It's the 63rd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
EVERY GENERATION has its "Where were you when" event. The 9/11 terror attacks. President Kennedy's assassination. The attack on Pearl Harbor. Today is the 63rd anniversary of that, the World War II generation's most infamous date.
While all eyes were on the war raging in Europe, Japanese bombers, kamikaze pilots, and submarines, without warning, staged a devastating raid on the U.S. naval base in Pearl Harbor. Within two hours, 2400 Americans were dead and 1,100 wounded. The Pacific Fleet was crippled, with eight battleships and 188 planes damaged or destroyed. And America suddenly found itself at war on two fronts.
Dec. 7, 1941, was a dark day indeed, but that darkness forged a new unity. President Franklin D. Roosevelt set the country's course: "No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory--So help us God."
Victory over Japan Day was celebrated Aug. 15, 1945.
EVERY GENERATION has its "Where were you when" event. The 9/11 terror attacks. President Kennedy's assassination. The attack on Pearl Harbor. Today is the 63rd anniversary of that, the World War II generation's most infamous date.
While all eyes were on the war raging in Europe, Japanese bombers, kamikaze pilots, and submarines, without warning, staged a devastating raid on the U.S. naval base in Pearl Harbor. Within two hours, 2400 Americans were dead and 1,100 wounded. The Pacific Fleet was crippled, with eight battleships and 188 planes damaged or destroyed. And America suddenly found itself at war on two fronts.
Dec. 7, 1941, was a dark day indeed, but that darkness forged a new unity. President Franklin D. Roosevelt set the country's course: "No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory--So help us God."
Victory over Japan Day was celebrated Aug. 15, 1945.
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