Pearl Harbor
The Natives of Hawaii had called Pearl Harbor “Wai Momi” which meant water of pearl. The US had obtained Pearl Harbor because of the trade of sugar. This agreement allowed Hawaii to bring sugar into the US duty free. The US decided to annex Hawaii in its need for permanent presence in the Pacific after the Spanish American War.
After the annexation they worked to improve Pearl Harbor for navy ships. In 1908 Congress had passed that Pearl Harbor would be created as a naval base. Around the rest of the area Army personnel and housing were constructed. The construction didn’t start until a year later in 1909 but the Natives of Hawaii were not happy about it what so ever. There were a few collapses due to seismic disruptions but finally in August of 1919 the dock was finished.
Once the war had started in Europe things started to get even more tense between the US and Japan. The navy preformed exercises in Hawaii’s area. The US also reorganized its fleet into both the Pacific and the Atlantic. More improvements were also added to the harbor in 41’ and they created new defense systems. Because of the improvements the military and workforce increased very dramatically. This caused thousands to move to Hawaii for jobs and military families became a big part of its culture.
Japanese warplanes skirted across the sky over head Pearl Harbor Sunday, December 7, 1941 and then attacked. The first hit was at approximately 7:53 am that morning and by 9:55 am it was all over. After the attack more than 2,400 were killed, 5 of the 8 navy ships were either sunk or were sinking, and a lot of other damages had occurred. The consequences of the attack were that it had crippled the US’s fleet and it also got them to become involved in the war. The US was going to attack Japan. The attack on Pearl Harbor was very devastating for the US I can’t even imagine what the men had to go through.
It has been over 60 years since the attack and that was the US’s first entrance into WWII. We have been several other wars. Now Japan is our ally and we are very big into trading with them. We will also remember those we were killed because of the attack and hope that it never happens again.
Sources:
http://gohawaii.about.com/cs/pearlharbor/a/Lest_We_Forget1_2.htm
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