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Causes Of The Bombing Of Pearl Harbor

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“December 7, 1941, a day that will live in infamy.” Those exact words, spoken by President Franklin D. Roosevelt were in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which changed the course of American History forever. Many people do not know the causes that lead the Japanese to bomb Pearl Harbor. Some people believe they did it out of hatred for the United States, others believe that it was for a step up in the war. This paper focuses mainly on the events leading to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the chaos it created, and the aftermath of this devastating tragedy. There are very few people in the world today that actually know what influenced the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In 1937, Japan …show more content…

army private operator at the Army radar station at Opana noticed a large flight of planes heading toward the bay. The exact morning, the base was expecting a flight of B-17s from the United States, so the private was told to ignore them. (Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2015.) Not one single person knew what was about to hit them. At exactly 7:55 am, the first Japanese dive-bombers were spotted over the horizon, which was part of the nearly 200 aircraft, including bombers, torpedo planes, and fighters. ("EyeWitness to History - History through the Eyes of Those Who Lived It." EyeWitness to History - History through the Eyes of Those Who Lived It. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2015.). Their goal was to cripple as many planes as possible so that they didn’t have any time to take to the air. Most of the planes were all in one place so that made it an easy target for them. The planes at Ford Island and Kaneohe Bay, the Army Cir Corps fields at Bellows and the Marine Airfield at Ewa, and the Hickam and Wheeler fields were all strafed. Not a single one was preserved. In the first thirty minutes of the attack is when most of the damage was done to the battleships. With the help of five midget subs, the Japanese were able to help aid their airplanes in targeting the battleships. The Arizona exploded when a bomb hit its ammunition room leaving nothing but bits and pieces of debris, and the Oklahoma was damaged so badly that it turned upside down. The Nevada, California, and West Virginia sank in shallow water along the bay area. Everyone thought it was over till the second wave struck at 8:50 am, exactly 45 minutes after the first. This wave came more fiercely. 170 Japanese planes targeted what was left standing, which was only a few ships and less than 10 dogfighters. By 9:55 it was all over. When the Japanese left, they left chaos behind. More than 180 aircrafts were

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