Remembering Pearl Harbor

December 7 marks the 82nd anniversary of the attack.

Meg Godlewski

Thursday, December 07, 2023 at 06:13 PM ET

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A B-17C destroyed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. [Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

The article details the surprise aerial attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which resulted in 2,403 American deaths, 1,178 wounded, significant naval and air losses, and is commemorated at sites like the USS Arizona Memorial and Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum.
The attack was a devastating event, with stories of civilian survivors and the rapid decline in the number of veterans who attend annual remembrance ceremonies.
Several movies depict the Pearl Harbor attack, ranging from the historically detailed "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and the early documentary "December 7th" (1943).
Other cinematic interpretations include the heavily fictionalized romantic drama "Pearl Harbor" (2001) and the sci-fi time-travel film "Final Countdown" (1980), each offering different perspectives on the event.

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Thursday is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. In the famous words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, “December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy,” as it was when the Japanese military initiated a surprise aerial attack on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

According to History.com, the first wave of Japanese attack aircraft arrived just before 0800, consisting of of 180 airplanes, including torpedo aircraft, dive bombers, fighters, and high-level bombers. A second wave of similar size and made up mostly of dive bombers followed.