President Franklin Roosevelt called December 7, 1941, “a date which will live in infamy.” On that day, Japanese planes attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. The bombing killed more than 2,400 Americans. It completely destroyed the American battleship U.S.S. Arizona and capsized the U.S.S. Oklahoma. The attack brought the United States into World War II.

This picture, taken by a Japanese photographer, shows how American ships are clustered together before the surprise Japanese aerial attack on Pear Harbor, HI., on Sunday morning, Dec. 7, 1941. Minutes later the full impact of the assault was felt and Pearl Harbor became a flaming target. (AP Photo)

Believed to be the first bomb dropped on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in the sneak-attack on Dec. 7, 1941, this picture was found torn to pieces at Yokusuka Base by photographer’s mate 2/C Martin J. Shemanski of Plymouth, Pa. One Japanese plane is shown pulling out of a dive near bomb eruption (center) and another the air at upper right. (AP Photo)

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The USS Shaw explodes after being hit by bombs during the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in this Dec. 7, 1941 photo. (AP Photo, U.S. Navy, File)

A Japanese plane, braving American anti-aircraft fire, proceeds toward battleship row, Pearl Harbor, after other bombers had hit USS. Arizona, from which smoke billows, Dec. 7, 1941. (AP Photo)

The horror of destruction at the US Naval Base of Pearl Harbour (Pearl Harbor) which was attacked without warning by the Japanese airforce on the 7th December 1941. The attack took place whilst the Japanese were holding peace talks in Washington. More than 2000 servicemen were killed, and a large part of the US fleet destroyed. The attack caused the USA to join the war. This salvage crew is on the deck of the USS Oklahoma sunk on the night of the attack. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)



This is one of the first pictures of the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. A P-40 plane which was machine-gunned while on the ground. (AP Photo)

Anti-aircraft gunners of the United States Army who fired on the Japanese planes during the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, in Wheeler Field, Hawaii. (AP Photo)

A small boat rescues a USS West Virginia crew member from the water after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941 during World War II. Two men can be seen on the superstructure, upper center. The mast of the USS Tennessee is beyond the burning West Virginia. (AP Photo)

December 1941: The horror of destruction at the US Naval Base of Pearl Harbour (Pearl Harbor) which without warning was attacked by the Japanese airforce on the 7th December 1941. The attack caused the USA to join the war. Seen here is the wreckage of a Japanese fighter bomber brought down during the attack. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

Rescue workers help evacuate the Lunalilo High School in Honolulu after the roof of the main building was hit by a bomb during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in this Dec. 7, 1941 file photo. (AP Photo/File)



Black smoke pours from the U.S. Destroyer USS Shaw after a direct hit by bombs during the surprise aerial attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941. Defenders on the pier at left throw water into the blazing wreckage. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy)

American ships burn during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941. (AP Photo)

Troops man a machine gun nest at Wheeler Field, which adjoins Schofield Barracks in Honolulu, after the Japanese attack on the island of Oahu, Dec. 7, 1941. (AP Photo)

File – Japanese soldiers wave at a plane from under their flag December 7, 1941 just before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. December 7, 2001 marks the 60th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. (Photo by Getty Images)

“Japanese cabinet meets in emergency session,” is the bulletin shown in Times Square’s news zipper in lights on the New York Times building, New York, Dec. 7, 1941. (AP Photo/Robert Kradin)



7th December 1941: A picture taken from a Japanese bomber showing another Japanese plane and plumes of black smoke on the ground during the attack on Pearl Harbour (Pearl Harbor). (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

The wreckage of a drug store smolders at Waikiki after attack by Japanese planes, Dec. 7 1941. (AP Photo)

Unidentified attaches of the Japanese consulate began burning papers, ledgers and other records shortly after Japan went to war against the U.S., Dec. 7, 1941, in New Orleans. Police later stopped the fire after most of the papers had been destroyed. (AP Photo/Horace Cort)

Black smoke rises from the burning wrecks of several U.S. Navy battleships after they had been bombed during the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. (AP Photo)

Battleship Arizona at Pearl Harbor, December 1941. The photo was taken shortly after the battleship was bombed and destroyed during the surprise attack by Japanese forces, December 7, 1941. The vessel at right is a rescue tug. Flag still flying, the ship is resting on the bottom of the ocean with decks flooded. (AP Photo)



Officers’ wives, investigating explosion and seeing smoke pall in distance on Dec. 7, 1941, heard neighbor Mary Naiden, then an Army hostess who took this picture, exclaim “There are red circles on those planes overhead. They are Japanese!” Realizing war had come, the two women, stunned, start toward quarters. (AP Photo/Mary Naiden)

Three U.S. battleships are hit from the air during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Japan’s bombing of U.S. military bases at Pearl Harbor brings the U.S. into World War II. From left are: USS West Virginia, severely damaged; USS Tennessee, damaged; and USS Arizona, sunk. (AP Photo)

In this Dec. 7, 1941 file photo, people buy newspapers reporting the Japanese attack on U.S. bases in the Pacific Ocean, at Times Square in New York. (AP Photo/Robert Kradin)

An undamaged light cruiser steams out past the burning USS Arizona and takes to sea with the rest of the fleet during the Japanese aerial attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941 during World War II. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy)

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the declaration of war following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, at the White House in Washington, D.C., Dec. 8, 1941 at 3:08 p.m. EST. Watching from left to right are, Rep. Sol Bloom, D-N.Y.; Rep. Luther Johnson, D-Texas; Rep. Charles A. Eaton, R-N.J.; Rep. Joseph Martin, R-Mass.; Vice President Henry A. Wallace; House Speaker Sam Rayburn, D-Texas; Rep. John McCormack, D-Mass.; Sen. Charles L. McNary, R-Ore.; Sen. Alben W. Barkley, D-Ky.; Sen. Carter Glass, D-Va.; and Sen. Tom Connally, D-Texas. (AP Photo)



Heavy black smoke billows as oil fuel burns from shattered tanks on ships that were hit during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941 during World War II. Visible through the murk is the U.S. battleship Maryland, center, and the hulk of the capsized USS Oklahoma to the right of it. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy)

The battleship USS West Virginia is seen afire after the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. (AP Photo)

Hawaii residents comb thru wreckage on Dec. 17, 1941 after Japanese bombing raids on December 7. (AP Photo)

The destroyer USS Shaw explodes after being hit by bombs during the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. (AP Photo)

Unidentified Japanese men, taken into custody under an order issued by Pres. Franklin Roosevelt, enter the Federal Building in New York, Dec. 7, 1941, accompanied by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. (AP Photo/Matty Zimmerman)



This photograph, from a Japanese film later captured by American forces, is taken aboard the Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku, just as a Nakajima “Kate” B-5N bomber is launching off deck for the second wave of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. (AP Photo)

In this image provided by the U.S. Navy, sailors stand among wrecked airplanes at Ford Island Naval Air Station as they watch the explosion of the USS Shaw in the background, during the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy)

A Japanese dive bomber goes into its last dive as it heads toward the ground in flames after it was hit by Naval anti-aircraft fire during surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. (AP Photo)

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, appearing before a joint session of Congress termed as unprovoked and dastardly the attack by Japan upon Hawaii and the Philippines and asked for an immediate declaration of war, Dec. 8, 1941. (AP Photo)

This file photo shows the US Pacific Fleet as it burns in its home base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, after 360 Japanese warplanes made a massive surprise attack 07 December, 1941, which ended a long struggle on the part of isolationist forces in the US to stay out of the war. (HO/AFP/Getty Images)



This 07 December 1941 file photo obtained from the US Naval Historical Center shows the Commanding Officer of the Japanese aircraft carrier Hokaku, watching as planes take off to attack Pearl Harbor, during the morning of 07 December 1941. The Kanji inscription (L) is an exhortation to pilots to do their duty. (HO/AFP/Getty Images)

File – A small boat rescues sailors December 7, 1941 from the USS West Virginia after she had suffered a hit in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The USS Tennessee, Bb-43, is inboard of the sunken battle ship. (Photo by Getty Images)

15th December 1941: USS Cassin, one of the three destroyers sunk at Pearl Harbour (Pearl Harbor), during the Japanese attack. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The US Pacific Fleet burns in its home base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaïi after 360 Japanese warplanes made a massive surprise attack, 07 December 1941. (STF/AFP/Getty Images)

7th December 1941: The results of the Pearl Harbour (Pearl Harbor) attack by the Japanese at Wheeler Field Barracks with artillery being pulled from the water. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images)



December 1941: The horror of destruction at the US Naval Base of Pearl Harbour (Pearl Harbor) which was attacked by the Japanese airforce on the 7th December 1941. The destroyer ‘Shaw’ is a tangled mess of wreckage but she was back in use one year later. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Ford Island is seen in this aeriel view during the Japanese attack on Pearl harbor December 7, 1941 in Hawaii. The photo was taken from a Japanese plane. (Photo by Getty Images)

Members of the Hearns Volunteer National Defense Corps spell the slogan “Remember Pearl Harbor” at a rally held on 14th St. between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in New York City, Dec. 27, 1941. (AP Photo)

The USS Arizona burning furiously in Pearl Harbour (Pearl Harbor) after the Japanese attack. To the left of her are USS Tennessee and the sunken USS West Virginia. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The attack sank or beached a total of twelve ships and damaged nine others. 160 aircraft were destroyed and 150 others damaged. The attack took the country by surprise, especially the ill-prepared Pearl Harbor base. December 7, 2017 marks the 76th anniversary of the attack.