Pearl Harbor Essay

Submitted By mamalou3
Words: 587
Pages: 3

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a major blow in United States History. One of the most shocking attacks ever, on United States soil. Americans will always remember those lost and the events that surrounded the attack and the aftermath. On December 7, 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt said that Pearl Harbor “ is a date which will live in infamy.” Today, Pearl Harbor stirs feeling in everyone as they visit the historic site in Hawaii to pay their respects to those that were lost.
The tension between the United States Japan began back in the 1930 when they had differences over China. Japan moved forward with their plans. In 1940 Japan allied with Germany and conquered Indochina. In response to this activity the United States grew their military presence in the Pacific and increased their support to China. The United States had interests to protect in that area. The support to China and the restrictions on natural resources were seen as a threat to Japan’s survival. Japan responded with a plan to attack the resource rich areas, even if it meant war with the United States. The United States military built several machines, to decode Japanese secret messages. In all aspects diplomats felt the United States was ready for World War II. While they were decoding, the Japanese was working on carrying out a secret surprise attack on the United States. November 26, 1941 Japan sent out 6 aircraft carriers with 423 airplanes, 2 battleships, 2 heavy cruisers and 11 destroyers to the Northern Pacific ocean. Washington sent a war warning out to the Philippines and Pearl Harbor. On December 6, 1941 President Roosevelt made an appeal to Emperor Hirohito, it was ignored.
Japan launched the first wave of attacks at 6:00 am on December 7, 1941. They were able to approach Oahu undetected. The United States Military observed the radar planes detected but were advised to ignore it, thinking it was an arrival of B29 planes scheduled to come in. This allowed the Japanese to come in undetected and launched 183 planes at 7:02 am. They arrived at 7:53 with the first wave striking the airfields. The Navy advised