The USS Arizona burns after being struck by a Japanese armor-piercing bomb during the air attack in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Dec. 7, 1941. U.S. Navy photo, National Archives collection
Early on a quiet Sunday morning on December 7, 1941, aircraft of the Empire of Japan, without provocation or warning, attacked the United States forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The Japanese attack left 2400 Americans dead, and 1347 wounded. Twenty one U.S. vessels, including eight battleships, were sunk or badly damaged, and 188 U.S. planes also destroyed or damaged.
The forward magazine of the USS Shaw explodes during the second wave of the Japanese air attack in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Dec. 7, 1941. U.S. Navy photo
In the dramatic message that President Franklin Roosevelt delivered to Congress on Dec. 8, 1941, he told Americans:
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.
President Roosevelt then asked Congress to declare war on Japan, a request that was approved by lawmakers, with only one "nay" vote.
U.S. Army aircraft lay destroyed following the Japanese air attack on Wheeler Air Field, Hawaii, Dec. 7, 1941. U.S. Navy photo, National Archives collection
Don’t ever forget!
U.S. Navy personnel survey the damage sustained by the USS Downes, left, and the USS Cassin, capsized at right, during the Japanese air attack in the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Dec. 7, 1941. U.S. Navy photo, National Archives Collection
One of the things I remember most about my visit to the USS Arizona Memorial is that most of the visitors were Japanese. That still puzzles me.
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