December 7, 1941 was, as noted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s address, “a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”
The attack took place early Sunday morning at Pearl Harbor, on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. The American servicemen stationed there were literally caught sleeping—many would never wake up again. Ford Island, in the middle of the harbor, was a military base—and today it is home to the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum (PHAM), an institution with a direct and poignant connection to the attack that took place 81 years ago.
