On December 7, 1941, the United States of was attacked by the Imperial Japanese Navy at Harbor, Hawaii. The surprise attack was intended to the American Pacific Fleet that stood in the of Japan's complete domination of the Pacific Ocean the 1940s. The attack was coordinated with attacks the Philippines, Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Pearl was attacked by more than 350 Japanese airplane , bombers and torpedo planes that were launched from aircraft carriers.

The early-morning attack sank four U.S. , and four more were heavily damaged. Six of eight battleships were restored, and returned to service, the Japanese also destroyed, or damaged three cruisers, destroyers, a minelayer, and an anti-aircraft training ship. addition, 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed, with many them on the ground. The attack was devastating. took the U.S. years to recover from all damage caused on that fateful morning. However, the were unable to destroy their main targets, the 's aircraft carriers. By what some call a stroke luck, the U.S. carrier fleet was out to at the time of the attack.

The country in shock at the news of the disaster. .S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called the attack cowardly, declared December 7th as "A day that will in infamy." On December 8, the United States declared war on Japan. This plummeted the country World War II, which Roosevelt had long hoped avoid. Soon after the United States' declaration of against Japan, Germany, which was a Japanese ally, war on the U.S. and the country was fully involved in the greatest war in the of the world.