The 70th Anniversary of the Bombing of Pearl Harbor - This Day in History – Dec 7th

Back in 1941 around 7:55 residents of the U.S. Naval Base of Pearl Harbor in the island of Hawaii’s Oahu were awaken by Japanese dive bombers bearing the “Rising Sun of Japan,” symbol on their planes.  The surprise attack, which included 360 Japanese planes, placed the U.S. into to World War II.

Even though there was a probability that an attack may happen there was no increase security in place under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration.

According to history.com, “It was Sunday morning, and many military personnel had been given passes to attend religious services off base. At 7:02 a.m., two radar operators spotted large groups of aircraft in flight toward the island from the north, but, with a flight of B-17s expected from the United States at the time, they were told to sound no alarm. Thus, the Japanese air assault came as a devastating surprise to the naval base.”

This devastating attack did the following destruction:

The Japanese losses were as follows: 

• Wounded 1,200 Americans
• Killed 2,400 Americans
• Left ships sunk, damaged and 200 aircraft were destroyed.

The Japanese losses were as follows:

• Killed fewer than 100 Japanese men
• Loss of 30 planes, submarines and five midget planes

The Americans retaliated with all three Pacific fleet carriers set on sea training maneuvers, which would be used to seek revenge within six months against the Japanese at the Battle of Midway.  This show of force would reverse the previous Japanese victory at Pearl Harbor.

Here is a timeline of this historic event from National Public Radio, here.

All History facts provided from the link below:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fdr-reacts-to-news-of-pearl-harbor-bombing?catId=9