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 USS Arizona Band

March 29, 2017 ·  
On December 7th, 1941, on the coast of Oahu, those stationed at the naval installation of Pearl Harbor were unaware that they would soon become a part of history. Just before 8 AM, their lives were changed forever and many of them became forever engraved in America’s history. Among the 1,177 sailors who perished aboard the USS […]
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America After the Attack

March 28, 2017 ·  
It didn’t take long for the attack on Pearl Harbor to change the United States in major ways. An overwhelming amount of support for joining World War II echoed throughout the country after the attack, and residents no longer felt the sense of security of being far away from the war; they suddenly realized that distance alone couldn't […]
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The Accountability of Admiral Husband E. Kimmel

March 18, 2017 ·  
As you learn more about the history of the United States, you often find yourself hearing different versions of how major events unfolded. The attack on Pearl Harbor is no exception, especially since the soldiers who fought there are growing older and passing on, leaving fewer people behind to right the incorrect versions of history. When it […]
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Hawaii After Pearl Harbor

March 08, 2017 ·  
When Japanese fighters breached Hawaiian airspace on the morning of December 7, 1941 and launched a surprise attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor, the entire country changed overnight. From California to Maine, the United States bled patriotism, and joined a war effort they were previously adamant about staying out of. While the nation prepared […]
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Myths About Pearl Harbor

March 05, 2017 ·  
December 7th, 1941 is one of the most notable and recognized dates in United States history. On the morning of what would have been just another monotonous winter day, Japanese attackers flew into Pearl Harbor and commenced a bombardment on the massive vessels in Battleship Row. Resulting in the deaths of over 2,400 servicemen and civilians, It was […]
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Even More Pearl Harbor Facts

March 02, 2017 ·  
When it comes to the most important events in history, there are typically little tidbits of information not readily known, sometimes even by those who were involved in the event. The attack on Pearl Harbor may have only lasted a few hours, but there is a slew of incredible factoids that have emerged from it. […]
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Pearl Harbor Timeline

March 01, 2017 ·  
We know the basic story of December 7th, 1941. On a quiet Sunday morning, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor, on the island of Oahu. A look at a timeline of the attack paints a bigger picture of those involved and the sequence of events that culminated in the United […]
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Women of the War

February 28, 2017 ·  
World War II was not just a war fought by the military factions of each country. The moment that the declaration of war rang through the United States, the entire nation invested itself in the conflict overseas. While, for the U.S. at least, it was very much a war fought primarily by men, that doesn’t […]
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What was Learned from Pearl Harbor

February 27, 2017 · Chris 
From every tragedy throughout history, there was a lesson to be learned. While it may be hidden beneath the sorrow and devastation, the message is there for future generations to learn from. When it comes to the attack on Pearl Harbor, it’s easy to get lost in the fact that over 2,400 Americans lost their […]
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How and Why Japan Didn’t Succeed at Pearl Harbor

February 10, 2017 ·  
Looking back at the attack on Pearl Harbor, it’s difficult to see it as anything other than a Japanese victory. Enemy fighters took those stationed there completely by surprise and decimated the US Navy’s forces, killing over 2,400 and laying waste to battleships and aircraft. But is that enough to consider Japan’s risky maneuver a complete success? As history […]
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