December 7, 1941 has forever become the "date which will live in infamy". Aircraft launched from six Imperial Japanese aircraft carriers attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Although the American carriers were not in port at the time, the attack was devastating. Four battleships were sunk, several other ships were damaged or sunk, and 2,402 military personnel were killed. The Japanese lost only 29 aircraft in the surprise attack.
In devising the attack, Japan had hoped to eliminate the threat of the U.S. Pacific Fleet to the Empire's plans of expansion in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. However, by failing to destroy the Pacific Fleet's carriers, and by angering a nation with unsurpassed production capability, the Empire of Japan guaranteed its own eventual defeat less than four years later on September 2, 1945.
Let history never repeat itself, but for that to be, we must never forget history.
ReplyDelete