December 7

Much of what our country and our lives are like today was shaped by the events that occurred 69 years ago during a quiet Sunday morning on Dec. 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

At 7:55 a.m., the first wave of 183 Japanese planes raced across the mountains north of Pearl Harbor to begin bombing, strafing, and torpedoing the bulk of the U.S. Pacific Fleet anchored in the bay. At 8:45 a.m., a second wave of 170 planes intensified the attack. The assault claimed 2,403 American lives and left more than a thousand others wounded. When the last of the Japanese planes turned out to sea, the US Pacific fleet was left crippled. America responded in what has become typical US fashion – by uniting and then taking the fight to the enemy. About 16 million fighting Americans would go on to drive the Japanese and Germans into surrender and end a war that reached every corner the globe.

December 7 changed the course of our history and altered America and the rest of the world forever. About 60,000 members of the military survived the attack on Pearl Harbor. Today, a little more than 3,000 of those survivors remain with us as a living link that momentous event that spawned the greatest generation. These stalwart Pearl Harbor survivors are living examples of the great courage and resolve that continues to define those who served our Nation – Veterans of yesterday and our active duty force today. We salute their valor and sacrifice, and we honor their fighting spirit – a spirit that has motivated millions of Americans to follow their lead and live by their example.

– From the VA