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.

Jack Vaessen and USS Utah

January 07, 2019 ·  
The morning of December 7, 1941 on the island of Oahu was chaos. While it’s likely that most of the sailors and Marines there knew exactly what was going on, that wasn’t the case for John “Jack” Vaessen, a ship’s electrician serving aboard the former battleship USS Utah (BB-31/AG-16). Though Utah had long since been […]
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Experiencing Pearl Harbor Without Seeing It

January 07, 2019 ·  
When we think of the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor,we usually picture sailors scrambling on the decks to abandon ship or take up arms to fight back against the incoming Japanese bombers and fighters. It's difficult to imagine experiencing Pearl Harbor without seeing it unfold. However, not every sailor witnessed the devastation as […]
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The First American Casualty of Pearl Harbor

December 27, 2018 ·  
The first casualties of the attack on Pearl Harbor happened a couple of hours before the Imperial Japanese Navy launched their surprise assault. The US Navy destroyer USS Ward (DD-139) fired on a Japanese midget submarine, killing the two sailors inside. The First American Casualty of Pearl Harbor On the American side, the first loss […]
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Ships of Pearl Harbor: USS Widgeon

December 25, 2018 ·  
USS Widgeon (AM-22/ASR-1) was laid down in October of 1917 and commissioned into service on July 27, 1918, just four months before the end of World War I. The new minesweeper was thrust into the First World War almost immediately after commissioning. Widgeon served in the Atlantic Fleet's Minesweeping Group 2 during the final months of […]
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Ships of Pearl Harbor: USS Hoga

December 22, 2018 ·  
USS Hoga (YT-146) isn’t particularly well-known among the ships that were based at Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack on December 7, 1941. The much-larger battleships, with their thousands of crewmen, were the primary targets for the Imperial Japanese Navy. But Hoga was there, and she sprang into action in the midst of […]
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2018 Pearl Harbor Commemorations Around the US

December 04, 2018 · Chris 
Every year, we gather as a nation to take a moment and commemorate the lives lost during the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. It was a day that changed the nation forever, and the men and women who were there, survivors and casualties alike, became heroes we will never forget. Even 77 years […]
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Aerial Photography During Wartime

November 17, 2018 ·  
If you’ve spent much time examining photography during wartime, you’ve likely happened upon images that were clearly taken from overhead. Nowadays, that's not a big deal. Technology has led to cameras being lightweight and compact, making it easy to snap photos no matter where you are. But think back to an earlier time, before the […]
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Reading Pearl Harbor: I Attacked Pearl Harbor

November 09, 2018 ·  
Published in 1949, four years after the end of World War II, I Attacked Pearl Harbor is a first-hand account of the Japanese assault on Pearl Harbor, told from an unexpected perspective. There were more than just Japanese warplanes closing in on the unsuspecting battleships of the US Pacific Fleet. From the southwest, approaching the […]
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Only 15 in 1941, Gerald Langgood Passes Away

November 06, 2018 · Chris 
On October 29, 2018, just one day after his 92nd birthday, Gerald Langgood passed away, leaving behind a legacy that included serving during the Pearl Harbor attack when he was just 15 years old. Things were very different in the late 1930s. Boys fresh out of high school—and sometimes still attending—were eager to start a […]
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Who Was Pearl Harbor's Highest-Ranking Casualty?

October 15, 2018 ·  
Many names stand out when learning about the tragedy that unfolded at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Some are remembered for their bravery under fire, and a few were awarded the Medal of Honor for actions that day. One of these men was Rear Admiral  Isaac C. Kidd, Pearl Harbor's highest-ranking casualty.   Early Career […]
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