President Roosevelt orders U.S. Navy to ‘shoot on sight’ 70 years ago this hour

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUWJX-j1xws
FDR Fireside Chat 18: On The Greer Incident

(Thursday, September 11, 1941, 10 p.m. EDT) — Responding to last week’s Greer Incident, President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced tonight that he had ordered the navy to “shoot first” when Axis submarines, surface raiders or aircraft are encountered in areas which the (still officially neutral) U.S. considers vital to its defense (click here to watch a video clip of the address).