Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii, was attacked by Japanese torpedo and bomber planes on December 7, 1941, at 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time. The sneak attack sparked outrage in the American populace, news media, government and the world. On December 8, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the American Congress, and the nation, to detail the attack. In that address, the president asked Congress to pass a declaration of war. Congress obliged, voted and passed the U.S. Declaration of War on Japan, on the same day. That was America's formal entry into World War II.
      The attack took place on a sunny Sunday morning. A minimal amount of soldiers was on duty at the time. Most offices on the base were closed and many servicemen were on leave for the weekend. New technology, including the new radar mounted on Opana Point, was in place, manned and functioning at the time of the attack. The incoming Japanese attack planes were detected by the radar and reported, but were mistaken for an incoming group of American planes due from the mainland that morning. While on practice maneuvers outside the harbor that morning, an American destroyer spotted a Japanese submarine attempting to sneak into the harbor. The submarine was fired upon, immediately reported — and ignored.
      Pearl Harbor is located on the south coast of Oahu Island. At the time, the naval base was about 22,000 acres in size. The American fleet was under the command of Admiral Husband E. Kimmel and the ground troops were commanded by Lt. General Walter C. Short. Pearl Harbor was the hub of American naval power since King Kalakua gave the right to the U.S. to develop a coal station there in 1887. The harbor had recently been designated as the American Pacific Fleet's new home base because of concern over Japan's increasing aggressiveness. Most of America's military commands of the Pacific Region had headquarters on the base, yet the United States continued its isolationism.
      While there were veiled warnings...