Pearl Harbor, Oahu

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was serving his third presidential term in office. Roosevelt had pledged the US to the "good neighbor" policy, entering into agreements for joint action with allied nations against aggressors. Although he hoped to avoid war, Roosevelt provided extensive support to the British war effort prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor created great antiwar sentiment in the US. However, the anti-war sentiment disappeared almost overnight and the country rallied behind Roosevelt in the war effort. After the attack, which pulled the U.S. into the fighting, critics blamed Roosevelt for leaving Pearl Harbor unprepared.

In 1939, concerned over Japan’s ambitions, President Roosevelt cancelled the US trade agreement with Japan.  In 1940, he imposed a trade embargo, halting exports to Japan of petroleum products including gas and lubricants, iron and steel scrap. In July 1941, Roosevelt ordered the freezing of all Japanese assets in the United States, ending all trade between US and Japan, as well as threatening Japan’s continued existence as an industrial nation. Negotiations ensued between the two nations, however a resolution was not reached.

In the meantime, Admiral Richardson, Commander of the Pacific Fleet recommended Roosevelt move the fleet to the West Coast where the need to haul supplies, personnel and fuel oil would be eliminated. He believed preparing the fleet for war would have been greatly expedited if based in California. Richardson further believed a Japanese attack would never have been attempted because of the additional 2,000 miles and the Pearl Harbor force on their flank. Roosevelt believed the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor would provide a secure barrier against an attack on the west coast of the United States. Hostilities developed between Richardson and Roosevelt and Richardson, causing Richardson to be replaced with Andrew Kimmel.

On December 8, 1941, Roosevelt addressed the members of Congress asking for the issuance of a declaration of war against the Japanese Empire. In his speech, he referred to the bombing of Pearl Harbor as “a date which will live in infamy” – and so it has!

Honor the Pearl Harbor Hero - George Welch

Welch was assigned to the 47th Fighter Squadron, 18th Fighter Group flying P-40 Kittyhawks at Wheeler Field, near Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in 1941. A fellow fighter pilot of the 18th Group, Francis S. Gabreski (who would later go on to become the top American Ace in the European Theater in World War II) described him. "He was a rich kid, heir to the grape juice family, and we couldn't figure out why he was there since he probably could have avoided military service altogether if he wanted to." Many Japanese military aviators would regret that he hadn't. Read more