preview

Pearl Harbor Essay

Good Essays

"Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." Exactly as Franklin Delano Roosevelt proclaimed in his speech to Congress, December 7th would indeed live in infamy. Pearl Harbor was the most pivotal foreign affairs incident for the United States since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Not only was it significant domestically, it had resounding consequences across the globe. It has lived on as one of the single most tragic events on United States soil.
Early Warnings
The United States had received many warnings stating there would be an attack on Pearl Harbor. In October, the Soviets top spy, …show more content…

In addition to this, Eleanor Roosevelt wrote that FDR became "in a way more serene." In the NY Times Magazine of October 8, 1944 she wrote: "December 7 was...far from the shock it proved to the country in general. We had expected something of the sort for a long time."
However, the United States Government has learned from this mistake. Today, many more precautions are taken, and veiled threats are taken much more seriously. An example of this would be the "War for Iraqi Liberation." The United States Government believed that Saddam Hussein was a threat, and rather than waiting for this to be entirely confirmed, the United States Government preemptively struck against him.
The Attack
By 7:55am Japanese planes filled the sky over Pearl Harbor. The first wave consisted of a flight of Japanese bombers armed with shallow-running torpedoes and bombers armed with armor piercing bombs. Without warning, they opened fire on the seven exposed battleships and the surrounding ships. Simultaneously, the airfields and aircraft on them were assaulted, giving the Japanese near-complete air superiority. By the time the crews had reacted, most gun emplacements useful as anti-aircraft guns were destroyed. Pearl Harbor was defenseless, and the Japanese took full advantage of this.
Soon after the first wave had ended, the low roar of a plane's engines was heard again over Oahu. This time, the United States Military was more prepared, but still mostly

Get Access