On December 7, 1941, the Japanese Imperial Navy launched a surprise military strike on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack was a meticulously planned effort to cripple the U.S. Pacific Fleet and secure Japan’s dominance in the Pacific. At 7:55 AM Hawaiian Time, the first wave of 183 Japanese aircraft descended on Pearl Harbor, targeting battleships, airfields, and other military installations. This wave inflicted devastating damage, sinking battleships like the USS Arizona and USS Oklahoma, while destroying numerous planes on the ground.

A second wave of 171 aircraft followed shortly after, further attacking ships and airbases. The assault left 2,403 Americans dead, 1,178 wounded, and numerous vessels damaged or destroyed, including eight battleships and nearly 200 aircraft. Despite the destruction, key American aircraft carriers were not in the harbor at the time, sparing them from destruction and preserving a crucial element of the Pacific Fleet.

The attack shocked the nation and marked a turning point in World War II. The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt described the event as “a date which will live in infamy” and asked Congress to declare war on Japan, officially bringing the United States into World War II.