THESIS
In the early 1940s, an event that was so premeditated and yet so very atrocious hit our nation’s pacific ocean. The state of Hawaii and its famous harbor was left victimized and bleeding as the skies rained down with munitions and kamikaze fighter planes. Many of the members of the armed services found themselves asking one question. What was to come next? As the United States of America and the empire of Japan at the time demonstrated that both sides had its differences no one could have ever expect anything of this magnitude to take place. SPEECH FROM MR. PRESIDENT Yesterday, December 7, 1941 a date that will live in infamy the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval
Crewmembers aboard the ships were lost without any idea of what was going on at first. “It was the morning of December 7, 1941 around 8 A.M. and I was asleep in my bunk when the first bomb wave started. At first, I thought the navy was having a maneuver, but then I looked out my window and saw the Japanese planes with the red ball painted on their wings. (Harrington) Throughout the attacks Sailors and Airman, from the entire island of Hawaii, immediately was on alert. As the bombs, bullets, and torpedoes began to drop impacting vessels in the harbor, Soldiers of the American armed forces began to battle back. As the vessels and aircrafts began to fight, the Japanese began to fight harder. It was eminent that Japanese fighter pilots had no plan on returning from this mission, for the aircrafts soon began to shoot from the sky and set their point of impact on vessels. Along with numerous 550-pound general-purpose bombs, one of the most detrimental acts during this time was to our battle ships by the Japanese, was the 1,800-pound weapon that dropped from the clouds directly hitting one of the now famous American ships below, the USS Arizona. It slammed brutally through the deck and landed in the ammunition magazine were the ammunition is stored. The Battle ship soon exploded with a ferocious fireball and soon sank to bottom of the harbor. Over one thousand Sailors lost their lives as they too met their downfall at the bottom of the harbor with their ship, in the Pacific Ocean. Throughout the attacks, 18 American ships had taken damage and almost 300 aircrafts suffered major impact. The most devastating statistic accounted for is the number of fallen service members that had perished or received injuries during this attack. Nearly 2,500 service members lost their lives and another 1,000 injured during this time. Of all the ships that took damage all but two
Previous to the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7th 1941, tensions had been forming between the USA and Japan in the pacific. The US had cut of most supplies to Japan with the fear of Japanese expansion. The conflict that had been escalating between Japan and China since 1937 had the US treating Japan with great cautiousness. They had been monitoring Japanese Americans in anticipation of a surprise attack. However the attack on Pearl Harbour still shocked and outraged the American nation and affected the American psyche. After being assured that “a Japanese attack on Hawaii is regarded as the most unlikely thing in the world”(1), the sudden mass destruction of the U.S Navy’s Pacific fleet and deaths of roughly 2400 U.S soldiers and civilians as a result of such an attack undoubtedly lead to confusion and racial hatred amongst many US citizens. The assumption on the War Department’s behalf that Japan’s Navy were incapable of launching a full scale assault on the US Navy’s chief Pacific base was more than inaccurate. As a result, the US Naval base was unprepared and was quickly taken out. A hidden bias would soon become evident in both average civilians and higher positioned government officials. This bias against Japan aided in the formation of the Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) on February 19th 1942.
Starting in the early 1930’s, the Japanese began to display their great imperialistic dreams with ambition and aggression. Their goal was to create a "Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere" where they controlled a vast empire in the western Pacific.1 In September of 1939, Japan signed the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis Treaty, allying themselves with Germany and Italy in an effort to safeguard their interests in China from the Soviet Union. Japan’s only major obstacle left lay in the significant size of the United States Pacific Fleet. To rid themselves of this, Japan attacked the United States Pacific Fleet in hopes of crippling it enough to prevent any further hindrance from the US. Although Japan began the War in the Pacific on the offensive, winning many battles and gaining significant territories, the tide quickly turned in favor of the US because of the their dominating industrial capacity. Thus, the Japanese began to resort to ghastly measures to prevent a humiliating defeat.
The island of Iwo Jima is just one of the many islands in the pacific that make up the island chain of Ogasawara. The Ogasawara chain of islands are located approximately 750 miles south of Tokyo. In comparison to most of the other islands in the pacific Iwo Jima is relatively small, in fact it is only four and a half miles long by two and a half miles wide. The geographic layout of Iwo Jima consists of a dormant volcano on the northern side called Mount Suribachi and a flat stretch of land to the south. So why is such a small island so important? After the surprise attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor America needed a place to stage aircraft for conducting bombing runs on Tokyo, Iwo Jima provided the best place to host our fleet of bombers.
“Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy . . .” These famous lines were spoken the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave this speech to the U.S. Congress on December 8, 1941. Many criticized the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, but the decision to attack America was wisely made. The Americans were going to enter the war sooner or later, and on the allies’ side. The attack on Pearl Harbor would hurt the United States’ strongest defense and kill many Americans. This was the first terrorist attack on the United States, by another country, which came as a total shock to many people.
This shock turned into anger, which prompted the American leaders to take quick action. One day after the attack took place, President Roosevelt made a speech that was labeled “December 7th” before the joint session of Congress. 'Yesterday, December 7, 1941 – is a day that will live in infamy - the United States of America was attacked suddenly and deliberately by the naval and air forces of the Japan Empire.' This speech was so powerful and it will definitely live in infamy.
On the other hand, the story of why the losses at Pearl Harbour were so catastrophic unfolds as why the failure of people, communication and technology allowed this to happen [Tora! Tora! Tora! 1970]. We learn that although the U.S. anticipated an escalation of military agg...
As the United States declared war on the German Empire, the citizens of Honolulu and Hawaii at large were already experiencing the strains of war. The sinking of the A.-H. Missourian by German U-boats, and the subsequent sinking of the Aztec, brought many Hawaiians to support the war effort with great enthusiasm. By April 3rd, the “Islanders” as they called themselves in the Hawaiian Gazette were backing President Wilson’s intentions of conducting a war in Europe. For many Hawaiians, they had felt as if the German presence in the Pacific region had been an intrusive force. As the territory of Hawaii had long been maintained by strategic military forces and commercial industries since their annexation into the United States, the territory viewed itself in a rather unique way.
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the U.S. Naval base at Pearl Harbor. This attack lead to the destruction of many ships, aircrafts, and American lives. As Commander-in-Chief and President of the United States, President Roosevelt delivered his “Day of Infamy” speech to congress in order to declare war on Japan, and to ensure to them that Victory will be met.
In an effort to attain control of the Pacific Ocean, Japan launched an unprecedented attack against the United States Naval base at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Despite the isolationist attitude of America prior to joining World War II, an embargo against Japan in part prompted the terrible offence. Hideki Tōjō, a radical conservative, had recently been elected Prime Minister of Japan, under his leadership; a plan to expand the Empire of Japan was developed. The attack planned by the Japanese Admiral Isoruko Yamamoto who had been educated in America, and had served two tours of duty in the United States was strategically quite brilliant (Japan). Many factors afforded the opportunity for Japan’s success in the assault. The ignorant arrogance of the United States government in balancing its military distribution created a serious vulnerability. Additionally, the U.S. radar technology was still very new and delivery of intercepted Japanese intelligence was poorly handled. Although significant damage was incurred, the greatest assets of the U.S. Navy, its aircraft carriers, were not docked at Pearl Harbor. Not only did over 2,000 Americans perish (both military and civilian), 55 Japanese aviators died as well. Despite previous rallies to remain uninvolved with World War II, Americans were so angry at the unprovoked attack, lines formed around the block at military recruitment offices; in effect, attacking Pearl Harbor woke a sleeping giant.
December 7th, 1941, as president, Franklin D. Roosevelt once said is “a date that will live in infamy”. He spoke the truth but for reasons that are not as clear as some. It will live in infamy not only for reasons such as the tragic deaths of many people, but likewise for the obscure reasons. The day Pearl Harbor could have been prevented if only the US had not been so blind to the implications. Evidently, the United States had an abundance of indications forewarning them of the attack, nevertheless they let their guard down and were ignorant in a time of world wide war and were therefore in a vulnerable position to be surprised by 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.
The Japanese bombed the United States' Hawaiian naval base, Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941 and this began what we now know as the Second World War. The news swept the country by surprise, from that point forward the nation was shocked into a sort of social cohesion. "After the b...
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
It is very tempting as human beings to put blame on someone else. Especially during a time of tragedy. Besides the attack of 9/11, Pearl Harbor is one of the most surprising attacks the United States of America has ever faced. The attack on December seventh, 1941 is what brought America into World War Two. The nation proceeded to declare war on Japan. Then, because of the alliance between Germany and Japan, Germany declared war on the U.S. At the time, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was president. From the beginning of his presidency and the start of the war, he had wanted to get involved with the war. Historians have debated for many years who is at fault for the attack on Pearl Harbor and causing the deaths of two thousand Americans. He believed that without the United States aid, Russia and England would collapse, and the United States government had broken a diplomatic code and intercepted a message from Japan threatening war. Roosevelt missed many opportunities to prevent the bombing. This bomb attack brought our nation into war and caused the deaths of over a thousand American citizens.
President Roosevelt stated, “Yesterday, December 7, 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…. Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation. As commander in chief of the Army and Navy I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense….I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire,”¹