December 7 – Pearl Harbor Day

December 7, 1941

December 7 is the anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Today, we remember the tragic events that took place on this fateful day.

On Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service attacked Naval Station Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, without a declaration of war and without warning. The attack killed 2,403 American servicemen and injured 1,178 others. This attack sank four United States Navy battleships, damaged four others, damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, and one minelayer. 188 aircraft were destroyed and 159 were damaged.

Japan intended this attack as a preventative action to keep the United States Pacific Fleet from interfering with its planned military actions against the territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States in Southeast Asia. Over the course of seven hours there were coordinated Japanese attacks on the United States-held Philippines, Guam, and Wake Island and on the British Empire in Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

The attack, carried out by 353 Imperial Japanese aircraft in two waves, commenced at 7:48 am Hawaiian Time. The surprise attack came as a shock to the American people and led directly to the American entry into World War II in both European and Pacific theaters.

Within hours of the attack, Canada became the first Western nation to declare war on Japan. On December 8, the United States declared war on Japan, entering World War II on the side of the Allies. In a speech to Congress that day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called the bombing “a date which will live in infamy.” On December 11 Germany and Italy each declared war on the U.S. and the U.S. responded with a declaration of war against Germany and Italy. What domestic support for non-interventionism was left after the Fall of France in 1940 had completely disappeared.

On August 23, 1994, the United States Congress designated December 7 of each year as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. On November 29, President Bill Clinton issued a proclamation declaring December 7, 1994 the first National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day and it became part of the Patriotic and National Observances and Ceremonies section of the United States Code.

On Pearl Harbor Day, the American flag should be flown at half-staff until sunset to honor those who died as a result of the attack on U.S. military forces in Hawaii. This day is not a federal holiday so government offices, schools, and businesses remain open. However, some organizations may hold special events in memory of those who were killed or injured in the attack.