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Summary: What Really Happened At Pearl Harbor

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Summary: What Really Happened At Pearl Harbor
What Really Happened At Pearl Harbor? Everyone thinks they know the whole story of Pearl harbor, but do you really know what happened that tragic day? One of the worst attacks in our county’s history happened on a small island territory called Oahu, Hawaii at 7:45 AM on December 7th, 1941 by the Japanese navy and air force. This attack was a complete surprise to America and was aimed at shaking her to its core with all the deaths of American servicemen. President Roosevelt addressed the nation after the attack with a famous speech starting with the words “Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” Roosevelt …show more content…
territory and not U.S. mainland? A brief look at why is given in Jefferys Record’s “The Mystery Of Pearl Harbor” “The United States could (and did) out produce Japan in every category of armaments, and although Japan could fight a war in East Asia and the western Pacific, it could not threaten the American homeland.” If they attacked the US mainland, the Pacific Fleet could use all of its might to retaliate against the Japanese fleet. Also, the Japanese had to develop technology on how to refuel the aircraft carriers for the long trip to Hawaii and leaving the carriers unable to attack the US mainland and get back to Japan or a military base without running out of fuel or scuttling ships. If the Japanese did go through with the third wave of attack on Pearl Harbor, they were going to have to scuttle one or more destroyers just because they would not have enough fuel. Even assuming that America did not know about the attack, the Japanese tipped their hand because a Japanese submarine was sunk near the entrance of Pearl Harbor. Also the Americans spotted two blips on radar in Hawaii, “Two early warnings of the approaching Japanese attack came, however both were ignored. At approximately 6:30 a.m., a Japanese midget submarine was spotted and sunk near the entrance to Pearl Harbor. Shortly thereafter, an Army radar station on Oahu 's north shore reported the sighting of planes about 50 miles away to the Watch Commander at Army information center at Fort Shafter. It was then reported to a Navy lieutenant. The Navy lieutenant believed they were U.S. planes returning from a reconnaissance flight or B-17’s scheduled to arrive from California and the sighting was ignored” (Pearl Harbor Oahu: The Attack, Attacked Facts and
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