This year marks 83 years since the attack on Pearl Harbor, a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, just before 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, December 7, 1941.
At the time, the United States was a neutral country in World War II. The attack on Hawaii and other U.S. territories led the United States to formally enter World War II on the side of the Allies the day following the attack, on December 8, 1941.
Just ninety minutes after it began, the attack was over. 2,008 sailors were killed and 710 others wounded; 218 soldiers and airmen (who were part of the Army prior to the independent United States Air Force in 1947) were killed and 364 wounded; 109 Marines were killed and 69 wounded; and 68 civilians were killed and 35 wounded. In total, 2,403 Americans were killed, and 1,178 were wounded.
All Americans killed or wounded during the attack were legally non-combatants, given that there was no state of war when the attack occurred.
Of the American fatalities, nearly half were due to the explosion of Arizona’s forward magazine after she was hit by a modified 16-inch shell.
Eighteen ships sunk or were run aground, including five battleships.
This event brought a great loss to America. These brave men and woman are honored and memorialized at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial in Hawaii.
To learn more about the event, visit https://www.nps.gov/perl/index.htm.
