Pearl Harbor continues to be a sensitive issue in the United States. People cannot forget the fact that the greatest nation on the planet was trapped unaware. The casualties including more than 2,000 soldiers killed and 1000 injured makes it a black day in the U.S. military history. Franklin D. Roosevelt, the then President of the United States, rightly described it a day that will reside in infamy. The day was December 7, 1941, when the Japanese Empire attacked an American naval base situated in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The nation that was divided regarding its participation within the war was united and that day altered the path of The Second World War.
The location of the naval base was on O’ahu Island in Hawaii. This landlocked harbor has many strategically important military installations. The Japanese decided to fight it as the base was of significant importance.
The United States desired to have a distance from the war but after this attack, the United States decided to take part in World War II. This attack changed everything as the US did away using its policy of isolation. The Imperial Japanese Navy was benefited tactically from the sudden attack. The attack was planned by 50 percent waves with the aid of 6 aircraft carriers. A preliminary attack was launched around the US naval base by 183 aircraft within the first wave and 171 aircraft caused additional damage in the 2nd wave. Around 2,402 American navy personnel died and 1,282 were injured in the attack. 4 battleships, 3 cruisers, 5 midget submarines, 188 aircraft, and three destroyers were lost by the United States. Additionally, 4 battleships were badly broken. Compared to that, Japan loses its 29 aircraft, in addition to five midget submarines, and 129 attackers were killed and one taken as prisoner.
After this attack, the Japanese thought they could dominate Southeast Asia but that didn’t happen. The isolation policy of the nation was overruled the very next day of the attack when the then President Roosevelt addressed the United States Congress. The President implored to cancel the isolation policy and the Congress did exactly that by declaring the fight against Japan. Italy and Germany also declared a fight against the United States because of the alliance these countries had with Japan.