Pearl Harbor Day
As an ASVAB tutor, I see the value in recognizing the various military holidays, observances, and anniversaries in my blog posts. Today, December 7, is Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor is a United States naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. This attack was unexpected. The Japanese flew in over Pearl Harbor at 8 AM. At 8:10 AM, they dropped an 1,800-pound bomb which caused the USS Arizona to explode and sink with over 1000 men trapped inside. Then torpedoes hit the battleship, USS Oklahoma. This battleship rolled over and went underwater with 400 sailors on board. The attack lasted less than two hours. By the time it was over, every battleship in Pearl Harbor was left damaged. The battleships were the USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, USS California, USS West Virginia, USS Utah, USS Maryland, USS Pennsylvania, USS Tennessee, and USS Nevada. The attacked damaged or destroyed almost 20 American ships and over 300 airplanes. Docks and airfields were destroyed. Over 2,400 Americans died in the attack including civilians and 1,000 people were wounded. Japan’s goal was to destroy the Pacific fleet so that America would not be able to fight back as Japan’s military spread across the South Pacific. Their plan was not successful since most of the aircraft carriers were way from the base on December 7, the day of the attack. The U.S rebounded from the attack. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called it the date which live in infamy. The day after the attack, President Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan.
