The December 7th, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was certainly “a day that will live in infamy” (FDR). The United States had never been attacked on its own soil during a time of peace. An examination of primary and secondary sources will reveal the historical importance of this momentous event. December 7th 1941 was like any other day until the Japanese started attacking Pearl Harbor (Oxford 48). A man named James Jones told his story his story, Jones had joined the “old army”, a peace time force of 190,000 men (Oxford 52). Jones was standing outside on the shore when American fighter planes of the 18th pursuit group went up in flames on the east end (Oxford 54). Jones spent the rest of that unforgettable morning as a runner carrying …show more content…
Japan felt like this plan would enable their navy to overcome the numerical disadvantage resulting from the ship building restrictions imposed by the Washington Naval Conference (Rice 11). Japans leader, Yamamoto, had the planning and preparation taken care of, Yamamotos proposal was to attack Pearl Harbor, but, was not approved until November 1941 (Rice 28). Multiple warnings of Japans impending actions went unnoticed or unheeded (Rice 39). Japans set list of how to take down Pearl Harbor started with the fact that they had to make it a surprise and absolute secrecy (Rice 28). They used American carriers as primary targets, and destroy the U.S. aircraft on Oahu (Rice 28). Japan used every type of bombing technique they had (Rice 29). Japan used a daylight attack so no one was prepared to fight back (Rice 30). Six carriers of Japan had drawn within 220 miles “this is not a drill” (Rice 54). Early morning light on the Pacific Ocean, big heavy grey swells of Japanese carrier planes were on the horizon, the attack was about to happen (Collier 224). The attack had barely started, but when the plane flew over and they saw the Japanese emblem on the wings they knew who it was (Collier 224). Lieutenant Commander Kakuichi Takahashi led fifty one Japanese bombers into Oahu (Collier 226). Torpedo Planes and the dive bombers headed for Pearl Harbor, this was the point where Americans try to fight back (Collier 225). The U.S. starts all 231 …show more content…
A 1,800 pound bomb smashed through the deck of the battleship (Collier 227). The ship exploded and through the deck of the battleship (Collier 227). The ship exploded and sank with more than 1,000 men trapped inside (Collier 227). Torpedoes penetrated the side of the USS Oklahoma (Collier 228). The USS Oklahoma flipped completely over with 400 members aboard (Collier 228). The attack lasted 110 minutes, from 7:55a.m. until 9:45a.m. (Collier 228). The Japanese chose to attack on a Sunday because they knew the United States would be the most relaxed on a Sunday (Collier 229). A total of eight ships were destroyed of the U.S. (Collier 229). The mystery is still unsolved why the Japanese blew up Pearl Harbor, many battleships never again to set sail (Bachrach 106). Wheeler Field was the home of the Fourteenth Pursuit Wing (Rice 73). The Japanese army used 12,000 barrels of oil a day to run the machines and planes (Bachrach 18). When Japan was trying to take over China, the American government commanded them to stop (Bachrach
On December 7, 1941 at approximately 7:48 a.m., United States naval officer, Admiral Husband Edward Kimmel, commander in chief of the United States Pacific fleet announced an air raid on Pearl Harbor, and that is was not a drill. Japanese planes attacked the United States’ naval base at Pearl Harbor (Hawaii territory). This attack resulted in the killing of more than 2,300 Americans. A total of twelve ships were sunk and 160 aircrafts were destroyed in the attack. The types of attacks that were carried out by the Japanese were kamikaze attacks, fighter planes, bombers, etc.
However, it all changed during Pearl Harbor. Starting on December 7, 1941, Japanese air raids dropped bombs on battleships. The bombing did not stop, even after four hours, the bombing had not finished. Throughout the time, Japanese aircraft completely dominated the skies and caused terror to Americans. The damage had caused five of the eight battleships to be destroyed and sunk, 21 American ships to be sunk, and the death of thousands (Chen).
On 7:52 Japanese had launched a wave of fighter planes had invaded the Hawaiian island Oahu and had a successful surprise attack. This attack had killed many soldiers in Hawaii and many innocent people around the island. These planes had bombarded the Oahu island everywhere causing a riot and a successful assault. The American people were unprepared for the attack due to the new lieutenant who thought that the Japanese fighter planes were B17s were to arrive at the mainland and because of this the Americans had accidently shot down their own planes. Things had only gotten worse as the Japanese planes had gotten more and more closer to reaching their goal which was to bomb the Pearl Harbor and defeat America Fire and destruction was everywhere on Oahu as firefighters put out the fires and in process three of the firemen died and six of them had got injured.
Japanese bombers Attacked the U.S Navy’s Pacific Fleet at the Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The U.S Navy also had problems with communication because of the Japanese Code Breakers were faster at breaking codes than the Americans making a new code. Many of the Japanese were learning English in the U.S. They had also learned lots of the slang terms. The battle
The day ended with the heavy scent of oily smoke instead of the cool tropical breezes usual to Hawaiian weather. The hard wails of ambulances and clamor of emergency crews replaced the soft crash of waves against serene beaches and calming music of a ukulele. Deep colorful sunsets of paradise vistas were replaced with the dark crimson of make-shift hospitals to treat the multitudes of wounded and dying. On 7 December 1941, The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) attacked Pearl Harbor. President Roosevelt accurately captured the sentiment of The United States when he addressed Congress, “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
On the morning of December 7, 1941, two explosions occurred on Hawaii’s Oahu island’s Pearl Harbor. The bombs were set one hour apart, one located in the sea and one dropped from the air. By the end of the attack, many American planes, military crafts and two battle ships had been destroyed. The death toll was over 2,300. The attacks were from Japan, which at the time was a fascist country looking to expand their nation.
December 7, 1941 is considered one of the most impactful days in United States’ history: the day Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Despite their size, Japan left an incredible amount of damage with their 5 submarines and 408 planes. President Roosevelt had been avoiding scuffling with Japan since their pact with Germany and Italy; war with Germany was sure to erupt soon enough. However, soon after the ambuscade, the United States’ declared war on Japan and launched their involvement in World War II. Japan’s leaders recognized the risks of invading one of America’s naval bases; yet they persisted.
In the early morning Japanese planes had flown out of the clouds and began sinking ships, either by raining fire on the soldiers, or flying their planes straight into the ships. By the end of the attack, 2,400 Americans were dead. The attack was unexpected and unnecessary. The sunken ships are still left at the bottom of the harbor, as a memorial to the soldiers who lost their lives to the tragic events of Pearl Harbor. President Harry S. Truman announced that “The Japanese began the war from the air at
The bombing raid began shortly before 10 am when the first wave of Japanese planes was spotted on radar. The initial attack was made up of 188 planes, and a second wave of 54
December 7th is a day that will live in infamy for all Americans, a day once filled with death, destruction, and desolation. On December 7th1941 a huge fleet of Japanese fighters, bombers, ships, and submarines converged and attacked the United States Navy at Pearl Harbor, resulting in the destruction or damage of 19 US Navy ships, damage or destruction of 347 planes, as well as the death of 2471 Sailors, and many more injured. At first it seemed there was no reason for Japan’s attack but after many years the United States figured out why they did what they did. There were at least three reasons why the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor; these include: the many United States embargos towards Japan, the rapidly growing U.S. fleet, and extreme Japanese
‘We have only awoken a sleeping giant.’ That is what is believed that one Japanese official told another minutes after the attack on Pearl Harbor on 1941. On a sunny Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan carried out a surprise attack on the U.S Pacific fleet in Hawaii. After a few hours, more than 3000 Americans were killed, almost 300 U.S planes destroyed and several U.S destroyers and ships as well. This was the event that finally caused the U.S to join the fight against the axis powers in WWII.
On a day that will live in infamy in 1941 at Pearl Harbor, over twenty-four hundred military personnel along with around one-hundred civilians were killed in the Japanese surprise attack. This attack crippled the American force greatly. At least for a while, the American force were too few and not strong enough to retaliate. Once they regained their strength, the American force began the Pacific campaign. Soon after Pearl Harbor the Japanese Empire began their conquest on the islands of the Pacific such as Guam, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
Rahul Bagga Mr.Campbell US History, Period 0 16 December 2015 Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor? One day that will always be remembered by America is the date of December 7, 1941, which changed American history forever. December 7, 1941 was the day the Japanese warplanes attacked Pearl Harbor (Hawaii) which stationed many of American ships and airfields. Immediately after the bombings, United States President Franklin Roosevelt declared war on Japan, leading to a direct involvement into World War ll. Japan had many reason to do so but Japan attacked Pearl harbor for three reasons which were that they had a plan for a new world order, United States were expanding their number of naval ships rapidly, and an oil embargo was placed upon Japan
This paper will analyze the events of the attack itself, what led to the attack, and the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor. At around eight o'clock on a
Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor? If you were threatened by an individual, would you throw the first punch or wait for the attack. This is how Japan felt when they were trying to dominate Asia. On Sunday December 7, 1941 the Japanese attacked the United State’s biggest naval base, Pearl Harbor. This attack was a turning point for the United States because this was one factor that brought them into World War II to fight against the Axis Powers.