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| Attack on Pearl Harbor |
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| Hawaii Coast |
Today
marks the 71st anniversary of the surprise aerial attack on the U.S.
naval base at Pearl Harbor. On a
quiet, sunny Sunday morning, just before 8 A.M., the Japanese launched over 350
fighter, bomber and torpedo planes, along with several submarines, in an attack
against the base in Hawaii.
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| Hawaii |
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| Battleship Bombing |
The
surprise attack had been in the planning stages since January 1941. The Japanese decided to attack on a
Sunday morning because they believed that they could catch the Americans by
surprise and do tremendous damage to the aircraft carriers. But the carriers were out to sea, so
the Japanese decided to attack other targets of opportunity, the battleships.
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| Battleship Row |
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| Battleships Bombed |
Eight
battleships, the entire U.S. Pacific fleet, except for the Colorado, were at
Pearl Harbor that morning. Seven of the ships were lined up in ‘Battleship
Row,’ presenting easy targets from the air. Of the eight ships sank or damaged during the attack, all
but two, the Arizona and the Oklahoma, were eventually returned to active duty.
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| USS Arizona Sinking |
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| USS Arizona |
The
U.S.S. Arizona was struck several times by bombs, and exploded when a bomb hit
her forward ammunition room.
Approximately 1,170 of her crew died on board. The Arizona became the war memorial to Pearl Harbor.
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| USS Oklahoma Capsized |
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| USS Oklahoma Before |
The
U.S.S. Oklahoma was struck by nine torpedoes before listing on her side and
turning upside down. Most of her
crew was trapped on board. Only 32
crewmen were saved.
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| Japanese Zero |
The
Japanese launched two destructive waves against the island that morning, one at
7:55 and the other at 8:40. The
cry of “Tora, Tora, Tora” was a signal to the Japanese Navy that the Americans
had, indeed, been caught unawares.
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| Direct Hit |
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| Arial Attack |
But during that short two hour period,
21 ships were severely damaged or sunk.
This included eight battleships, four destroyers, three light cruisers,
one minelayer, one target ship, and four auxiliaries.
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| Airfields Attacked |
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| Wingtip to Wingtip |
The
Japanese also destroyed 188 U.S. planes and damaged over 150 more on the
airfields at Hickam, Wheeler, Bellows, Schoefield, Barracks, Ewa, and Kaneohe
Naval Air Station. The planes had
been lined up on the airfields wingtip to wingtip in order to thwart sabotage
attempts. They were easy targets for the Japanese strafing and bombing
runs.
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| Pacific Fleet |
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| U.S. Aircraft Carrier |
Although profoundly
shaken and stunned, the Pacific fleet still maintained its aircraft carriers,
submarines, and fuel supplies. None of those had been damaged. This would be the foundation on which the U.S. would build it's destruction of the Japanese forces four years later.
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| Battleship Explosion |
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| Sinking of Ships |
The
total number of U.S. servicemen killed on December 7th was over 2,400. The U.S. military reported 1,143
personnel were wounded during the attack. Sixty-eight civilians were killed, and more
than 30 were injured.
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| USS Utah |
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| USS Oklahoma Capsized |
Of
those who died that day, it was reported that two-thirds died
within the first 15 minutes when the Arizona, Oklahoma and Utah were bombed.
Nearly half of the lives lost were on board the Arizona.
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| A Zero is Hit |
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| Anti-Aircraft Fire |
U.S.
personnel rallied quickly under attack, using anti-aircraft fire to defend the island of
Oahu, Hawaii. The Japanese lost 29
planes, a large submarine, and five midget subs in the encounter.
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| Remains of Japanese Plane |
The
total number of Japanese personnel lost was 65 servicemen, killed or wounded.
One Japanese sailor was captured.
On
December 8, 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt took to the airwaves,
attempting to explain what had happened in Hawaii. Roosevelt began his address
with these famous words,
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| President Roosevelt's Radio Address |
“Yesterday,
December 7th, 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.”
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| Addressing Congress |
During
that short six-minute radio address, the President appealed to outraged
Americans to support him in the abandonment of the U.S. policy of
isolationism. The President then
asked Congress to declare war on Japan.
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| Signing the Declaration of War |
That
same day, Congress voted that a state of war existed between the United States
and Japan, and gave the President the power necessary to wage war with all of
the resources of the country.
Three days later, Germany and Italy joined Japan in declaring war on the
United States and the U.S. responded in turn. The attack on Pearl Harbor was the defining incident that
brought the U.S. into the Second World War, more than two years after the
conflict had begun.
The
nation entered the war with the rallying cry, “Remember Pearl Harbor!”
After
the attacks, 15 Medals of Honor, 51 Navy Crosses, 53 Silver Stars, four Navy
and Marine Corps Medals, a Distinguished Flying Cross, four Distinguished
Service Crosses, one Distinguished Service Medal, and three Bronze Stars were
awarded to American servicemen who fought in the combat at Pearl Harbor that
December Sunday. Later, the Pearl
Harbor Commemorative Medal, a special military award was designated and given
to all military veterans of the attack.
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| Wreath Laying by Members in 2006 |
In
December 1954, the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association held its first meeting to
commemorate and remember their fallen comrades. The first organized meeting was held in California where
over 1,000 Pearl Harbor survivors attended the event. Last year, on December 31, 2011, the association terminated
its existence, citing the reasons as the age and health of its remaining
members.
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| Names of Those Who Died |
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| USS Arizona Memorial |
Today,
the island of Oahu is home to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial. It was during 1950 that the
Arizona’s midships structure, which remained above the water level, was used as
a location for memorial services.
In May of 1962, the memorial was dedicated as an open-air shrine. The
names of the dead are carved in marble on the memorial’s walls.
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| USS Arizona Memorial |
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| Tossing a Wreath |
Wreaths and leis are tossed onto the
water as tributes to those who died.
And still, after 70 years, an iridescent slick of oil continues to leak from
the Arizona’s ruptured bunkers, at the bottom of the sea. It is sobering when you realize that the memorial is situated over the gravesite where
1,177 men lost their lives that December morning.
More
than 1.5 million people visit this memorial each year.
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| Pacific National Monument |
The
World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument opened in 2008, and the
Pearl Harbor Visitors Center was opened in 2010. Both sites assist in enhancing the experiences of this
historical area – and in explaining why this became “A date which will
live in infamy!”
~
Joy
Wreaths
are paid for by individuals, groups, sponsors, and corporate donors. Individual wreath sponsorships are only
$15. Last year, over 1,100 groups
raised funds to assist the wreath sponsorship program. If
you would like to sponsor a wreath for the 2013 Wreaths Across Americas
Remembrance celebration, visit http://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/store/
