By Lydia Browne
“Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” These words—spoken by President Franklin D. Roosevelt—will forever be ingrained in the minds of many as the words that defined one of the most important events in American history: the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Though World War II had been raging in countries on the other side of the world since 1939, the U.S. had not yet joined the fighting when December of 1941 began. The Axis Powers—Germany, Italy and Japan—were at war with the Allies—France, Great Britain, and very soon, the U.S. as well.
Pearl Harbor—a U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii—had been the location of the U.S. Pacific Fleet since 1940. It held almost 100 naval vessels, including 8 battleships, and a large number of military and air forces. It was thought unlikely that any Axis forces would attack the distant islands of Hawaii. Because of this, the naval facilities were largely undefended, making Pearl Harbor a simple target for its enemies.
On December 7, Japanese forces launched an attack. Their aim was to destroy the Pacific Fleet so that American forces would not be able to fight back quickly. At around 8 in the morning, the sky over Pearl Harbor was filled with the whirring of Japanese aircraft. At 8:10, a bomb fell through the deck of the USS Arizona. The battleship exploded and sank, trapping over a thousand men inside. By the end of the attack less than two hours later, every single battleship—USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, USS California, USS Utah, USS Pennsylvania, USS West Virginia, USS Maryland, USS Tennessee, and the USS Nevada—was seriously damaged. The USS Arizona and USS Utah would never be salvaged.
The attack damaged and destroyed almost 20 American ships and over 300 airplanes, as well as the Pearl Harbor dry docks and airfields. However, all of the Pacific Fleet’s aircraft carriers were not at the base on the day of the attack. Furthermore, important onshore facilities—oil storage depots, repair shops, submarine docks and shipyards—escaped destruction.
Sadly, 2,403 Americans—sailors, soldiers and civilians—lost their lives. An additional 1,178 people were wounded, and 129 Japanese soldiers died. Half of the people who died on that day were on the USS Arizona when it sank. Its wreckage is now a memorial, in honor of the Americans who lost their lives.
The day after the attack, Franklin D. Roosevelt would say those famous words at a joint session of Congress. At the end of his speech, he said, “No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us. . . With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph — so help us God. I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.”
On December 8, 1941, Congress approved the declaration of war on Japan. When Germany and Italy—allies of Japan—declared war on the U.S. three days later, Congress responded in kind. After two years of abstention, the U.S. had officially entered World War II.
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