THESIS In the early 1940s, an event so premeditated yet so heinous struck our nation's Pacific Ocean. The state of Hawaii and its famous port lay dead and bleeding as the skies rained down munitions and kamikaze fighter planes. Many members of the military have found themselves asking a question. What would happen next? Since the United States of America and the Empire of Japan at the time showed that both sides had their differences, no one could have ever expected something of this magnitude to happen. SPEECH BY MR. PRESIDENT Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date that will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval crews aboard ships who were lost with no idea what was happening at first. “It was the morning of December 7, 1941 around 8 am and I was sleeping in my bunk when the first wave of bombs began. At first I thought the navy was doing a maneuver, but then I looked out the window and saw Japanese planes with the red ball painted on their wings. (Harrington) During the attacks, sailors and airmen from all over the island of Hawaii were immediately on alert. As bombs, shells, and torpedoes began to drop ships in the harbor, U.S. military soldiers began to fight back. As the ships and planes began to fight, the Japanese began to fight harder. Interestingly, the Japanese fighter pilots did not plan to return from this mission, as soon the planes began to shoot from the sky and fix the point of impact on the ships. Along with numerous general purpose 550-pound bombs, one of the most damaging acts during this period was against our battleships by the Japanese, was the 1,800-pound weapon which fell from the clouds directly striking one of the now famous American ships below . , the USS Arizona. It crashed brutally onto the deck and landed in the ammunition magazine where the ammunition was stored. The battleship soon exploded with a ferocious fireball and soon sank to the bottom of the harbor. Over a thousand sailors lost their lives as they too met their doom at the bottom of the harbor with their ship, in the Pacific Ocean. During the attacks, 18 American ships had suffered damage and nearly 300 aircraft had suffered serious impacts. The most devastating statistic considered is the number of fallen service members who died or were injured during this attack. During this period nearly 2,500 soldiers lost their lives and another 1,000 were injured. Of all the ships that suffered damage, all but two