On the morning of December 7th, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a powerful and brutal attack against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

The attack was intended to thwart the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with Japanese military operations in the Pacific. Over the course of seven hours, some 353 Japanese fighter planes, torpedo planes, and bombers unleashed a relentless bombing raid that destroyed 188 U.S. aircraft, sunk four U.S. Navy battleships, and killed 2,403 Americans with an additional 1,178 injured. The following day, the United States of America declared war on Japan.