The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack from the Japanese Navy Air Service on the a naval base in Honolulu, Hawaii. This happened just before 8 a.m. on December 7, 1941. In all, there were 353 Japanese fighter jet planes that flew over Pearl Harbor and dropped bombs. That day, eight large ships were at the docks, three of which were completely destroyed and the others were severely damaged. About 350 planes were either destroyed or severely damaged during the attack. The attack killed more than 2,400 naval and other military personnel. Of that amount about 1,178 were injured during the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Among those people killed were 2,008 sailors, 218 soldiers and airmen, and 109 marines.
Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in hopes that it would destroy the US Pacific Fleet and to weaken the American people. They hoped that the defeat at Pearl Harbor would be so devastating, that Americans would immediately give up. The goal for Japan was to weaken America so it would allow them to continue the Imperial Expansion into Asia.
America was the main supplier for Japan in steel and oil, so when the U.S limited their supply so they wouldn't try to expand more into Asia. In retaliation Japan attacked America. They wanted to expand into Asia because of the natural supplies that they could provide such as oil, steel, and other natural resources that Japan lacked, which they would also need if they wanted to be successful in the expansion of Asia and the war.
French Indochina ( French colonial regions of Southeast Asia) is also a place where Japan got its oil and other resources. But that all changed when Japan tried to make a bigger army. So, the United States and the colonial regions of Southeast Asia stopped supplying Japan with oil and other natural resources. Japan had stored enough oil for one year's worth of war. But after that, they were in trouble so they had to come up with a plan fast, and that plan was to attack the U.S. naval base on Hawaii first, then go after taking over part of Asia to gain back control over some supplies.
The attack on Pearl Harbor began at 7:55 a.m. The whole attack didn't last very long; only one hour and 15 minutes. Minutes before the attack started, the Japanese captain, Mitsuo Fuchida, sent a code message to the Japanese fleet after they flew over Oahu. The code indicated that the Americans were caught by surprise. The code word was Tora; he repeated it three times. Originally Japan intended to give the U.S. a declaration of war so it wouldn't interfere with the first article of the Hague Convention of 1907. But it ended up not getting to the U.S. in time, and they saw the war declaration when the battle already started.
There had been a rumor or a conspiracy going around at the time that President Roosevelt knew beforehand about Japan wanting to attack Pearl Harbor but there is no actual evidence proving the theory. Some call it, " A fake story that lives on." It has also been recorded that some U.S. officials were warned in "clear detail" by some insider knowledge that Pearl Harbor would be attack by the Japanese. Some even go on to argue that the attack could have been avoided altogether if American officials would have taken the warning seriously. But there is no way to know what the effect would be if they had said something; it might not have helped at all.
Why didn't the United States fight back at Pearl Harbor? This is a common question, but the truth is that the soldiers on base were struggling to stay alive, so many of them couldn't fight back. This was also a surprise attack so even if people could, the equipment was all but destroyed. The United States didn't fight back mainly because they didn't have any fire power because almost all of it was destroyed when the Japanese fighter jets dropped bombs on the base. Another reason was that this attack happened so fast that there wasn't even time for a counter attack. Some of the guns on the ships were quite damaged. In fact, many soldiers on base died from gun related wounds and from drowning. On the first round of fighter jets, bombs were dropped on the ships so soldiers jumped from the ships into the water, which is how most of the sailors drowned. The picture to the right is a photograph that was taken showing the sailors jumping off of the decks into the water. It also shows the debris that has engulfed the air and it shows the conditions during the attack.
Although most of the sailors ran to safety, several people took action in fighting back. One of those people was Doris Miller. Miller was a United States Navy cook third class, and he worked on one of the ships at the time of the bombing. When the attack first started, Miller was doing laundry below the deck aboard the USS West Virginia. An alarm indicated that people needed to get to there battle stations. Miller raced to find a gun and a magazine for it, but a torpedo damaged the gun so when he realized he couldn't fight back he rounded up the wounded to safety. After everyone was safe, he went to find a ".50-calibre antiaircraft gun" and started firing at the Japanese planes. The most incredible thing was that he never was trained how to use it beforehand because black people in the navy at the time weren't allowed to. Miller was the first black American to receive the Navy Cross for bravery during the attack. Miller died two years later, in 1943, when a torpedo sank his ship. On June 30, 1973, the Navy named the ship after him calling it the USS Miller, in his honor.
Although most of the sailors ran to safety, several people took action in fighting back. One of those people was Doris Miller. Miller was a United States Navy cook third class, and he worked on one of the ships at the time of the bombing. When the attack first started, Miller was doing laundry below the deck aboard the USS West Virginia. An alarm indicated that people needed to get to there battle stations. Miller raced to find a gun and a magazine for it, but a torpedo damaged the gun so when he realized he couldn't fight back he rounded up the wounded to safety. After everyone was safe, he went to find a ".50-calibre antiaircraft gun" and started firing at the Japanese planes. The most incredible thing was that he never was trained how to use it beforehand because black people in the navy at the time weren't allowed to. Miller was the first black American to receive the Navy Cross for bravery during the attack. Miller died two years later, in 1943, when a torpedo sank his ship. On June 30, 1973, the Navy named the ship after him calling it the USS Miller, in his honor.
That day Doris Miller wasn't the only hero; for example there were eight more which were Samuel Fuqua, Peter Tomich, George Welch and Kenneth Taylor, John Finn, George Walters, Edwin Hill, and Phil Rasmussen. All those men took action to help fight the Japanese fighter planes. One of those men, Samuel Fuqua, was on USS Arizona eating breakfast when the alarm went off indicating that they needed to go into fighting positions. So he raced to his spot only to get knocked out completely by a bomb that landed feet from him. When he regained consciousness, he began directing "firefighting operations." Seconds after that, he became the senior surviving officer, right after another bomb destroyed the ships ammunition magazine, which killed more than 1,000 men aboard the USS Arizona. Fuqua calmly directed evacuating the alive sailors off the demolished ship. He helped carry men off; he was the last one off the ship. Fuqua was awarded the Medal of Honor for his efforts at Pearl Harbor. They later promoted him to "Rear Admiral;" he retired in 1953.
The next "Hero of Pearl Harbor" was Peter Tomich. He was on the USS Utah at the time of the bombing. The ship was hit with two torpedoes and started to sink. In an effort to save his men, he ordered them to abandon ship. They escaped through the engineering spaces. After he made sure all of them made it, he went back to his spot and tried to secure the boilers, to try and prevent them from exploding which would have killed many lives. It ended up killing fifty-eight men that day including Peter. After Peter's death, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for saving those men's lives and sacrificing his own. Sadly, the Navy later couldn't find any of his family members, so his award went unclaimed for 65 years. Until 2006, when a relative was finally found. They had a ceremony for Peter that year in Split, Croatia.
George Welch and Kenneth Taylor was also on base that day; they were both Army Air Corps pilots. At the time when the bombing started both men were in their rooms sleeping until they heard the sounds of explosions and guns being fired. The two quickly got dressed and hurried to get to the Haleiwa airfield in Taylor's Buick. some time passed and then they became the "First American pilots to get airborne after they took off in their p-40 fighters." Welch and Taylor flew into the air and started to fight against the enemy planes. It was reported that once they re-landed to get more ammo then they went back up to fight. By the time it was all over the two sent at least six fighters and bombers down throughout the whole event.
Later, they both were awarded the "Distinguished Service Cross" for their jobs they did during the attack. Taylor in addition was given a Purple Heart for a wound he acquired during the fighting. Next on the list is John Finn; Chief Petty Officer John was actually at home when the attack happened close to his house so he got up because he had been sleeping, and raced towards the scene with a .30 caliber machine gun. He dragged that to an open area to start shooting down as many planes as he could. It was reported later on that he shot one plan down. He kept shooting until he couldn't anymore. He suffered from more than 20 wounds from bullets and shrapnel from the fighting. One of the wounds made his leg break, and another gun shot was reported to completely incapacitate his left arm. He received medical attention after it ended, and the amazing thing is later that day he returned to duty to help arm American planes. His heroics that day won him the Medal of Honor. He was the only one that was specifically awarded the Medal of Honor for combat action during the attack. It was reported that he would survive his line of duty and would live till he was 100 years old.
Later, they both were awarded the "Distinguished Service Cross" for their jobs they did during the attack. Taylor in addition was given a Purple Heart for a wound he acquired during the fighting. Next on the list is John Finn; Chief Petty Officer John was actually at home when the attack happened close to his house so he got up because he had been sleeping, and raced towards the scene with a .30 caliber machine gun. He dragged that to an open area to start shooting down as many planes as he could. It was reported later on that he shot one plan down. He kept shooting until he couldn't anymore. He suffered from more than 20 wounds from bullets and shrapnel from the fighting. One of the wounds made his leg break, and another gun shot was reported to completely incapacitate his left arm. He received medical attention after it ended, and the amazing thing is later that day he returned to duty to help arm American planes. His heroics that day won him the Medal of Honor. He was the only one that was specifically awarded the Medal of Honor for combat action during the attack. It was reported that he would survive his line of duty and would live till he was 100 years old.
George Walters worked alongside the USS Pennsylvania. Walters manned a giant rolling crane that was set right next to the USS Pennsylvania. While the attack was happening Walters took the end of the crane and tried to take down Japanese fighter planes by swatting them with the end of the crane. In fact, while the he was doing that the "gunners" on USS Pennsylvania called him a nuisance for doing that initially. But they had a change of heart when they realized he could be a huge help to them by the view he had of the planes coming, so he could tell the gunners where to shoot, using the movements of the cranes "arms" as a sort of guidance. They used it to return fire against the enemy to a devastating effect. Throughout the attack he stayed in the crane until a bomb landed on the deck making him unconscious, and he was sent to the hospital with a concussion. He played a major role in keeping the USS Pennsylvania safe from destruction.
Chief Boatswain Edwin Hill was one of the whole reason for the USS Nevada surviving the attack. He and a small group of brave men broke the moorings tying down the Nevada to the docks and led it to be the only one to make a break for open sea. After he cut the mooring, he jumped into the oil-filled water and swam back to his own ship. Once on ship, he was on the forecastle trying to drop the anchor into the water when Japanese plains dropped bombs on the deck, sending a wave that hit him and pushed him off the ship which instantly killed him. After he died he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his help.
Finally but not least, Phil Rasmussen was one of the many American pilots that decided to jump into action by getting in an aircraft and trying to fight off the Japanese planes. Like most pilots on December 7 of 1941 he was sleeping when it started. He jumped out of bed and ran out towards his post and found a P-36 fighter that was undamaged on the runway. So, he jumped into the aircraft and took off. He shot down one Japanese aircraft in no time, and he managed to severely damage two others. Eventually, two enemy planes sent 500 bullet holes into his aircraft and he landed it with no brakes or a tail wheel. Phil was later awarded for his bravery; he won the Silver Star award. One later years he ended up retiring as a colonel.
Chief Boatswain Edwin Hill was one of the whole reason for the USS Nevada surviving the attack. He and a small group of brave men broke the moorings tying down the Nevada to the docks and led it to be the only one to make a break for open sea. After he cut the mooring, he jumped into the oil-filled water and swam back to his own ship. Once on ship, he was on the forecastle trying to drop the anchor into the water when Japanese plains dropped bombs on the deck, sending a wave that hit him and pushed him off the ship which instantly killed him. After he died he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his help.
Finally but not least, Phil Rasmussen was one of the many American pilots that decided to jump into action by getting in an aircraft and trying to fight off the Japanese planes. Like most pilots on December 7 of 1941 he was sleeping when it started. He jumped out of bed and ran out towards his post and found a P-36 fighter that was undamaged on the runway. So, he jumped into the aircraft and took off. He shot down one Japanese aircraft in no time, and he managed to severely damage two others. Eventually, two enemy planes sent 500 bullet holes into his aircraft and he landed it with no brakes or a tail wheel. Phil was later awarded for his bravery; he won the Silver Star award. One later years he ended up retiring as a colonel.
In the end, people still talk about this event because of the impact that it had on World War 2 and the United States. This event is what made the U.S go into World War 2. It took countless lives, many brave men like Samuel Fuqua, Peter Tomich, George Welch and Kenneth Taylor, John Finn, George Walters, Edwin Hill, and Phil Rasmussen who took charge to help save the lives of people. Without these brave men the outcome of the attack would have gone way differently. It is important to retell these men's stories and the Attack of Pearl Harbor because there is a great lesson to be shared.