We must never forget Pearl Harbor. It was one of the most pivotal moments in our country’s history. Pearl Harbor was called Wai Momi (“Pearl Waters”) by the Hawaiians because of the pearl oysters that once grew there. The unprecedented attack on that day, December 7, 1941, temporarily crippled the U.S. Fleet and resulted in the United States’ entry into World War II.

Pearl Harbor is a U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii, that was the scene of a devastating surprise attack by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941. Just before 8 a.m. on that Sunday morning, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes descended on the base, where they managed to destroy or damage nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight battleships, and over 300 airplanes. More than 2,400 Americans died in the attack, including civilians, and another 1,000 people were wounded. The day after the assault, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan.

During the Pearl Harbor Attack in 1941 the USS Arizona sank with a loss of more than 1,100 men. At the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, learn about one of the most pivotal moments in US history: the attack on Pearl Harbor. A white concrete and steel structure now span the hull of the sunken ship, which was dedicated as a national memorial on May 30, 1962.