“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.”
— President Franklin D. Roosevelt
It was a quiet Sunday morning in the territory of Hawai’i in 1941. People went about with their daily lives: attending church, sleeping in, going to the beach.
Little did they know that 353 Imperial Japanese Navy Service airplanes were inbound for a surprise and unprovoked attack on the United States Navy at the Pearl Harbor base.
The air assault began at 7:48a local time. The outcome was staggering.
- 21 American military ships were destroyed. (The featured image on this post of of the USS Arizona on fire after the attack.)
- 350 aircraft were destroyed.
- More than 2,400 military personnel and civilians were killed.
May we never forget the sacrifice of those who perished as Japan pulled the United States into World War II.
