On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, a U.S. Naval Base in Hawaii. Today is therefore Pearl Harbor Day, with tributes and commemorations being held all over America.

The Pearl Harbor attack saw America dragged into World War II, a conflict which the U.S had stayed out of until then. The attack changed American public opinion from one of isolationism to military involvement.

The attack came completely without warning early in the morning. The Japanese had planned to declare war on America just before the attack but the timing went wrong and the attack came as a surprise.

2,300 Americans were killed during the attack, as well as many ships being sunk and aircraft destroyed. But the attack probably turned the war in the Allied forces favor allowing the U.S. enter the battle against the Axis powers of Germany, Japan, and Italy.

Air raid on Pearl Harbor – This is not a drill.