As this headline from the December 15, 1941 issue of Life Magazine screams, on this date in 1941 the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii plunged the United States into the conflagration that had been raging in Europe and China since 1931. The Japanese intended to use the attack as a preventative measure, thinking it would prevent US involvement in Imperial actions against Southern Pacific holdings of the United Kingdom and operations in Southeast Asia.
Japanese operations against Pearl Harbor began at 7:48 on a Sunday morning while most of the base's
personnel were attending church services. 353 Japanese fighters, bombers and
torpedo bombers attacked in two waves, launched from six Japanese aircraft
carriers. When the smoke cleared, all eight US battleships anchored in Pearl were
damaged, with four sent to the bottom of the harbor. 2402 Americans perished in
the attack and 1,282 were wounded. The Japanese lost 29 aircraft and five
midget submarines at a cost of 65 casualties.
Japanese leaders underestimated the American response,
though, and on December 8th the United States declared war on Japan. By December 11th, war had also been declared
on Italy and Germany and America had entered World War II.
While digging around the internet, looking for something
besides the time-worn photos of burning aircraft and sinking ships we've all
seen over the years, I came across this little snippet of a radio announcement.
Hearing the words sends a chill through me and takes me back to a September not
too long ago when the modern world changed forever.
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