USS Arizona Burning
USS Arizona Burning
 bigpigeon.us webpage WWII-Japan > Japan Lashes Out > Pearl Harbor, © 2023 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 4 Jan 2023.
Pearl Harbor - The Japanese Attack on Oahu, Hawaii Territory​
At 8:00 am on Sunday, 7 December 1941, Japanese carrier aircraft launched a surprise attack at American military facilities on the island of Oahu. The attack focussed on Pacific Fleet warships at the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor to the west of Honolulu, and especially on the battleships moored there on the shore of Ford Island.

Within hours, other American and British military facilities in the Pacific Ocean and in East Asia were attacked.

The Pearl Harbor attack crippled the Pacific Fleet battleship force, but fortunately our Pacific Fleet aircraft carriers were at sea. 

The Pearl Harbor attack, followed on 11 December by German's Declaration of War, plunged the United States into two wars, the War with Japan and the War with Germany. The American populace was energized. The voices of pacifists, isolationists and Nazi sympathizers, formerly quite audible in the United States, fell silent.
The Air Attack on Oahu
The Air Attack on Oahu
Naval Losses at Pearl Harbor
Naval Losses at Pearl Harbor
Some of the ships sunk at Pearl Harbor were later raised, repaired, and sent into combat.

The accompanying photo shows the forward magazine explosion of the destroyer USS Shaw (DD-373) during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Remarkably, the Shaw was repaired and in December 1943 assisted in the rescue of members of the 112th Cavalry Regiment during a failed portion of the invasion at Arawe, New Britain in the Southwest Pacific.
Pearl Harbor - USS Shaw
Pearl Harbor - USS Shaw
Sources for Big Pigeon's Japan Lashes Out > Pearl Harbor webpage:
  • The webpage header photo, USS Arizona Burning, is courtesy of the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson. On the left is the USS West Virginia, in the middle the USS Tennessee.
  • The maps The Air Attack on Oahu and Naval Losses at Pearl Harbor are courtesy of The Map Archive.
  • The Pearl Harbor - USS Shaw photo is courtesy of wwlp.com.

​Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead - Japan Lashes Out > Pearl Harbor webpage​: ​05-01 - Japan Lashes Out > Pearl Harbor: (four dead, updated 7 Jan 2023)
† Booton, Charles Vinton, SN 321-47-76, US Navy, Pott. & Montgomery Cos.
  • Battleship USS West Virginia (BB-48); WIA 7 Dec 1941 during Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii Territory; West Virginia sank with 106 dead, later raised, repaired, and returned to service; DOW 10 Dec 1941 Hawaii Territory; Japan Lashes Out > Pearl Harbor
† Jackson, Robert Woods, SN 316-62-42, US Navy, Mills Co.
  • Battleship USS Arizona (BB-39); KIA 7 Dec 1941 during Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii Territory; Arizona exploded and sank, 1,177 dead; Japan Lashes Out > Pearl Harbor; BNR.
  • Notes: The sunken Arizona settled in shallow water and remains today as a memorial.
† Loustanau, Charles Bernard, SN 321-52-57, US Navy, Carroll Co.
  • Battleship USS Arizona (BB-39); KIA 7 Dec 1941 during Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii Territory; Arizona exploded & sank; 1,177 dead; Japan Lashes Out > Pearl Harbor; BNR.
† McKeeman, Bert Eugene, SN 316-66-65, US Navy, Pott. Co.
  • Battleship USS Oklahoma (BB-37); KIA 7 Dec 1941 during Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii Territory; Oklahoma capsized, 429 dead, later righted but sank while being towed to California;  Japan Lashes Out > Pearl Harbor.