Do You Know Why Pearl Harbor was Significant

Pearl Harbor: A Day the Shaped History

Saturday, December 7th, is the 72nd Anniversary of the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu. The surprise happened on the Hawaiian naval base by Japan's Imperial army. They were attempting to halt the United States from interfering with the country's efforts to become wealthier, and this more powerful.

Their goal was to conquer neighboring Southeast Asian Countries. The Japanese were worried the US would create a problem in the execution of their plan. The fear drove them to crippling the entire fleet at the US Pacific Naval Base on the island of Oahu.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor was well planned. It took weeks for the Japanese fleets to get into position for the attack. Their fleet included the following:

• 6 aircraft carriers
• 2 battle ships
• 3 cruisers
• 3 submarines

Traveling 4,000 miles across the pacific, they went undetected. Clever as they were, each unit took a different route so as not to be discovered. They knew communication between themselves needed to be kept to a minimum. More radio time would mean greater likelihood of being “caught in the act”.

After a week and a half of stealthy travel, the Japanese fleet arrive at the destination island. It was a Sunday, December 7, 1941, in the early morning. The Japanese Admiral, Isoroku Yamamoto chose a Sunday morning attack because this was the time many US military personnel took off the relax or go to church. On this unsuspecting Sunday, the entire nation was taken by surprise.

LOSSESS at PEARL HARBOR

The aggressive attack lasted less than an hour, but the damage was horrifying. Here were the losses:
• 2403 people died
• 4 battleships were sunk
• 188 aircrafts destroyed
• 1,247 were wounded.

Almost the entire US fleet was lost!

FDR Declares War on Japan

With full support of the nation, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, declared war on Japan and Germany. December 8, 1941, is the day the US joined the ‘allies’ : England and France. This was United States’ entrance to what we all know as World War II.