The United States observes the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941, damaging and destroying nearly 20 American ships and more than 300 airplanes. The event killed 2,403 Americans, including 68 civilians, and wounded over 1,000 people. Nearly half of those deaths came aboard the USS Arizona as it was bombed and sunk. The attack led to the United States declaring war and entering into World War 2 the very next day.
David Strittmatter, Assistant Professor of history at Ohio Northern University said, “Well the attack on Pearl Harbor is one of the probably 2 or 3 most iconic dates of the second World War, probably along with D-Day and either VE or VJ day in 1945. And this is the big one that brought us into the war.”
Strittmatter encourages all Americans to visit Pearl Harbor, saying it is a moving experience.
