December 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor Is Attacked 

On this day in 1941, the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was attacked by 350 Japanese aircraft. Twenty-one ships were sunk or badly damaged, including eight battleships. Almost 200 American planes were destroyed and another 150 damaged. 

Only a week earlier, on December 2, Hawaii had received a message from Washington that began, “This is a war warning.” By deciphering Japanese codes, the United States uncovered plans of a Pacific attack, but did not know the location or time. No one believed it would be Pearl Harbor. The attack at Pearl Harbor entered the consciousness of contemporary Americans more forcefully than any other single event.

In a clip from “The War,” late Senator Daniel Inouye recounts how he was preparing to go to church when three Japanese aircraft flew over his family’s house on their way to attack Pearl Harbor.