NARRATOR: On Sunday December 7th, 1941, shortly before 8:00 AM, Japan launched a surprise attack on the United States of America by bombing the US Naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

The base was attacked by 350 Imperial Japanese aircrafts. Though the raid only lasted 75 minutes, the Japanese destroyed or damaged nearly 20 American Naval vessels, including 8 battleships and more than 340 airplanes. Over 2,400 Americans died in the attack, and many more were wounded.

While the attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise, tensions between the US and Japan had deteriorated over the decade, in particular with regards to Japan's expansion into China. The plan for attacking Pearl Harbor was to destroy the US's Pacific fleet, a move which would give the Japanese time to carry out its plans to keep control of the Pacific without US interference.

The shock of the attack without declaration of war enraged the American public, and rallied the nation to get behind a war many hoped to avoid. At the beginning of his speech to Congress requesting a declaration of war, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered this now famous line.

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT: Yesterday, December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the empire of Japan.

NARRATOR: On December 8th, 1941, one day after the attack, the United States Congress declared war on Japan, officially entering World War II.

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