Walter Short

Walter Short Historical Figure Nationality: United States Date of Birth: 1880 Date of Death: 1949 Cause of Death: Heart failure Occupation: Soldier Military Branch: United States Army (World War I, World War II) Fictional Appearances: Days of Infamy POD: March, 1941; Relevant POD: December 7, 1941 Appearance(s): Days of Infamy Type of Appearance: Direct Date of Death: Unrevealed Joe Steele POD: 1878; Relevant POD: July, 1932 Novel or Story?: Both Type of Appearance: Contemporary reference Date of Death: 1941 Cause of Death: Execution by firing squad Occupation: Military judge, soldier Military Branch: US Army (World War II)

Walter Campbell Short (March 30, 1880 – March 9, 1949) was a Lieutenant General in the United States Army, responsible for defending U.S. military installations in Hawaii at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

After the attack, Short was demoted to major general and found guilty of dereliction of duty, having previously been more concerned about possible Japanese-American sabotage than by a Japanese military attack. Based on these priorities, Army planes were parked outside of the hangars so as to make them easier to guard, but this decision made them vulnerable to attacking Japanese planes. General Short retired from active duty on February 28, 1942. He next headed the traffic department at a Ford Motor Company plant in Dallas, Texas. He retired in 1946 and died in 1949 in Dallas of a chronic heart ailment.

Walter Short in Days of Infamy

Walter Short's poor preparations opened the door for the Japanese invasion of Oahu the day after the Pearl Harbor attack. By February 1942, it was obvious that U.S. ground forces could not keep fighting, and the U.S. miliary leaders of Hawaii ordered a surrender. Short and Admiral Husband Kimmel formally surrendered to General Tomoyuki Yamashita, Commander Minoru Genda, and Commander Mitsuo Fuchida in Iolani Palace. Both Short and Kimmel naively hoped that the Japanese would follow the Geneva Convention.

Literary comment

The story does not tell what became of Kimmel and Short after their surrender.

Walter Short in Joe Steele

The military tribunal hearing of alleged traitor and Nazi spy Father Coughlin, was headed by U.S. Army colonel Walter Short, with Navy captain William Halsey, United States Army Air Force major Carl Spatz and first lieutenant Nathan Bedford Forrest III as the remaining members. The tribunal heard Father Coughlin confess under oath and so convicted him and sentenced him to death by firing squad.

On December 14, 1941, now-General Walter Short was ordered by President Joe Steele to stand trial after the Pearl Harbor debacle. He and Admiral Husband Kimmel were swiftly convicted and executed for their incompetence. Despite having presided over the Coughlin trial, Short did not immediately understand what the likely outcome of his own trial would be.

Literary comment

Short presiding over Coughlin's trial is unique to the novel. However, Short meets the exact same fate in both the novel and the story after the Pearl Harbor attack.