Remembering Pearl Harbor and the New Mexico Military Museum

Published December 11, 2025 at 9:52 AM MST

Last night on The Forum, 84 years after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, we revisited the tense days leading up to that pivotal moment with author Pulitzer Prize winning author/journalist Steve Twomey. His insights into the intelligence failures, missed signals, and human decisions that preceded the attack highlighted the chain of events that ultimately drew the United States into World War II. Twomey’s segment was followed by a conversation with Laureta Huit, director of the New Mexico Military Museum, now maintained by the National Guard. She described how the museum’s collections and programs help visitors understand the sacrifices and heroic actions of New Mexicans who served in battle, preserving their stories through dynamic and engaging exhibitions.

This year was the first one since the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, where no living survivor was able to attend the annual commemoration. A reminder of the importance of not forgetting what happened 84 years ago when early on a Sunday morning 2,404 U.S. military personnel and civilians were killed, including 7 men New Mexicans who died on the USS Arizona. In our discussion of the days leading up to surprise attack, Twomey described the tension that existed between the Army and Navy where there was little sharing of information that might have increased awareness of the risk. At the time, Americans had very little respect for the Japanese people which carried over to a belief that its military was ineffective and could never mount a credible threat to the U.S. Twomey rejected the myth that FDR knew and wanted Pearl Harbor to occur to give him a reason to enter the war.

Twomey explained for that to have happened would have required a conspiracy across the government which would have certainly been disclosed. Near the end of the discussion, Twomey reads a passage from his book where he describes how Admiral Kimmel reacted to the destruction happening before his eyes. There were many signs that the Japanese were getting ready to stage an attack, but the clues of the location were missed and adequate precautions were not taken. A question for today is: are we prepared for anticipating the unimaginable?.

In the 2nd half of the show, Laureta Huit, the Director of the New Mexico Military Museum spoke about the history of the Museum, which was originally named the Bataan Memorial Museum, as the body of its then collection focused on New Mexicans who were involved in the Bataan Death March. Today, the collections extend to educating visitors about the state’s military history. The building itself is historic ad is included in the National Register of Historic Places as it was the second armory built in Santa Fe and was the induction center during World War II. Laureta reminded listeners that the Museum’s auditorium is available for rental and that the museum is open most days for guided tours. Volunteers are always needed and to obtain more information contact the museum through its website at newmexicomilitarymuseum.com

Host: Jim Falk

Co-Host: Peter Smith

Guests: Steve Twomey, author, “Countdown to Pearl Harbor: The Twelve Days to the Attack”

Laureta Huit, Director, New Mexico Military Museum