Pearl Harbor

Sixty-two years ago today, at precisely 12:55pm, Eastern Time (7:55am, Hawaii Time), Japanese dive bombers, fighters, and torpedo planes descended on the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. In port at the time were about 70 US warships, 24 support ships, and 300 airplanes.

The first ships hit were the cruisers USS Helena and USS Raleigh, the battleships USS Oklahoma and USS Utah, and the minelayer USS Olgala. Then, at about 8:10am, Hawaii Time, a 2000 pound bomb struck the forward munitions magazine of the USS Arizona. The explosions gutted the forward part of the ship, causing the foremast and forward superstructure to collapse, along with the forward battle turrets, and, ultimately, killing 1,177 crew members.

At the end of the attack, eighteen major warships were either bombed or torpedoed, among them, the Arizona was a total loss, the Oklahoma capsized, the California and West Virginia were sunk at their moorings, the Maryland, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Nevada were all heavily damaged.

Over 2,900 Americans died that day.

December 7th, 1941, started a chain of events which included the development and detonation of two nuclear weapons on an enemy, which directly led to the Cold War and subsequent humiliation of Soviet communism as unworkable. A stretch in logic? Maybe. Nonetheless, before December 7th, 1941, the United States was not a world power. After Pearl Harbor was attacked and, partially because it was attacked, the United States became a world power. And, within six decades, the US became the only world power without parallel.

Let us not forget this day.