"Japanese firepower rained down on American ships and servicemen for nearly two hours," according to the National World War II Museum.
The ferocious raid by aircraft carrier-borne warplanes sank or damaged ships. 21 United States warships, including the USS Arizona and the USS Oklahoma, destroyed or damaged 347 aircraft, killing 2,403 Americans.
"Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date that will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan," President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared the next day, while requesting a declaration of war from Congress.
"No matter how long it takes us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people will triumph in their righteous might."
The American people's "righteous might" manifested itself in the most remarkable military, industrial, logistical, and spiritual mobilisation in human history, resulting in the liberation of hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
By the end of 1941, the Japanese Empire and fellow Axis Power Nazi Germany had conquered much of Asia, Europe, and North Africa — often with frightening ease.
The attack on Pearl Harbor was only the beginning of a much larger and more ambitious Japanese offensive across the Pacific Ocean, which began on December 7, 1941.
In his emergency address on December 8, Roosevelt listed the devastating news.
"The Japanese government also launched an attack on Malaya yesterday." Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong last night: Japanese forces attacked Guam last night. Last night, Japanese forces launched an attack on the Philippine Islands. The Japanese attacked Wake Island last night. And the Japanese attacked Midway Island this morning."
According to the National World War II Museum, "the Japanese were masters of the Pacific within days."
Japan had already occupied a large portion of China for several years.
Adolf Hitler, flush with two years of his own victories, declared war on the United States on December 11, 1941. His declaration justified the United States' entry into the European war as well.
However, both Japan and Germany appeared unbeatable. The United States appeared woefully unprepared to enter a global conflict spanning vast oceanic swaths.
Civilization's future appeared bleak.
Within four years, however, both Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany were in smouldering ruins, their ability to wage war destroyed, conquered lands reclaimed, and hundreds of millions of people liberated from domination.
The US then led the effort to rebuild both countries into major world economies with stable democratic leadership.
During the attack on Pearl Harbor, the shape of the future world began to take shape. American sailors, soldiers, and airmen quickly recovered from the shock of the surprise attack and began fighting back.
For their heroic actions that day, fifteen sailors and one Marine received the Medal of Honor.
Among them were Rear Admiral Isaac Kidd, who died commanding the defence of the USS Arizona from the bridge, the first U.S. flag officer killed in any war; Captain Mervyn Bennion, who remained in command of the USS West Virginia despite mortal wounds, saving the ship; and Chief Boatswain Edwin Hill, whose remarkable heroics freed the USS Nevada while under attack.
"At the height of the strafing and bombing, Chief Boatswain Hill led his men from the line-handling details of the USS Nevada to the quays," his Medal of Honor citation reads.The Nevada could now set sail. But Hill wasn't finished.He jumped into the water and swam back to his ship, where the fight would continue.
"Later, while on the forecastle, attempting to let go of the anchors," the MOH citations state, "he was blown overboard and killed by the explosion of several bombs."
That morning, the Nevada was the only battleship to set sail. She went on to serve with distinction in the war.
The USS Nevada took part in the D-Day invasion of Europe in 1944, as well as the final attacks on the Japanese home islands in the summer of 1945.The USS West Virginia also survived the Pearl Harbor attack, but at the loss of 106 sailors.She triumphantly sailed into Tokyo Bay less than four years later, to witness the surrender of Japan and the end of World War II on Sept. 2, 1945.
On December 7, 1941, Japan hoped to stun the American people into submission as its army and navy swiftly conquered territory across Asia and the Pacific Ocean.
Instead, the attack on Pearl Harbor strengthened the resolve of the American people and proved to be the greatest military miscalculation in history.
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