Seventy-five years ago today, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Within two hours, 2,403 Americans lost their lives and 1,178 more were wounded in one of the deadliest attacks on U.S. soil. In response, the following day President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on the Empire of Japan, a member of the Axis powers. Two days later, with declarations against Germany and Italy, the U.S. formally entered World War II. Pearl Harbor will forever be remembered as a turning point in our nation's history and a defining event in our collective memory.
Learn more about this unforgettable day in the these interviews , collected by Atlanta History Center's Veterans History Project.
Author Nicholas Best has written a new book, Seven Days of Infamy: Pearl Harbor Across the World, which dives into the details of the days surrounding the attack and the the perspectives from persons around the world.
The attack finally brought the US into World War II with all its military and industrial might. The attack was a Japanese strategic failure because the intention was to destroy the three US aircraft carriers (Enterprise, Lexington, and Saratoga). But, as luck would have it, they were not at Pearl Harbor that day. They were out delivering aircraft to US bases in the Pacific Theater.
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