* A bit of BlackComedy at the beginning of the attack: The Japanese planes begin their attack run while the American sailors are standing at attention and raising the flag, while a band plays the Star Spangled Banner. The American personnel ''[[HonorBeforeReason continue]]'' to [[TheStoic stand at attention and salute]] even as the first explosions go off, and the conductor, rather than cut off the music, has the band play faster so they can wrap it up and take cover.
** TruthInTelevision. It's considered a part of military band code back then that when you started the Star-Spangled Banner, you had to finish it unless you are physically incapable. The players weren't physically incapable, but if they stood out there any longer, they would have been. This was fixed in a later draft.
* General Short has ordered that all of the Army's planes be grouped together in the middle of their airfields, in order to [[WrongGenreSavvy protect them from saboteurs]]. One of the base commanders, very aware of [[SittingDuck how vulnerable this leaves his planes to air attack]], elects to redeploy a few planes each to nearby satellite fields in order to achieve as much dispersal of the planes as he can while still obeying orders. The first two pilots he dispatches ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Welch_(pilot) George Welch]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_M._Taylor Kenneth Taylor]], for history buffs) immediately assume they are [[ReassignedToAntarctica being punished]] for hustling their fellows at cards.
* One Japanese cook tries to explain the concept of time zones and the International Date Line to a co-worker, who just isn't getting it. Just as it seems he has finally successfully explained it to him...
--> "If we see the enemy on the other side of the date line, I guess it would be useless to shoot at them. [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Because how can today's shells hit yesterday's enemy?"]]
** The line is even funnier upon further consideration, as when taken out of context, it actually sounds kind of deep.
* The Japanese pilots are using flashcards to practice identifying their targets. They successfully guess the ''Pennsylvania'' and ''Oklahoma''. One pilot hastily identifies the next card as the ''Enterprise'', and is informed that it is ''actually'' the ''Akagi'', [[FriendOrFoe his own flagship.]]
** It's even funnier if you're familiar with the ships, as the prop guys supplied a picture of an ''Essex'' class American carrier in a post-war configuration, which looks much more like ''Enterprise'' than like ''Akagi''.
* Just before the attack, an instructor and a student pilot are flying over Oahu in a biplane. While the instructor gives friendly advice to the student about holding the plane steady and keeping the nose up, [[FailedASpotCheck a large group of Japanese bombers overtakes them from behind.]] The biplane crew sees the Japanese planes all around them, and the instructor [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere quickly takes the controls and rolls the biplane into a dive to get out of there.]]
* During a training flight, geisha girls call out to the Japanese pilots. A fisherman grumbles that the planes attract geisha girls but scare away the fish.
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