Sneak attack? Yes. But a surprise? Not according to the Honolulu Advertiser. Its Nov. 30, 1941, edition proclaimed that "Japan may strike over the weekend."
A surprise at the U.S. governmental level? "This dispatch is to be considered a war warning" read an admonition from U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Harold Stark on Nov. 27. "An aggressive move by Japan is expected within the next few days."
The people of America? A Gallup poll recorded that between July and September of that fateful year, the percentage of the public in favor of “stopping Japan,” even “at the risk of war,” had “risen from 51 percent to 70 percent.” That Gallup was even asking such a question suggests the prospect of war was no great surprise to the heartland.