Beau--Pearl+Harbor

Pearl Harbor By: Beau Meadows “December 7 is a day that will live in infamy,” Said Franklin D. Roosevelt on December 8. He was talking about Pearl Harbor, which was attacked by the Japanese on December 7, 1941. Pearl Harbor was the resting place of many U. S. soldiers and the reason America joined the war.

Pearl Harbor was extremely important to the Americans. Pearl Harbor was Americas cause to join WWII (Pearlharboroahu.com). It Left 2,897 dead, 879 wounded, and 26 missing (worldwar2history.info). The slogan “Remember Pearl Harbor” mobilized America and turned it into the war machine it is today. The attack on Pearl Harbor started at 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time. The attack begins with all the air stations being bombed. There were two waves of Planes. The attacked lasted a total of 2 hours and 20 minutes (npr.org).

There was much damage done at Pearl Harbor. The final death count was thousands dead and hundreds wounded. There were at least 57 civilians killed, and about the same wounded. All together the Japanese sunk 18 ships out of the U. S. Pacific fleet.

On December 8, the day after Pearl Harbor, Congress declared war on Japan. Three days later, on December 11, Congress declared war on Germany. On December 8, Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) gave his “Day Of Infamy” speech (pearlharbor.org). FDR claims that he sent a warning to Pearl Harbor about the attack (worldwar2history.info).

Pearl Harbor has been turned into a memorial and museum. There is a sight at were the “invincible” USS Arizona was sunk. They also have the USS Missouri, it was the last battleship constructed by the U. S. There is also the USS Bowfin which traveled 100,000 Nautical miles in WWII. Last but not least there is the Pacific Aviation museum which has all the planes used by the U.S.(Pearlharboroahu.com)

Although the soldiers were surprised, many of them fought hard against the Japanese. For example a U. S. Navy Lieutenant named John William Finn manned a .50-Caliber machinegun mounted on an instruction stand in an completely exposed section of the parking ramp, and stayed there while he was under heavy enemy strafing fire. He manned the machinegun, being painfully wounded many times, until he received specific orders to leave his post to receive medical attention (worldwariihistory.info).

Pearl Harbor is indeed a day that has lived in infamy. People from all around the world still go to Pearl Harbor by the millions each year. They will come for years to remember our brave soldiers who died at the battle of Pearl Harbor. Work Cited Tanaka, Shelley. //Attack On Pearl Harbor.// New York: Hyperion books for children, 2001. Arrayo, Ernest. Pearl Harbor. Michael Freedom Publishing Group, 2001. “USS Arizona memorial.” //The Official Pearl Harbor Tour Site.// [|//http://www.pearlharboroahu.com/index.htm//]//. // Parrish, Ann. “Pearl Harbor.” //Our States: Geographic Treasures// 2010.