Pearl Harbor National Memorial

This visitor center and memorial park is operated by the National Park Service with interpretive galleries about the history of the U.S. military's presence at this site leading up to the attack by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941. The site includes exhibits about the history of the area along with monuments and the USS Arizona Memorial which is accessible via ferry. The site interprets one of the most consequential events in United States history, an attack that only lasted two hours but had a global consequence. In the attack, Japanese aircraft destroyed nearly twenty American naval vessels, including eight battleships, as well as nearly 200 airplanes. More than 2,000 soldiers and sailors died during the attack and another 1,000 were wounded. The attack led to America's immediate entry into World War II which culminated in victories over Japan and Germany in 1945.

The first attack wave of 183 planes was launched north of Oahu and was led by commander Mitsuo Fuchida. The first group was ordered to attack the battleships and aircraft carriers. The second group's targets were Ford Island and Wheeler Field. The third group's targets were aircraft at Ford Island, Hickam Field, Wheeler Field, Barber's Point, and Kaneohe. Only 6 of the 183 planes did not launch because of technical difficulties.

Eight battleships were destroyed during the bombing which included the USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, USS West Virginia, USS California, USS Nevada, USS Tennessee, USS Maryland, USS Pennsylvania. The Japanese also attacked three cruisers, destroyers, and auxiliary vessels but were unable to attack aircraft carriers as they were not in the area at the time of the attack. Of the 402 American aircraft in Hawaii, 188 were destroyed and 159 were damaged.

The attack came as a shock to the American people and this led to an immediate declaration of war. A day after the attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on the Japanese and Congress approved. On December 11 Germany and Italy declared war on the United States and later that same day the United States issued a declaration of war against Germany and Italy. As a consequence, over 110,000 Japanese Americans were removed from their homes and sent to internment camps across the United States.

The Path to Pearl Harbor, National World War II Museum. Accessed July 16th, 2023. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/path-pearl-harbor.

National Park Service. Pearl Harbor National Memorial, Accessed July 16th, 2023. https://www.nps.gov/perl/learn/historyculture/pearl-harbor.htm.