December 1941
On the morning of December 7, 1941, Japanese forces launched a surprise attack
on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Nineteen U.S. ships were sunk
or damaged, and 3,000 Americans lost their lives. Japan also attacked Guam,
Wake Island, the Philippines, and other strategic points in the Pacific at the
same time Pearl Harbor was attacked. In his address to a stunned nation,
President Roosevelt called December 7 "a date that will live in infamy." On
December 8, the U.S. Congress declared war against Japan. Two days after Pearl
Harbor, President Roosevelt told the nation, "We are going to win the war, and
we are going to win the peace that follows."
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