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Pearl Harbor:
"Date Which Will Live In Infamy"
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Deadly Surprise
Regarded as a dastardly "surprise attack" and an act of "infamy", Japan's Pearl Harbor mission entered the contemporary American consciousness more forcefully than any other single event. During the Second World War every effort was made to keep its memory bright. Posters, popular songs and other media were staples of wartime pop culture. Regular memorial services commemorated the dead, and flags that had flown at the Capitol and the White House on December 7, 1941 were raised over fallen enemy capital cities.
America Reacts
This sneak attack against Hawaii brought an immediate reaction of unprecedented unity from the American people. Families from every class sent their sons and daughters to war, women joined the industrial work force, and no one was untouched by the effort to bring all of U.S. resources to bear upon the war effort. The U.S. war plans strategy had been "Europe first", but the Japanese attack caused a far greater effort to be directed early on to the Pacific than would otherwise have been expected and fueled the will of the U.S. to completely defeat Japan regardless of the cost.
Day Of "Infamy"
On December 8, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt hastily addressed the Congress to ask for a declaration of war against Japan. Referring to December Seventh, 1941, as a "date which will live in infamy", he gave the Pearl Harbor attack its most famous and enduring title. Within a few days, Germany and Italy had declared war on the United States. Even before the President's speech, Americans were flooding recruiting offices to try to join the Armed Forces. For those already in the Service, the formality of war was now present, though for most, the grim reality of the experience was still well in the future.
Pacific Fleet Crippled
Also on December 8, Vice Admiral William F. Halsey brought his Enterprise task force into Pearl Harbor, where the enormity of the destruction shocked all hands. Halsey's comment, "Before we're through with 'em, the Japanese language will be spoken only in hell!", probably represented a universal feeling, not just in the Fleet, but in virtually the entire Nation.
    
Airfields, port facilities, and warships were attacked and severely damaged. Of the nine Pacific Fleet battleships at Pearl that day, Utah and Arizona were completely destroyed and the Oklahoma was salvaged but considered obsolete and designated for scrap. All other battleships were returned to service.
Battleship Arizona Destroyed
The Arizona was struck by a converted sixteen inch armor penetrating naval shell that was dropped from a high level horizontal bomber. The bomb penetrated between the number one and two turrets, proceeded aft and downward through several decks, and exploded in one of the Arizona's aircraft catapult gunpowder magazines. The resulting fire ignited the main gun magazines where great quantities of gunpowder were stored. The explosion blew out all forward transverse bulkheads and caused the ship to sink to the harbor bottom in a few minutes. The explosion and sinking resulted in the death of over 1100 crew members.
Admiral Yamamoto
Imperial Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, who conceived, designed and promoted the Pearl harbor attack, cautioned against a war with the United States. Having twice held naval attache positions within the Japanese embassy in the U.S. Capitol, he knew well the industrial strength, material wealth and temperament of the United States. Overruled by his superiors, he dedicated his efforts as Commander in Chief of the Imperial Combined Fleet to a successful attack. Upon completion of the attack he is quoted as saying: "We have awakened a sleeping giant and have instilled in him a terrible resolve."
Even after the conflict ended, the Pearl Harbor "surprise" helped shape a generation of national defense policy and was not forgotten by those who had lived through the war. Monuments, large and small, were erected on the battle sites. Around the country, veterans' reunion groups met regularly to keep the memory alive. Even now, six decades later, Pearl Harbor remains the subject of a regular flow of documentaries, dramatic productions, books and articles.
Remember Pearl Harbor
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