Totally agree this has all the hallmarks of an iconic picture you can imagine the story behind the picture, it is very dramatic. I would love to know who they were, what they were doing before, and how they came to this point on this day in history.

I do not know who these women are, but when I saw this picture Wednesday on MSNBC for the first time I was inspired, my heart filled with pride and admiration for these brave women.

At a time when the sign "Whites only" was a common sight in parts of our country and when women were kept out of front line military duty. A time when the military was still segregated into white and black regiments (with white senior officers). In only a short time Japanese Americans would be locked away in concentration camps, we see these women, Black, Asian, Hawaiian and White coming together to fight to save American sailors and their ships. The Japanese were still bombing and strafing in the harbor and elsewhere on the island but with scant concern for their own safety these women stood on the front lines and defended America.

This photo breath-taking, awe-inspiring, and to some extent shame inducing to think one of those asian women might be Japanese and her reward for her bravery will be to be locked up in Manzinar or one of the other Japanese holding areas. To think that brave young black woman would have to wait another 24 years for desegregation and equality.

God bless America

THANK YOU, Skip Nicholson! for your wonderfull and inspiring eloquence. (and THANK YOU MSNBC.com for this surely to become iconic photo) Most of us were craving to express our feelings in the manner you did.

It is so poignant and sad that this terrific generation is vanishing before us. Despite any flaws, they bequeath us so much TREASURE in love, spirit and inspiration! ... even more so, they bequeath us an eternal sense of wonder!

What an awesome photo! Hats off to these great women... I hope their identities are discovered and immortalized as a tribute to so many unnamed heroes of that awful day.

@Skip Nicholson - I'm pretty sure that woman in front is probably a native Hawaiian, and not African American.

This is an awesome photo. It is sad that if two Asian-looking women where of Japanese ancestry they were likely packed off to internment camps. To anyone who today will denigrate an American who is also a Muslim, learn from the mistakes of our past.

HOPE THIS HELPS EVERYONE - Yesterday with this photo's first post JOregon posted the following to comments:

"Your comment sent me on a search.

Photo is owned by Three Lions and Getty Images.

It is part of the Hulton Archive.

Sir Edward G Hulton (1906-1988) owned a Magazine called Picture Post.

The Hulton Archive was purchased by the BBC in 1958 and finally by Getty Images in 1996.

No Photographer is credited to the picture only that it was done by a Stringer (freelancer).

Picture is Dated December 7, 1941

http://www.gettyimages.com"

@ Lizard - I am pretty sure that woman on left is African American. Could be wrong, but the native Hawaiian would be of Japanese ancestry.

My guess is that the one on the right with face to camera is of Japanese ancestry, one to the left of that; Chinese ancestry based on facial features.

The two not looking are probably white, but definately the one on the Left is African American. In those days, I heard it was a very rare sight to have a native American Indian in the military...could be wrong. You have to remember these are military women in support roles and not civilian Hawaiian fire department.

Either way, African Americans did play a big role in Pearl Harbor...and thats a fact. Give credit where it's due. For some unknown reasons, Americans seem to not recognize the roles African Americans have played in the Civil War, WWI, WWII, Vietnam...they only know about Desert storm and Iraq wars...

Wish MSNBC could let us in on who these women really are and if they are still around...they deserve a monument just like the boys rasing the flag in Iwojima and a little respect from the American people. Any clues anybody?

I too was touched and inspired by the photo when I first saw it. The irony of women of Japanese descent fighting fires during the attack will not be lost on anybody who saw it. I'm surprised I've never seen this photo before. Although, I doubt if it was put into general circulation afterwards

I doubt any of these women were shipped off to internment camps. Most of the population of Hawaii were against sending any of their people of Japanese descent off to the mainland, and only those who were suspected of strong ties to Japan were interred.

My first impression is the woman on the left is black. But regardless, it is a stunning, awe-inspiring photograph. Heroic. I'm assuming the women are Navy nurses. They are wearing what appears to be chambray shirts and dungarees (jeans) which was the Navy work duty dress at the time.

Thank you all for your kind comments. But most all all remember the times, the tragedy, and the heriocs of these unsung women.

I agree the woman is Hawaiin. We all r technocolor people

Oh come on. Good job yes but not Iwo Jima level or significance.

I have to reply to multiple things in this post to all the people saying its a fake:

1-This would have been a very political photo back then so they would have chosen to not publish it. It could have been lost in the shuffle. It has some technical flaws and editors might not have chosen it. Remember before the internet you had to pick and choose wisely.

2- As to the question of the feet and extra people: There's a second hose behind them! See the water stream? See the hose? See the hat of a person holding it? See the extra feet of people holding it? There's someone standing holding the hose wearing a hat, and someone kneeling holding the hose lower down behind lady #4. They're wearing those 2 toned shoes. By her stance, Lady #4 with her face turned from the camera, might even have a hand on both hoses.

3- Why are that many people holding 1 hose? Fire hoses have EXTREME pressure and are hard to maintain even by men. This scene is familiar to anyone familiar with fire firefighting.

4- Why aren't they upset? They have mixed emotions of determination, anger, and sadness. The men on the pier in the background are just in shock and gaping I bet. They've got a job to do and they're determined to do it. They'll cry later. That's what tough people do. They get the job done and cry later!

5- As to their mixed races etc. HI has always been like that. Get a clue.

GEEZ

@DocHolliday......If you look at the feet of the women in this photo, only the one holding the nozzle appears to be wearing military shoes. Remembering what day that photo was taken, the only thing that matters is that these women ran into the action and the danger to do what they could.

by the way they are dressed, it looks like they may have been factory workers. at that period in time that was dress code. i have seen pictures of an aunt and she had on the same outfit and my mother told me it was dress code for factory workers. i would like to know who as well. need to check local factory records for that time, JUST SAYIN..

Interesting photo no doubt, but you people are trying to read way to much into it next you will have them knocking Japanese planes out of the sky with fire hoses! looks like it was taken in the aftermath of the attack, the woman in the front appearsto be Polynesian not African American the features are a dead giveaway, the middle two are obviously of Japanese decent. I'll agree with it being dangerous, fighting fire around unexploded ordinances is risky. I wish the photographer kept a better record. this could have been something heroic or totally different then that. maybe in a short time something will show up. I hope its not a beer keg on a cable. the thing I notice most is their attire it doesn't look like they are dressed for a normal Sunday morning and got caught in a attack. it appears they dressed for the task they were engaged in.

Childrex, what a sexist and stupid thing to say. These women are every bit as heroic as the men who raised the flag on Mount Surabachi. What, just because they fighting with a hose instead of a Garand you rate their actions less important. Shame on you.

No they are not. Do not elevate actions because of their gender- that is sexist!

Podna, I'm a state-certified Civil Rights investigator with more than a dozen years of experience. I am trained and state-certified to KNOW sexist behavior and attitudes when I encounter them. Your statement is sexist.

These women are heroes and their acts of bravery should be celebrated.

And I still say shame on you for your lack of understanding, appreciation and sensitivity.

State certified! Wow. You did find out this picture was not taken on Pearl Harbor Day, right?

you've never seen it before for the same reason there are only white soldiers in every movie made about any us war before the '70's.

See Frank Capra's awe-inspiring 1940s film "The Negro Soldier."

too bad people were not as worried to find the truth of BARRY O and where he came from as they are these women in this photo,so they could discredit them.

I, too, noticed that two of them seemed to be Asian, which led me, too, to wonder what happened to them after so many Asian Americans were interned.

Hawaiians were not sent to camps. Only on West Coast.

you're an idiot. the mountain had been cleared before the first flag went up. no one has ever said it was 'under fire'. how do you account for the movie film of the flag raising showing it was one complete action and nothing close to being 'posed'.

The only reason it was re-taken it's because the flag was too small. As to the Navy guy, in WWII corpsmen from the navy were attached to Marine units, for the leathernecks were (and still are today) part of the Department of the Navy.

Bill - this was intended for kbmoma. Sri but put it in wrong spot.

Time to read your photo history book.

The Iwo Jima photo was the second flag raising atop Suribachi, this time to replace the smaller flag not easily seen from the navy flotilla offshore.

The photographer, Joe Rosenthal, when answering a message from AP headquarters in New York via radio while still at Iwo, said his photo was posed when he thought the question referred to the group photo he shot after the flag raising. He didn't know the now iconic flag raising photo was a successful image and assumed the discussion was about the group shot.

An article in "American Heritage" in June 1964 details "The first flag-raising at Iwo Jima" and the story of how the second photo happened. Only one of the men in the first flag raising is in the second photo. Navy Corpsman John Bradley whose son, James Bradley, wrote "Flags of our Fathers" detailing the epic climb up the volcano.

This is a common mistake when speaking of Joe's remarkable photo.

My father (of blessed memory 1916-2006) served in the Army in Hawaii right after Pearl Harbor. He told me many stories about his WWII stint. I have recorded about 4 hours of his life stories. He said that he worked in a supply office with many Asian women at Hickam Air Field. Before that job, he laid oil pipe at the air field for 6 months. He didn't know their ancestry; Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, etc. He said he had a crush on one of them, but he was re-assigned to Buffalo, NY. There, he met my Canadian mother.

Those women pictured there that day in that photo and many others are to be praised for their heroism. Hope that someone recognizes them and reports back here.

You are wrong Michelle. Japanese-Americans WERE placed in Internment Camps in Hawaii. They all lost their jobs and homes just for being Japanese. Also, Japanese ALL OVER the US were placed in camps not just those in the western US. That's where most of the camps were built. The US shipped Japanese-Americans from all over the US to those camps.

Learn your history and stop sleeping in class. Those US CITIZENS lost eveything because of a paranoid government and white US citizens who did nothing to stop it because of irrational fear.

We almost did the same thing when 9/11 happened. Many wanted to round up everyone of middle eastern decent and cage them. Many people, most of them Republicans, would still like to do it.

@Michelle: Incorrect on both points. First, although many Japanese and Japanese Americans in Hawai'i were not interned, some were, either in Hawai'i or on the Mainland. There were at least five internment camps in Hawai'i, of which the ones at Sand Island, Honouliuli, and Haiku are the best documented. Second, Japanese and Japanese Americans all over the U.S. states and territories were interned, not "only" those in the western states. See Seabrook, NJ and (ironically) Ellis Island for well-known histories in the Eastern U.S.

Michelle is correct. Some few Japanese were taken into custody because of suspicious activity but there was no general roundup and interment as there was on the mainland. It was decided that it was economically imposable to remove that much labor from the islands workforce.

My Uncle 'Mooney' (Munitake) was a young man driving a truck when the attack happened. He was in Wahiawa, near Schofield Barracks. The Navy SP's commandeered his truck, and he was tasked with collecting bodies and moving them to makeshift morgues.

"That is when women evolved and really understood that they are as good at working and defending the nation as men."

Correction - that is when MEN understood that women are as good at working and defending the nation as men. Women knew that for centuries before that.

What? Not enough white Southern Baptist women in the picture for your taste? Hawaii was/is pretty multi-ethnic, so it seems to make sense. Perhaps the two women facing away from the camera are Donna Reed and Harriet Nelson.

Maybe it should become a FedEx or UPS shipping label instead of a stamp LOL

Absolutelyright - yesterday when this photo was first posted - JOregon entered the following - also - if you look closely - in the water - to the left - you'll see a man in the water. While that certainly doesn't authenticate taken on Dec 7 - it could be viewed as you wrote signs of distress. Anyway -

"Your comment sent me on a search.

Photo is owned by Three Lions and Getty Images.

It is part of the Hulton Archive.

Sir Edward G Hulton (1906-1988) owned a Magazine called Picture Post.

The Hulton Archive was purchased by the BBC in 1958 and finally by Getty Images in 1996.

No Photographer is credited to the picture only that it was done by a Stringer (freelancer).

Picture is Dated December 7, 1941

http://www.gettyimages.com"

absolutelyright- You have OBVIOUSLY never been around firemen have you?? That hose at full pressure would yes require that many women to hold it steady. I've see that many burly men have to hold a hose that radius at full pressure. Some research would do you some good.

There is a reason why onboard ship they have firefighting TEAMS . Even civilian firefighters need a few people to hold the lines when fighting fires now due to the sheer force of the high pressure lines they use.

That's not a man floating in the water- it looks more like a piece of driftwood- something that you would not find in in this part of the world. As far as the firehose theory- if you look at the diameter of the opening where the water is spewing it was designed that way to control the pressure of the hose. Too large an opening would send someone reeling back- but this is a pressure control hose designed to allow one person to work it at a time.

Ok, since people are wondering if that hoseline is difficult to handle, the answer is absolutely YES (it looks like what is usually called a "blitz line" - a 2 1/2" line with a smooth bore nozzle delivering 200-350 gallons per minute). The reason you need so many people on the line is NOT ONLY for the backpressure on the nozzle operator, but because maneuvering or moving the line itself is difficult. Why? Because water is HEAVY.

A 50 foot section of that line holds roughly 13 gallons of water when it's charged (and it's probably a 200' line at least). Water weighs 8.3 lbs a gallon, so that's roughly 140 pounds per 50 section. When it's stationary, no problem. When you need to advance it, or move it, or maneuver it? Yeah. This line is for putting big water on a fire, not mobility, and it is a BEAR to handle, unless you're one of the strongest people out there.

So, in other words it would have been impractical for these women to try and handle such a hose. Thank you for clearing that up. Therefore, it was a propaganda photo afterall. :)

Absolutelywrong - you have never handled a fire line in the military have you?

That's blatantly obvious by your ignorant posts. It takes 4-5 people to do it. Not 4-5 built like Arnold but 4-5 ordinary people to effectively handle the lines. Just like in the photo. As to the driftwood... considering the sheer damage done to the bases that day , I'd expect a lot of not typical stuff was in the water.

Now since you know NOTHING of what you are spouting off about in this thread its time to shut up,sit down and maybe read a book and learn instead of showing off how IGNORANT you really are.

@ absoutelyright... I corrected your first assertion, that it is ridiculous to need four people to handle that hoseline. Now let me say unequivocally that YES, four WOMEN could handle that hoseline. In fact, with the proper training, a team of 2 or 3 men or women could handle that hoseline. It would still not be easy to deal with, and with more people you'll have greater control and it would be safer to operate.

Firefighting tactics and training have changed tremendously over the years, but here's a few reasons why I think that photo is genuine (in the sense of, they are putting out an actual fire... I cannot speak to whether it's from Pearl Harbor or not).

One - two blitz lines are operating right next to each other. If one team lost control of their hose line, it would extremely dangerous to the other team. For general training, you'd want to space those out.

Two - no helmets, no coats, no boots. Even if this was a training drill where they were operating two large handlines next to each other, I would be surprised if they had not at least been given the basic safety equipment of the time period. That just doesn't square at all.

Hey gene'nut' - please do yourself a favor and take some anger management classes! What's it feel like to have to be absolutely right all the time... oh, that's my name lol. And it's for a good reason because in this case (and about all others) I am absolutely right and you're... well... in need of medication ;)

Firefighter- have you ever seen photoshop before? Look at the picture- there you go!

Hey losers: Including PJ, INpatient girl, gene'nut', and wannabe a firefighter- read it and weep:

http://openchannel.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/12/9377669-pearl-harbor-surprise-photo-of-female-firefighters-wasnt-from-dec-7?threadId=3294024&commentId=60659524#c60659524

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!!!!!!! YOU LOSERS!! And who is 'absolutelywrong' now geneNut? In. Your. Faces.

"Firefighter- have you ever seen photoshop before? Look at the picture- there you go!"

"it would have been impractical for these women to try and handle such a hose."

The photo WASNT photoshopped. They didnt have photoshop back in the fourties when this was taken..... AND It really was 4 women handling fire lines at Pearl Harbor, just during training not Dec 7th.

So maybe you really should be quiet. You still are absolutely wrong.

Dan - please see above post #24.

Thank you. Full stop.