12/07/2025
"A date that will live in infamy" Sunday December 7th 1941, while most of the United States was on their way to church, then coming home from church or getting ready to start the day, and continue on like most days. Most of Pearl Harbour Hawaii being a Sunday morning they themselves getting ready to start a relaxing day but soon unbeknownst to most people and the brave military Pearl Harbor personnel, events were taking shape that would change the world forever!!
At 3:42 AM (Hawaiian time) (8:42am Eastern time), the minesweeper USS Condor sights what may be a submarine periscope near the entrance to Pearl Harbor.
At 6:10 AM the first wave of planes, numbering nearly 200, takes off from aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Pearl Harbor Strike Force, which is positioned some 275 miles north of Oahu.
At 6:45 AM the destroyer USS Ward fires on a Japanese submarine which they hit and sink with 2 Japanese Imperial Navy men onboard, these are the first shots fired and first casualties in the war with Japan.
At 6:53 AM the captain of the Ward radios the headquarters of the 14th Naval District, responsible for defending the Hawaiian Islands, “We have attacked, fired upon, and dropped depth charges upon submarine operating in defensive sea area” near Pearl Harbor. The district commandant, assuming this to be an isolated incident the Ward and a relief destroyer can handle, takes no action. The commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet decides to await confirmation before acting.
At 7:02 AM a U.S. Army radar operator on Oahu spots a large formation of unidentified aircraft heading toward the island.
At 7:20 AM an army lieutenant disregards this radar report, believing that it indicates a flight of U.S. planes, possibly B-17 bombers scheduled to arrive that day.
At 7:40 AM the first wave of Japanese aircraft reaches Oahu.
At 7:49 AM the first wave’s Japanese commander orders the attack on Pearl Harbor to proceed.
At 7:55 AM the coordinated attack on Pearl Harbor begins.
At 8:10 AM the battleship USS Arizona explodes.
At 8:17 AM the destroyer USS Helm fires on and sinks a Japanese submarine at the entrance to the harbor.
At 8:54 AM the second wave of Japanese planes, numbering nearly 170, begins its attack.
At 9:30 AM the destroyer USS Shaw explodes in dry dock.
At 10:00 AM the Japanese planes head back to their carriers, which will ultimately return to Japan.
The sudden and deliberate attack led to 2,336 military and 68 civilians losing their lives that day 😢, even now historians debate the effectiveness of the attack, one thing is for sure, the attack woke a terrible resolve in the United States and produced the greatest fighting force to ever be on earth. From that day, there are only 11 Pearl Harbor survivors alive let us never forget.
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