Video: The Attack on Pearl Harbor
The story of the Attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, alongside historical footage.
In the early morning hours of December 7, 1941, the Japanese Imperial Navy Air Service launched a surprise attack against the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. The attack, carried out by 353 Japanese pilots, killed 2,403 American personnel and damaged 19 military vessels. By the next day, both countries had declared war on the other, forcing the US’s entry into the ongoing World War II.
The Attack on Pearl Harbor shook America to its core—”a date which will live in infamy.” The surprise attack was the breaking point of rising tensions between the Empire of Japan and the United States. Japan had spent the last several decades modernizing rapidly, but it needed resources to do so. This led to the colonial subjugation of many of its neighbors. Fearing Japanese expansion across the Pacific, the United States halted crucial oil exports to the island nation. This provoked the Empire of Japan to action, a devastating first strike meant to pave the way for further territorial expansion.
The strike on Pearl Harbor galvanized the USA to war, but it also had significant impacts domestically. The loss of life sent shockwaves of grief across the country. It also, however, stoked anti-Japanese sentiments. Japanese-Americans, the majority full US citizens, were removed from their homes and interned at concentration camps across the West Coast. About 112,000 people faced this punishment for a crime they didn’t commit.
Every year, the events at Pearl Harbor and their legacy are remembered in the United States. This historical footage takes us back to the day that changed global history.
References
“Japanese-American Internment During World War II.” National Archives, www.archives.gov/education/lessons/japanese-relocation. Accessed 17 Mar. 2020.
“Remembering Pearl Harbor: A Pearl Harbor Fact Sheet.” United States Census Bureau, The National WWII Museum, www.census.gov/history/pdf/pearl-harbor-fact-sheet-1.pdf.
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