Today, December 7, 2014, is the 73rd Anniversary of the day which President Franklin Roosevelt declared, “a day that will live in infamy”, the bombing of Pearl Harbor. During that fateful day, more than 2,300 people were killed and over another 1,100 individuals were wounded. One day later, the United States declared war on Japan. Three days later, Germany and Italy declared war on America…placing America right in the middle of World War 2.
I decided to do something a little different today and list some interesting and fascinating facts about this tragic day. I am sure that you will learn some new details that will present you some further insight and give you a deeper appreciation of what our military personnel faced that day.
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The Japanese reportedly had intended to declare war prior to the attack. However, the message never got to the President.*
The entire attack lasted just under two hours, 110 minutes.
The Japanese also used submarines, including smaller ones called midget submarines, in the attack.*
The Japanese only lost 64 people that day.
When the USS Arizona was destroyed, it took with it, the lives of 1,177 servicemen.
The reason for choosing the attack on a Sunday morning was because the Japanese felt that Americans would be less alert on a weekend. Many U.S. servicemen were having their morning breakfast when the Japanese aircraft hit the U.S. Naval base. **
Eighteen ships, including five battleships, were sunk and 188 aircraft were destroyed while another 159 others damaged. The Japanese only lost 29 aircraft, five midget submarines and just 64 men.***
Although the Japanese aerial attack was very successful, their submarines failed to finish off any wounded ship inside the harbor.#
A U.S. army private who noticed the large flight of planes on his radar screen was told to ignore them because a flight of B-17’s from the continental US was expected at the time.#
Twenty-three sets of brothers died aboard the USS Arizona.##
The USS Arizona’s entire band was lost in the attack. It is the only time in American history that an entire military band had died in battle.##
The USS Arizona, the division 1 battleship docked at Pearl Harbor, is still leaking fuel. The ship had filled up her massive 1.5 million gallon tank the day before the attack. While much of the fuel was burned up in fires from the attack, experts say as much as 9 quarts leaks into the water daily. ###
Lt. Annie Fox was the first woman to receive a Purple Heart for being wounded in action and her leadership during the attack.###
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*Ducksters.com http://www.ducksters.com/history/world_war_ii/pearl_harbor_attack.php
**Facts Barn.com – http://www.factsbarn.com/facts-about-pearl-harbor/
***Learnodo-newtonic.com – http://learnodo-newtonic.com/pearl-harbor-facts
# Erikanderson.net – http://www.erikanderson.net/pearlharbor/facts.html
##History.com – http://www.history.com/news/5-facts-about-pearl-harbor-and-the-uss-arizona
### Fallenheroesfund.org – http://fallenheroesfund.org/News-and-Blog/IFHF-Blog/5-Little-Known-Facts-About-Pearl-Harbor.aspx?sf34261619=1
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Purple Heart not for bravery, though I’m sure she was. It is for “combat wounded”, which I’m also sure she was.
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Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
Fascinating indeed!
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Reblogged this on The mind is an unexplored country. and commented:
Marking the day….
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It is still hard to thank about what happened on that day. I served in the Navy during the Vietnam war, and my ship was in and out of Pearl several times. Every time we passed the Arizona I would think about all those men who Died that day. Once while we were entering the harbor we could see Jap Zeros flying over head. Needless to say it was very upsetting for a bit, until we were told that the filming of Tora! Tora! Tora! was being made.
Thank you for this reminder. Jim
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I want to thank YOU for serving our country. I have an immense respect for the soldiers and people in the military! God bless you my friend!
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Thank you Coach Muller. Have a Blessed week coming up. Jim
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I’ve visited Pearl Harbor. It’s so eerie to see one of the ships lying under the water. You can feel the tragedy surrounding the whole area and older veterans volunteer to talk about day. Of course, there are fewer and fewer of them…
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Fascinating facts. Thank you for sharing with us.:D
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Dude- those are some interesting (and very sad) facts. Thanks fur sharing!
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