The Bombing of Pearl Harbor

Today is a well-known, infamous day in history. December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the American naval base in Hawaii, bringing the United States into World War II. The Japanese wanted to take control of Southeast Asia and felt they needed to cripple the United States, which they expected to oppose their aggression. Over a 7-hour period, there were also attacks on places held by the United States in the Philippines, Guam, and Wake Island, as well as the British ones of Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong. 

The attack on Hawaii started on the Sunday morning at 7:48 Hawaiian time. 353 Japanese military planes launched from 6 aircraft carriers in two different waves. All 8 U.S. ships were damaged and 4 sank. All, except the Arizona, were later raised. The enemy also damaged or destroyed 3 cruisers, 3 destroyers, a training ship, and one minelayer. 188 U.S. planes were destroyed, 2,403 Americans were killed, and 1,178 were wounded. Japanese loses were light in comparison.

The next day, the United States declared war on Japan. On December 11, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States, so the nation entered the war on all fronts. There's evidence that clues had been coming in and reports had been warning of such an attack, but no one in authority took them seriously. The act certainly took most Americans by surprise. As President Franklin Roosevelt so aptly proclaimed, December 7, 1941, was a "date which will live in infamy."