Pearl Harbor Hawaii WWII History

Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese on December 7, 1941. It was a day in infamy. President Franklin Roosevelt declared war on the Japanese the day after the bombing and the US entered WWII.

The Japanese began the bombing of Pearl Harbor at 7:00 in the morning catching the US completely by surprised. There were 2 waves of bombings that destroyed most of the US Pacific Fleet. After the bombing and on the same day, the Japanese launched a series of attacks throughout the Pacific. Guam, Wake Island, the Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaya's. All resulting in defeat and surrender for the Allies. Thousands of Allied POWs were taken. The world was at war.

Battle Casualties: 2403 Americans dead, 1178 wounded.

18 ships sunk or seriously damaged. 347 planes destroyed or damage.

Pearl Harbor War Memorials

• The World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument on December 5, 2008 was authorized by President Bush. The national monument covers historical events of nearly the entire Pacific War etched in stone and overlooking Pearl Harbor.
• The USS Arizona Memorial honors the men that fought and died on the ship and in the attack. The Arizona was sunk and capsized on the morning of Dec. 7th trapping 1100 men inside.
  • Hotels Near Arizona Memorial - Hickam Village
• The USS Oklahoma Memorial
• The Battleship Missouri Memorial - The Battleship Missouri is nicknamed the Mighty MO. It served in many naval battles during the war. The Battleship was at Iwo Jima and Okinawa battles. It is most famous for being the site of the signing of the unconditional surrender of the Japanese took place with MacArthur and Emperor Hirohito on deck (Sept. 2 1945). You can take a self-guided tour or take an a guided tour of the ship.
  • Hotels Near Battleship Missouri Memorial - Hickam Village
• Bowfin Submarine Memorial Park - WWII Submarine memorial honoring those men who served on subs in the war. Exhibits with battle flags, torpedoes, photos and over 4000 submarine artifacts
  • Hotels Near Bowfin Memorial Park - Hickam Village
• The Pacific Aviation Museum exhibits featuring planes that took place in the Doolittle raids over Tokyo, Midway and Guadalcanal. The museum has a combat flight simulator and a movie with historic film coverage of the bombings of Pearl Harbor. One of the hangers in the Museum complex is a hanger that survived the bombings.
  • Hotels Near Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor - Hickam Village
• Hotels Near Pearl Harbor - Hickam Village
• National Memorial Cemetary of the Pacific is the final resting place of many soldiers and POWs who died in the Pacific during WWII.

Pictures

Related Sites

Pearl Harbor 1941 - read about the attack on Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt's day of infamy speech and newspaper coverage.