The USS Arizona Memorial is fully open following the completion of preservation work

The Attack on Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy.
Just before 8 a.m. local time on Sunday, December 7, 1941, 353 Japanese aircraft launched from six carriers struck the U.S. Pacific Fleet at anchor in Pearl Harbor. Within two hours, eight battleships were damaged or destroyed, 188 aircraft lay in ruins, and 2,403 Americans had been killed. The first wave hit at low altitude with torpedo bombers; the second arrived twenty minutes later with high-level bombers and fighters strafing what was left.

The articles in this collection examine the attack from every angle: the diplomatic breakdown that preceded the first wave, the radar warning, the strikes on Battleship Row, and the strategic miscalculations the Japanese command made before, during, and after the raid — including the fateful decision not to launch a third wave against the harbor's fuel tanks and dry-dock facilities. Whether you're researching the chain of events, the human toll, or the immediate aftermath, you'll find primary-source accounts, ship-by-ship damage reports, and historian-led analysis here.

When you're ready to walk the harbor itself, book a guided tour of the USS Arizona Memorial and Battleship Missouri — the two sites that bookend America's entry into and victory in the Pacific War. For visitors short on time, the Pearl Harbor Excursion short tour covers the essentials in a single morning, with round-trip transportation from Waikiki.

The attack reshaped the twentieth century in under 110 minutes, drawing a divided isolationist America into the largest war in human history. The articles below help explain how, and why, those minutes still matter.

The Fate of the Japanese Officers Behind Pearl Harbor

July 26, 2017 ·  
The attack on Pearl Harbor wasn’t some last-minute plan that was thought up over the course of several hours. It was a complex, highly-orchestrated assault that took many months to plan and the best military minds in Japan to pull off. Leading up to December 7th, 1941, relations between the United States and Japan were […]
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How Pearl Harbor Inspired American Enlistment

July 25, 2017 ·  
Those living on the US mainland couldn’t actually hear the explosions of the falling bombs or the crewmen's screams that echoed throughout Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t stunned by Japan’s surprise attack. The entire nation felt the tragedy of the over 2,400 deaths that day […]
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Remembering Robert May, USS Arizona Survivor

July 23, 2017 ·  
To have survived the sinking of the USS Arizona was a miracle that not many of her crew were afforded. When she sank to the bottom of Pearl Harbor, her hull torn open by Japanese bombs, she had lost 1,177 members of her crew. The survivors who walked away from the attack, scarred from the […]
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Rebuilding the US Pacific Fleet

July 21, 2017 ·  
After the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the American naval base on the island of Oahu, the Navy was left with a fleet that was significantly damaged and unfit for the coming war. At first glance, the damage done to the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor may have seemed a lot worse than it was, […]
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The "Fighting Mary": USS Maryland

July 14, 2017 ·  
For the men of the USS Maryland (BB-46), December 7th, 1941 started off like any other quiet Sunday morning. With the sun rising into the sky, many were getting ready for shore leave, while others were enjoying their breakfast and looking forward to another day of no action. Sundays were typically quiet aboard the battleship, and […]
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Bernie Comito and His Secret to Longevity

July 06, 2017 ·  
Over 75 years ago, Bernard Comito found himself thrust into one of the most devastating days in American history. Only 17 years old, Bernie Comito had just enlisted in the US Navy, knowing of the growing tension between the United States and Japan, but unaware of what those rising tensions would eventually lead to. Like […]
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Mitsuo Fuchida’s Battle Map

July 01, 2017 ·  
Mitsuo Fuchida, the man who led the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Striking Force at Pearl Harbor, was also responsible for the overall coordination of the attack. Though Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto planned the attack up until the moment it launched, it was Fuchida who led the first wave of planes and sent the message “Tora! Tora! Tora!” to indicate the element of […]
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December 7th, 1941 – A Brief Overview of Tragedy

June 30, 2017 ·  
As the sun began its ascent into the sky, it was the start of a beautiful day of rest and relaxation for many of the servicemen stationed at Pearl Harbor. Those who had worked throughout the night and into the early hours of the morning were eager to begin a quiet Sunday. Many of the men […]
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The Young Heroes of Pearl Harbor

June 20, 2017 ·  
The heroes of Pearl Harbor included more than just the sailors aboard the vessels that took the brunt of the attack, or the servicemen who scrambled to fight back with little more than their rifles. They weren’t just the local nurses who dropped everything to assist the injured or the volunteers who assisted with the clean-up […]
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Two Hours Defenseless, Four Years at War

June 20, 2017 ·  
When most servicemen stationed at Pearl Harbor and around Oahu woke up on the morning of December 7th, 1941, they did so expecting a quiet Sunday. Those who were just ending their shifts were eager to start a little rest and relaxation with their loved ones, or just some free time off their vessels. The sun was […]
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