The History Of Pearl Harbor
For more than 60 years now, "Pearl Harbor" has been one of the most famous place names in United States history.
On Sunday, December 7, 1941, one of the most carefully planned and devastating military attacks ever made on a nation at peace occurred at Pearl Harbor.
Pearl Harbor is located on Oahu, in what was then the US Territory of Hawaii.
Most people in the continental United States had never heard of Pearl Harbor before that time.
At 7:45 AM, US Navy personnel of the Pacific fleet docked in the harbor heard a shattering sound overhead as bombs fell from the sky.
Japanese planes came in two waves. They first bombed the battleships in the harbor. Then the supporting cruisers and destroyers were bombed. Finally, the military airfields
near the shore were attacked.
By 9:55 that morning 2,390 people were dead and 1,178 more were wounded.
The Pacific fleet was crippled. Twenty-one ships were sunk, beached, or damaged. 323 airplanes were either damaged or destroyed.
That Monday President Franklin D. Roosevelt stood before Congress and declared December 7, 1941 as "a date that will live in infamy." He then asked for a Declaration of War against Japan.
The following day, Japan's allies of Germany and Italy declared war on the United States
Americans were then plunged into World War II. They shouted the slogan "Remember Pearl Harbor!"
On Sunday, December 7, 1941, one of the most carefully planned and devastating military attacks ever made on a nation at peace occurred at Pearl Harbor.
Pearl Harbor is located on Oahu, in what was then the US Territory of Hawaii.
Most people in the continental United States had never heard of Pearl Harbor before that time.
At 7:45 AM, US Navy personnel of the Pacific fleet docked in the harbor heard a shattering sound overhead as bombs fell from the sky.
Japanese planes came in two waves. They first bombed the battleships in the harbor. Then the supporting cruisers and destroyers were bombed. Finally, the military airfields
near the shore were attacked.
By 9:55 that morning 2,390 people were dead and 1,178 more were wounded.
The Pacific fleet was crippled. Twenty-one ships were sunk, beached, or damaged. 323 airplanes were either damaged or destroyed.
That Monday President Franklin D. Roosevelt stood before Congress and declared December 7, 1941 as "a date that will live in infamy." He then asked for a Declaration of War against Japan.
The following day, Japan's allies of Germany and Italy declared war on the United States
Americans were then plunged into World War II. They shouted the slogan "Remember Pearl Harbor!"