An American pilot who dismissed initial reports of what turned out to be the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor has died at age 96. Kermit Tyler was the Army Air Forces' first lieutenant on temporary duty at Ft. Shafter's radar information center in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941, when two privates reported seeing an unusually large blip on their radar screen, indicating a large number of aircraft about 132 miles away and fast approaching. Tyler's famous response was "Don't worry about it," thinking it was a flight of U.S. B-17 bombers that was due in from the mainland. The aircraft were the first wave of more than 180 Japanese aircraft whose surprise attack on Pearl Harbor shortly before 8 a.m. plunged the United States into World War II. Daniel Martinez, Pearl Harbor historian for the National Park Service, said Tyler's role was misunderstood and that congressional committees and military inquiries that looked into what happened at Pearl Harbor did not find him at fault.