The Attack on Pearl Harbor

Oahu, Hawaii is a beautiful place to visit. Beautiful beaches, great surfing, and tours of active and dormant volcanoes. The most visited and deadliest place to visit on the island is a United States Naval Station. A significant point in history that probably changed the course of World War II. What happened on the morning of December 7, 1941 should never be forgotten. On that day 2,403 people died during a surprise attack on Naval Base Pearl Harbor. The air raid attack also destroyed airplanes, runways, munition stores and warships including the battleship, USS Arizona. Japanese bombs caused the Arizona to explode and there were 1,177 casualties on that ship alone. That day was the official beginning of the war for the USA. A day President Franklin Roosevelt said was, “A date that will live in infamy.”

The Emperor of Japan during WWII was Hirohito. Hirohito attacked Pearl Harbor because he wanted to expand his empire in Asia and the Pacific. The plan was to control the whole Pacific region. The problem with that was Japan did not have enough steel, oil and rubber to achieve that goal. The United States enacted an embargo to keep these items from getting to Japan. In order to get the supplies, Japan had to “take out” the United States presence in the Pacific. The Japanese decided to attack early on a Sunday morning because most people would still be in bed or at church.

During the attack on Pearl Harbor, many heroes came out of the chaos. One of those was Doris “Dorie” Miller. Dorie ran to move wounded sailors, including his captain, to safety and took control of a machine gun. His acts of bravery made him the first African American hero of WWII. He was also the first African American to receive the Navy Cross. The Navy Cross is the highest award in the navy. Dorie never got to go back to Pearl Harbor after the award because his new assignment was to the USS  Liscome Bay. Two years after the attack on Pearl Harbor Dorie’s ship was hit by a torpedo and sank.