloch dismissed it as well, asking if it was just another false report.

The message finally got to Admiral Kimmel, the Commander of Pearl Harbor at 0740. Kimmel too was unconvinced that the threat was real and issued no orders. Just a few minutes later, an orderly burst into the room to tell Kimmel, “There’s a message from the signal tower saying the Japanese are attacking Pearl Harbor, and this is no drill.”

The time was 0755 and the Japanese had commenced their attack. Had Ward’s message been taken seriously at once, would the situation have turned out differently? It is difficult to say, battleships take time to get their steam up and get moving. At a minimum, the sky could have been full of American fighters and the antiaircraft guns would have been active. They at least would have made the Japanese victory much costlier than the 29 planes that they lost.

Outerbridge would leave the Ward in 1942. She would be converted to a fast transport and three years to the day of Pearl Harbor. The Ward was struck by a Betty bomber that was a kamikaze at Ormoc Bay in the Philippines. Struck at the starboard waterline, with fires blazing and no water pressure to fight the fires, the Ward abandoned ship. The destroyer O’Brien was tasked to move in and scuttle and sink the Ward with gunfire. The O’Brien sent the Ward to the bottom on December 7, 1944, three years to the day from Pearl Harbor. In a strange twist of fate, the Commander of the O’Brien was William Outerbridge.

For years, no one believed the crew of the Ward had actually fired upon and sunk a Japanese midget submarine. Finally, in 2002, a team of deep-sea researchers found a perfectly preserved Japanese midget sub, exactly where the Ward reported the contact. And sure enough, the conning tower had a hole where the #3 gun punched a hole in it. She still carried her two torpedoes which had never been fired. The Ward had indeed fired the first shots of World War II for the United States and had sunk an enemy vessel.

After the war, the Ward’s crew members formed the “First Shot Naval Vets,” which held annual reunions on Dec. 7. The group arranged to have the No. 3 gun — which had been removed as part of the ship’s conversion and preserved by the Navy — moved to Minnesota for the state’s centennial in 1958.