Attack on Pearl Harbor | World War II History Documentary in Color

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941 (December 8 in Japan). The attack led to the United States' entry into World War II.

The attack was intended as a preventive action in order to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions the Empire of Japan was planning in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States. There were simultaneous Japanese attacks on the U.S.-held Philippines and on the British Empire in Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Cont.

From the standpoint of the defenders, the attack commenced at 7:48 a.m. Hawaiian Time. The base was attacked by 353 Japanese fighter planes, bombers, and torpedo planes in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers. All eight U.S. Navy battleships were damaged, with four being sunk. All but one (Arizona) were later raised, and six of the eight battleships were returned to service and went on to fight in the war. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer. 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed; 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were wounded. Important base installations such as the power station, shipyard, maintenance, and fuel and torpedo storage facilities, as well as the submarine piers and headquarters building (also home of the intelligence section) were not attacked. Japanese losses were light: 29 aircraft and five midget submarines lost, and 65 servicemen killed or wounded. One Japanese sailor, Kazuo Sakamaki, was captured.

The attack came as a profound shock to the American people and led directly to the American entry into World War II in both the Pacific and European theaters. The following day, December 8, the United States declared war on Japan. Domestic support for non-interventionism, which had been strong, disappeared. Clandestine support of Britain (e.g., the Neutrality Patrol) was replaced by active alliance. Subsequent operations by the U.S. prompted Germany and Italy to declare war on the U.S. on December 11, which was reciprocated by the U.S. the same day.

Years later several writers alleged that parties high in the U.S. and British governments knew of the attack in advance and may have let it happen (or even encouraged it) with the aim of bringing America into war. However, this advance-knowledge conspiracy theory is rejected by mainstream historians.

There were numerous historical precedents for unannounced military action by Japan. However, the lack of any formal warning, particularly while negotiations were still apparently ongoing, led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to proclaim December 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy". Because the attack happened without a declaration of war and without explicit warning, the attack on Pearl Harbor was judged by the Tokyo Trials to be a war crime.

There were simultaneous Japanese attacks on the U.S.-held Philippines and on the British Empire in Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor ended at approx. 3:00 A.M., Manila-time.

Gen. Douglas MacArthur was informed by telephone at 3:40 A.M.

Before 7:00 A.M., President Quezon had issued a statement to the radio: "The zero hour has arrived. I expect every Filipino - man and woman - to do his duty. We have pledged our honor to stand by the United States and we shall not fail her, happen what may."

At 9:25 A.M., Major General Brereton, MacArthur's air commander, had learned that carrier-based Japanese planes had bombed Tarlac, Tuguegarao, and Camp John Hay in northern Luzon.

And yet, sometime between 12:10 P.M. and 12:35 P.M., some 54 Mitsubishis and 56 Zeros swooped down on Clark Field.

"The Japanese could hardly believe their good fortune," writes William Manchester in his biography of MacArthur, American Caesar, "There lay their prey, bunched together, wing tips almost touching [...] By 1:37 P.M., when the last Japanese plane soared away, Clark was unrecognizable."

Regards,

More Americans were killed on 9/11 than at Pearl Harbor. And they were innocent civilians.

The Japanese were held to be war criminals for launching an unannounced, unprovoked attack on a military installation. Muslims are regularly defended as “peaceful” after an equally unannounced, unprovoked attack on a pair of office buildings and the seat of America’s military machine.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor prompted our immediate declaration of war against Imperial Japan. 9/11 brought hand-wringing angst and fears of “backlash” against muslimes.

What a nation we have become.

Some people hold up MacArthur as some kind of hero. I am not one of them.

I do not deny that he had talent. I do believe he was blinded by his own ego, hobbled by his arrogance, and was never held to account for the mistakes or poor decisions he made in the same way he held others to account.

There were many times he was called to stand in judgement of his fellow officers and the men who served under them and him, and he was merciless.

Had he been held to the same standard, even just once, for what happened at Clark Field, then it would be a different story. But FDR decided we needed a hero, interesting considering their relationship through the rest of WWII.

My dad was stationed in Okinawa in the early 1970s. He befriended an Okinawan bartender who invited him home one day. The bartender's brother was killed in WW II by Marines. His parents looked at my dad with unadulterated hatred. The letter they got from the Imperial Japanese government went something like this: "Your son died honorably for the Emperor. He was shot in the back by American Marines."

I don't begrudge WW II vets any of their hatred towards the Japanese. However, my dad's generation came after that, and he was able to make some good friendships. One of my best friends in elementary school- his dad was a U.S. Marine Sgt., while his mom was Japanese- she worked at a Commissary on a Japanese base during WW II.

The only Japanese I personally know now are Christians. One was a Kamikaze pilot (his personalized license tags spelled "KamKaze"). He was a 12 year old who was scheduled to dive a fighter into American troops when we invaded the home islands...Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved his life. A few years later, he went to a Tent Revival and accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior. He later became a Minister, a U.S. citizen, and his son fought for the U.S. Army in the Gulf War. Also, I loved when old WW II veterans would come up and hug him- realizing how much hatred there was between the Americans and Japanese, yet that Christ had reconciled the two groups.

Douglas MacArthur was asked how many troops he needed for the occupation. He replied that he only needed 5,000 Missionaries....if only we had done that.

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