Today, December 7th, marks the 75th anniversary of the surprise attack on the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
This attack by Japanese naval forces decimated the U.S. Pacific fleet. The battleships Arizona and Oklahoma were totally destroyed; six other battleships were sunk or seriously damaged.
Three cruisers, three destroyers, and dozens of other large vessels were at the bottom of the harbor. 154 fighter aircraft, 52 bombers, and nine other aircraft were destroyed.
In total, 2,335 military personnel had been killed. The news bulletin shocked the nation on a quiet Sunday.
The attack resulted in a declaration of war on Japan by the United States. President Franklin Roosevelt spoke to the Congress and a nation by radio.
By the end of World War II, over 50 million people had died as the result of the war.
President Obama has ordered that flags be flown at half-staff day in remembrance of lives lost during Peral Harbor.