Today In History: Remembering Pearl Harbor

At 7:55am on December 7th, 1941 a Japanese dive bomber flew over the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.  The surprise and deadly arial attack precipitated the entry of the United States into World War II, which began in 1939 and lasted until 1945. Relations between the United States and Japan has been worsening over the previous decade for reasons that included the termination of trade with Japan; American support and aid to China; restricted exports of Japanese war materials; Japan's alliance with Germany and Italy; and freeze on Japanese assets. On December 8, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt received approval from Congress to enter war against Japan. On December 11, Germany and Italy,  allied with Japan, declared war on the U.S.

The Japanese strike consisted of 353 aircraft launched from four heavy carriers, with 40 torpedo planes, 103 level bombers, 131 dive-bombers, and 79 fighters. The attack also involved two heavy cruisers, 35 submarines, two light cruisers, nine oilers, two battleships, and 11 destroyers. It lasted one hour and fifteen minutes and resulted in the deaths of 2,403 U.S. personnel, including 68 civilians; further, it destroyed or damaged 19 U.S. Navy ships, including 8 battleships -- - among them, the  USS Arizona which remains sunken in Pearl Harbor.  A memorial to all  Americans who died in the attack, the United States flag flies above the  battleship. The USS Arizona was dedicated on Memorial Day, 1962 in commemoration of the attack and the lives lost.

The following articles are drawn from Proquest Historical Newspapers, which informs and inspires classroom teaching and learning:

• The New York Times, 1942. The New York Times (U.S. Army), 1944The New York Times (U.S. Navy)The New York Times (U.S. Navy), 1944. (1945, Aug 30). The Official Pearl Harbor Reports. New York Times (1923-) 
• Greaver, P. L., J. (1947, Dec 07). Was Pearl Harbor Unavoidable? Chicago Daily Tribune (1923-1963) 
• Hulen, B.D. (1947, Dec 07). Pearl Harbor Anniversary Today; Capital Recalls Scenes of 1941. New York Times (1923-
• Pearl Harbor -- Japanese View: Pearl Harbor. (1960, Nov 13). New York Times (1923-) 

• Hicken, V. (1966, Dec 04). The Week Before Pearl Harbor: America Was Drifting...   Chicago Tribune (1963-1996)
• Norris, H. (1974, Dec 01). Pearl Harbor: Who Died There? Chicago Tribune (1963-1996) 
• Pineau, R. (1981, Nov 22). Forty Years After Looking Back on Pearl Harbor. The Washington Post (1974-) 
• Tittle, B. M. (1981, Dec 06). Other Views: Dec. 7, 1941: A Survivor Remembers Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. Los Angeles Times (1923-1995) 2
• Nussbaum, P. (1981, Dec 07). The Day the Unbelievable Happened: Survivors Recall Scenes of Horror at Pearl Harbor.   Los Angeles Times (1923-1995) 
• Grier, P. (2010, Dec 07). Pearl Harbor Day: How FDR Reacted on December 7, 1941. The Christian Science Monitor (1908-) 

Tips:

• Freed, Kira. Surviving  Pearl Harbor. First edition. New York: Rosen Publishing’s Rosen Central, 2016. e-book
• Leese, Joseph. War Demands and Implications for Curriculum Development. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1943. Ph'D.
• Prange, Gordon W., Donald M. Goldstein, and Katherine V. Dillon. Pearl Harbor : The Verdict of History. New York, New York: Open Road Integrated Media, 2014. e-book
• Rice, Dona. Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. Huntington Beach, California: Teacher Created Materials, 2017. e-book
• Pearl Harbor National Memorial, National Park Service
• Pearl Harbor at The National WWII Museum

Images:

• USS SHAW Exploding Pearl Harbor Nara 80-G-16871, Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
• Poster Image: View of the USS Arizona Memorial from a USS Arizona Memorial ferry boat just after departing in Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.