National
Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day is Friday, December 7. Ordinarily in observance,
the flag would be at half-staff, but it’s already at half-staff for the late
President George W. Bush.
On
Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, the American Army and Navy base in Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii was attacked by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The attack came as a
surprise to the American Army and Navy and lead to great losses of life and
equipment. More than 2,000 American citizens were killed and more than 1,000
were injured. The Americans also lost a large proportion of their battle ships and
nearly 200 aircraft that were stationed in the Pacific region. More than 60
Japanese servicemen were killed, injured or captured. The Japanese Navy also
lost five submarines and 29 aircraft.
The
Japanese military had hoped that the attack on Pearl Harbor would prevent the
United States of America from increasing her influence in the Pacific. However,
the events in Pearl Harbor actually led to the escalation of World War II. The
day after the attack, the United States declared war on Japan and so entered World
War II. President Franklin Roosevelt in a speech to Congress stated that the
bombing of Pearl Harbor was “a date which will live in infamy.”
No comments:
Post a Comment