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Basic military history
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Life on the island of Oahu, Hawaii was like any other day on December 7th, 1941. The day it was sunny, with clear skies, and the temperature was at a perfect 75°. Having lived on Oahu Island my entire life, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I lived in a small, yet cozy shack, with a window that faced Pearl Harbor. I enjoyed every bit of life there, just like every other civilian would have. I was the only child, and my father had passed away when I was just an infant. My mother had been diagnosed with leukemia and wasn’t able to work; nor even get out of bed. I already had a job, but I had to pick up a part-time job on Sunday’s to accommodate for my mother’s loss of income. During the week, I would work as a chef at a street side vendor in an ally way, cooking saiman, a traditional Hawaiian noodle soup. Every Sunday I would take off on my single geared bicycle early in the morning around 6:30. My job was to throw an Oahu Weekly paper at people’s doorstep, and move on and do the same for another home. I repeated this process for approximately 250 homes. I would be exhausted by the end of my shift, but I was in desperate need of that extra money. I was 16 years old at the time. I began working at the age of 14. Most teens would only go to school till the 8th grade, unless you were wealthy. This wasn’t uncommon for teens my age. As far as money goes, the island did well, however there were some poor families. My mother and I weren’t poor but we didn’t have much money. The less fortunate poor teens my age would join the navy, and almost all of them would be stationed at Pearl Harbor. My friend Aikane (Hawaiian meaning for friend) was in the same situation as me. He and I could easily relate. His mother also had leukemia but hi... ... middle of paper ... ...es had entered a second world war. During FDR’s speech he said, “With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounded determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God. I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December seventh, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire." We were at war. There were patients in the hospitals for months. Bodies and body parts covered the harbor. The demolished harbor remained that way for a while until rebuilding could begin. It was very tragic, but Americas would have to use this day as a turning point and learning experience. We would have to use this experience as a way to improve and prevent this from happening again. I and everyone else would just have to continue with our lives, despite all the dead
The first reading I chose was John Garcia. He experienced the war at the age of sixteen- year- old Hawaiian. He worked as a pipe fitter apprentice at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard. In the beginning of the reading Garcia talks about his experience with Pearl Harbor when the war started with the Japanese. The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and since Garcia worked for them he was to report to work immediately. He refused to obey orders fearing his life was on the line. But luckily the charges were dropped due to being 16 and not a service personnel. During that time, he worked on bringing out sailors’ bodies out of the water and fixing the ships. After Pearl harbor his job was to rescue people from the tragic bombing that occurred. That day he spent pulling people out of the water. He rescued dead and alive sailors. Among the many war casuals, he expected some shell casings that blew up the neighborhood he lived in which included his girlfriend’s house. His girlfriends house was bombed by an American shell which killed her. Garcia then wrote a letter to President Roosevelt, to get the okay to join combat. After writing the letter to the President a second time he did not follow the chain of commands and was then ordered to wash dishes for 30 days. In combat he experienced lots of deaths and these deaths affected his conscious. Certain deaths affected him, and he began to drink lots whiskey to be able to shoot the Japanese to numb his feelings. Garcia experienced
President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the United States Congress following the unexpected attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor the previous day. As a result, Roosevelt asked the Congress to declare war on Japan. In his speech to Congress, President Roosevelt stated that the previous day, which was December 7th, 1941, was a date that they will live in notoriety. President Roosevelt said that the United States of America was abruptly and intentionally attacked by naval and air forces of the Japanese emperor.
The Battle of Pearl Harbor was one of the most atrocious events that happened in U.S. history. On December 7, 1941, Japan made a surprise aerial attack on the United States naval base and airfields at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. More than two thousand Americans died and a thousand two hundred were wounded. Eighteen ships were badly damaged, including five battleships. The next day, President Franklin Roosevelt with the support of the Congress, declared war on Japan.
When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, America was at last forced to officially enter World War II. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt officially declared war on the Japanese and in his famous radio address to the American people, he professed that December 7 was a day that would live in infamy. Americans and Japanese alike, still remember Pearl Harbor Day, but how many remember the gallant, fighting Marines who served on a tiny atoll in the Pacific by the name of Wake Island?
The attack was well organized and the Japanese were prepared. The continental United States was receiving telegrams warning them that there would be an attack. Unfortunately, people in Hawaii were not warned; they were living their normal lives, doing things they were accustomed to doing such as going to parties, writing letters home, and just doing things that a man stationed in Hawaii would do. Many men wrote letters home to their girlfriends or parents or kept a journal. The following letter is an example.
upon the United States is hereby formally declared” (Bailey 10). In conclusion, after a rhetorical analysis of Woodrow Wilson’s address. to the war congress on April 2, 1917 the reader is more aware of all of the
On December 7,1941 Japan raided the airbases across the islands of Pearl Harbour. The “sneak attack” targeted the United States Navy. It left 2400 army personnel dead and over a thousand Americans wounded. U.S. Navy termed it as “one of the great defining moments in history”1 President Roosevelt called it as “A Day of Infamy”. 2 As this attack shook the nation and the Japanese Americans became the immediate ‘focal point’. At that moment approximately 112,000 Persons of Japanese descent resided in coastal areas of Oregon, Washington and also in California and Arizona.3
Allen, Thomas B. Remember Pearl Harbor: American and Japanese Survivors Tell Their Stories. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2001. Print.
World War II was a time of heightened tension. The entire world watched as fascism and dictatorships battled against democracy and freedom in the European theater. The United States looked on, wishing to remain neutral and distant from the war. On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese, officially drawing the U.S. into the war. Thousands of young sailors died in the attack and several U.S. Navy vessels were sunk. The attack marked the beginning of the United States’ involvement in World War II as well as the beginning of the persecution of Japanese Americans in the U.S. Hysteria and outrage increased across the country and largely contributed to the authority’s decision to act against the Japanese. On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, allowing the military to place anyone of Japanese lineage in restri...
December 7, 1941, the day of the infamous Pearl Harbor, changed the American life as they knew it. Almost nothing had been the same after that day. It entered the United States into World War II and affected the Japanese-Americans way of life. The United States want to be an isolationist country did not last long which contributed to the attack of Pearl Harbor and the peace negotiations between Japan and the United States did not help at all and were instead used as a devious plan for the Japanese.
It’s a beautiful sunny morning, on a tropical island that everyone would love to take a vacation at. It’s approximately 6:00 am, December 7, 1941, when a first group of 181 kamikaze planes attacked; targeting key naval bases stationed at Hawaii; a sustained crippling of U.S. naval forces for about 6 months. The death toll was 2,500. Out of the 9 battleships, 8 were heavily damaged by the assault on Pearl Harbor and out of the 8, three were unrepairable, USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, and the USS Utah. 160 aircrafts were put out of commission, and nearly 130 were heavily damaged. This was the first incident in which there was an act of war, committed on U.S. soil, outside of the American Revolution and the Civil War. The world was at war, and the U.S. remained neutral until now. Before the attack, the U.S. was in great debate whether to enter the war or to stay out of it. The act of war forced the U.S. into the War and triggered a controversial debate in whether to retaliate against Japan with the use of nuclear arms.
...endanger the United States more than it already was. On the following day Roosevelt argued that the attack "had given us an opportunity". Congress approved the declaration of war with only one dissenting voice.
At almost eight o’clock in the morning in the island of Oahu, Hawaii the day of Infamy began. December 7th, 1941 was one of the most devastating attacks on American soil. The day of Infamy, or more commonly known as Pearl Harbor, was an attack on American soil from the Imperial Army. This attack was the final burst of the tension that had been built up between the United States and Japan. To understand the tragic attack it is important to understand the events leading up to it. The United States unrest with Japan started in 1937 through the invasion of Manchuria which began the Second Sino-Japanese War. Japan launched a full scale invasion of the Republic of China. The tension between Franklin D Roosevelt and Japan was initiated with
December 7th, 1941, truly is a date which will be remembered. The attack on Pearl Harbor caused so much trauma and damage to the United States army, navy, and even the country itself. This tragic event pulled America out of the stands and straight into World War II.
Even though the US favored neutrality, the United States was forced to enter war. The progressive violent actions of the Japanese government against the US economic interest are what ultimately triggered the United State’s declaration to enter the war.