Essay Database

On November 26, 1941 a fleet of Japanese ships under the command of Chuchi Nagumo moved into a position 200 miles northwest of Honolulu, Hawaii. Their instructions, providing good weather, were to attack Pearl Harbor with maximum efficiency, “dealing the U.S. a mortal blow” (Stinnent 292) by destroying all battleships and airplanes in the vicinity. Nine days later, with good weather, Pearl Harbor saw the first wave of a crippling Japanese attack. 183 bombers, fighters and torpedo planes unleashed …

…States provoked the attack, and they also suggest that vital warning signs were ignored purposely. The attack on Pearl Harbor could have been prevented and was not a surprise. Roosevelt and his defense department were alerted of the attack by intercepted radio messages from Japan, foreign spies and direct contact with foreign administrations. The bombing of Pearl Harbor was an American Travesty and truly as Roosevelt described a “day that will live in Infamy” (Roosevelt).