Hello, Readers, December 7, 2017
“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 Empire of Japan.”
President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Today is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day remembering the attack which took place on Dec. 7, 1941. The attack began at 7:48 a.m. Hawaiian time and ended just 90 minutes later. Seven of the eight battleships were sunk or severely hit. Out of 400 aircraft, 188 had been destroyed and 159 were seriously damaged. Altogether, 2,403 Americans died during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor; another 1,178 were wounded. Japan lost just 55 men.
Pearl Harbor has been an important part of the American Naval placement in the Pacific Ocean since 1887. Little did anyone know at that time that an attack on this harbor would bring the entire might of the American Military into a war it was desperately seeking to avoid.