At 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time, a Japanese dive bomber with the red symbol of the Japanese Rising Sun on its wings appears out of the clouds over the island of Oahu. A swarm of 360 Japanese fighter jets followed, descending on the US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in a fierce assault. The surprise attack struck a critical blow to the US Pacific Fleet and dragged the US irrevocably into World War II.
With diplomatic negotiations with Japan failing, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his advisers knew an imminent Japanese attack was likely, but nothing was done to increase security at the important Pearl Harbor naval base. . It was Sunday morning and many soldiers had received passes to attend religious services outside the base. At 7:02 a.m., two radar operators spotted large groups of planes flying towards the island from the north, but, with a B-17 flight expected from the United States at the time, they were told to do not sound the alarm. Thus, the Japanese air assault was a devastating surprise for the naval base.
READ MORE: Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor?
Much of the Pacific fleet was rendered useless: five of the eight battleships, three destroyers and seven other ships were sunk or badly damaged, and over 200 aircraft were destroyed. A total of 2,400 Americans were killed and 1,200 were wounded, many of whom valiantly tried to repel the attack. Japan’s losses were around 30 planes, five dwarf submarines and less than 100 men. Fortunately for the United States, the three carriers of the Pacific Fleet were at sea for training maneuvers. These giant aircraft carriers would have their revenge against Japan six months later at the Battle of Midway, turning the tide against the previously invincible Japanese Navy in a spectacular victory.
The day after the Pearl Harbor bombing, President Roosevelt appeared before a joint session of Congress and said: “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 – a date that will live on in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces. forces of the empire of Japan. After a brief and forceful speech, he called on Congress to approve a resolution recognizing the state of war between the United States and Japan. The Senate voted for war against Japan by 82 to 0, and the House of Representatives approved the resolution by a 388 to 1 vote. The lone dissenter was Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana, a staunch pacifist who had also cast a dissenting vote against the entry of the United States into World War I. Three days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States, and the United States government responded in kind.
America’s contribution to the success of the Allied war effort lasted four long years and claimed the lives of over 400,000 Americans.
