The Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, brought the United States officially into World War II. In the surprise attack, Japan sunk several ships, destroyed hundreds of planes and ended thousands of lives. The Japanese goal was to cripple the U.S. Pacific fleet, and they nearly succeeded. President Franklin Roosevelt called the attack “a day which will live in infamy,” and the American people were shocked and angered. America came together to defeat evil. Would the country to that today? The FBI reports that we are under a great threat of an terrorist attack at this present time. FBI director has warning about terror threat. What will America do if we were to be attacked? After 9/11 America came together, but sadly, that did not last long. We are such a divided nation and military enlistments are down. America is a whole different country than what the World War II generation was! The greatest generation ever! We may be the worst, sorry to say. Our Greatest Generation
Sad to say that here in 2023, many Americans do not know the history of our beloved country. Will Pearl harbor be mentioned in any schools today? Lessons learned from WW II?My dad, U.S. Marine Sgt. Wally Moede, pictured above, served in WW II, along with five of his brothers. I love my dad. He loved God, my mom, us kids, and loved to serve people. Dad sure did love America! He was born in Flag Day! I was born on the 4th of July! We are red, white and blue! Dad served in China in the war and then was headed to Japan to invade the country until President Truman ordered the dropping of two atomic bombs to end the war. President Truman made one of the most difficult decisions a President has ever had to make, but I believe he saved thousand and thousands of lives by using the atomic bombs.
The Truman Library tells the story of dropping the atomic bombs this way: Upon becoming president, Harry Truman learned of the Manhattan Project, a secret scientific effort to create an atomic bomb. After a successful test of the weapon, Truman issued the Potsdam Declaration demanding the unconditional surrender of the Japanese government, warning of “prompt and utter destruction.” Eleven days later, on August 6, 1945, having received no reply, an American bomber called the Enola Gay left the Tinian Island in route toward Japan. In the belly of the bomber was “Little Boy,” an atomic bomb. At 8:15 am Hiroshima time, “Little Boy” was dropped. The result was approximately 80,000 deaths in just the first few minutes. Thousands died later from radiation sickness. On August 9, 1945, another bomber was in route to Japan, only this time they were heading for Nagasaki with “Fat Man,” another atomic bomb. After the first minute of dropping “Fat Man,” 39,000 men, women and children were killed. 25,000 more were injured. Both cities were leveled from the bombs and this, in turn, forced Japan to surrender to the United States. The war was finally over.
From HISTORY.COM EDITORS:
Just before eight o’clock on a Sunday morning in December 7, 1941, a Japanese plane appeared in the skies over Pearl Harbor, signaling the beginning of the devastating surprise attack on the U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii.
By the time Japan’s forces withdrew, they had managed to destroy or damage more than 300 American planes and nearly 20 naval vessels, including eight battleships. The attack killed more than 2,300 American service members, with total U.S. casualty figures topping 3,400.
The day after the Pearl Harbor attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan.
In these videos, drawn from the 2016 History Channel special “The Last Word: 75 Years After Pearl Harbor,” U.S. Navy veterans share their first-hand experiences during the historic attack and the war that followed. They discuss their motivations for joining the Navy, their first impressions of the naval base at Pearl Harbor and the many ways in which their lives—and the world—were changed irrevocably by the events of December 7, 1941.
