Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day: Historical photos show the Dec. 7, 1941 attack in Hawaii
"Yesterday, December 7, 1941—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."
President Franklin Roosevelt called the unprovoked attack on Pearl Harbor a “date which will live in infamy,” in a famous address to the nation delivered after Japan’s deadly strike against U.S. naval and military forces in Hawaii. He also asked Congress to declare war.
The term "day of infamy" has become widely used by the media to refer to any moment of supreme disgrace or evil. Roosevelt's framing of the Pearl Harbor attack became, in effect, the standard American narrative of the events of December 7, 1941.
December 7, 2023
On Dec. 7, 1941, a surprise attack at the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii would officially begin the United States' involvement in World War II.
That day, which President Franklin Roosevelt would notably call "a date which will live in infamy," is now recognized each year as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
According to the National Park Service, 2,403 service members and civilians were killed and another 1,178 people were injured in the attack. Two U.S. Navy battleships – the USS Arizona and the USS Utah – were also permanently sunk, and 188 aircraft were destroyed.
Commemorations are held every year in Hawaii and across the country to mark the day, and American flags will be flown at half-staff.
What is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day?What to know about 1941 attack that sent US into WWII
Photos from the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor
