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Cindy
Pearl Harbor was originally a shallow embankment called Wai Momi (Pearl Water) or Pu'rloa (long Hill). It was considered the home of the shark goddess, Ka'ahupahua, and her brother, Kahiuka. Tradition says that Keaunui, the legendary chief of the Ewa chiefs is the one w ho created a navigable channel near the present day Pu'uloa saltworks. The estuary known as "Pearl River" was then accessible to shipping. It was never used for large shipping because of the shallow entrance. As whaling and trading began to use the islands as a half-way point in the Pacific, by 1820 the US was looking for a major harbor. It was not until the turn of the century that Pearl Harbor began to be refitted for larger naval vessels.
The naval base we know today was formally opened when the dry dock was open to flooding on August 21, 1919.
As early as February 1, 1933, the Navy staged a mock attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. The exercise was a disaster. Even in 1933 it was known that Pearl Harbor's defenses were considered, after the mock attack by Japan, a failure. It makes the events of December 7, 1941 even more heart-wrenching. The War Department knew the attack was coming. They did not know when. They did not realize that Pearl Harbor, which was basically a sitting duck, was to be the location of the attack. It was assumed the attack would come in the Philippines.