Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii happened on December 7, 1941
The attack brought the United States into World War II and ended U.S. isolationism after being neutral and helping Great Britain. American commanders received a warning but they didn’t think they would go to Hawaii because of the far distance between Japan and Hawaii.
Japan sank or damaged eight battleships, three cruisers, four destroyers, six other vessels, 188 airplanes and killed 2,403 Americans. Roosevelt said it was the most serious crisis since the Civil War. The next day Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war.
The above photo is showing the sinking of the USS battleship Arizona after Japanese war planes dropped bombs on it. This same ship would later become a memorial to all those who lost their life.
“Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan…..No matter how long it may take us…the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.”
-Franklin Roosevelt
In 1958, President Eisenhower signed the bill that allowed this memorial of the USS Arizona. This is a bridge built over the sunken battleship. Oil leaking can still be seen and sometimes called “black tears” or “the tears of the Arizona”.
This was the biggest disaster by foreigners on American soil up until September 11, 2001.
http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/18arizona/18facts2.htm
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Cristt • Jun 16, 2015 at 8:50 am
In my opinion Japan attacking Pearl Harbor’s United States military bases was because they thought if they just declared war to United States they would lose the battle. They wanted a surprise attack to get ahead of the US. But they forgot the United States is big and has a lot of resources to make weapons and of mass destruction and a huge population to fight back at them. Japan made a mistake that they paid with the lose of many of their own people.
saragalindo1 • Jun 10, 2015 at 9:07 am
I generally have never liked the idea of war but when Japan took away all those lives, I thought about the families that had to suffer from all the losses. I believe in justice for those people and that sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to so you can prevent it from happening again in future. I don’t agree with war but I completely understand why Roosevelt asked congress to declare it. I can’t imagine living in that time zone and having no one respond to something so gruesome.