"He Fired 1st US Shots of WWII" Topic

lan Sanford, whose Naval crew fired the first American shot of World War II, was interred Wednesday at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

At 6:37 a.m. on Dec. 7, 1941, Seaman First Class Sanford, an 18-year-old gunner from St. Paul, Minn., was aboard the USS Ward, which was guarding the entrance to Pearl Harbor. Just over an hour before the Japanese aerial attack began, crewmen on the destroyer spotted a Japanese mini-submarine trying to sneak into port on the trail of another U.S. ship…

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I don't recall if the History channel or another ran it,
but there was a story about taking Sanford in a
submersible to see the wreck of the sub at which he fired,
the purpose being to make sure he'd hit it, as had been
claimed.

Clearly seen is the hole in the sub, and Sanford's grin
when he saw it with his own eyes.

RIP, sir, and good eye !

And there was me thinking the first US shots were in the Atlantic against U.Boats!

It depends how you define "first shots" and "World War II."

herkybird is correct, the US was engaged in offensive action before Pearl Harbor. If you want, you can go back to the Japanese attack on the USS Panay in 1937 in which that ship fired in defense of itself while it was being attacked.

Damnably cool about Sandord and the midget sub. I would love to watch that episode if someone could remember the name!
Larry