![]() It is called the USS Arizona memorial and is built on the water above the wreckage of the USS Arizona. Today there is a memorial to the US soldiers who lost their lives during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Aircraft carriers would soon become the most important type of navy vessels in the war. Also, no aircraft carriers were in Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack. The Japanese had not damaged a number of important facilities on the Hawaiian Islands, including oil storage depots and repair yards. The US Navy was able to recover from the attack on Pearl Harbor fairly quickly. The United States was now a major part of World War II. Three days later Japan's allies, Germany and Italy, declared war on the United States. The next day, December 8th, 1941, the US declared war on Japan. The Japanese had hoped to break the Americans by attacking Pearl Harbor, instead they united them. They had tried to avoid the war, but they could not ignore this attack. The citizens of the United States were in shock. (information in this table from After the Attack There were two waves of attacks and by the end of the second wave a number of US ships were destroyed. The bombers dropped bombs and torpedoes on the war ships, while the fighter planes attacked the US fighter planes on the ground so they could not take off and fight back. Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes and bombers flew to Pearl Harbor and attacked. The attack on Pearl Harbor came as a complete surprise. However, they were mistaken and the attack on Pearl Harbor had just the opposite result. The Japanese thought that if they took out the war ships in Pearl Harbor, then the United States Navy would be crippled and would never attack. They decided to strike in order to prevent the United States from attacking them. The Empire of Japan was trying to take over much of Asia and was worried about the US Navy in Hawaii. World War II had been raging in Europe and Asia for two years, but the United States had not entered the war. ![]() During the time of World War II, Hawaii was not a state, but a US territory. ![]() Hawaii is located in the Pacific Ocean between California and Japan. Pearl Harbor is located in Hawaii on the island of O'ahu. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |