Early in the predawn, light swarms of Japanese Zeroes and torpedo bombers flew over Honolulu to deliver a tremendous blow to the United States. Mistaken as a group of B-17’s by radar the Japanese planes went untouched as they made their surprise attack. A flew P-40’s were able to get off the ground and engage the enemy during the raid but the damage was done and 5 battleships and thousands of men were dead and wounded. This was the opening to the greatest conflict the United States would ever be apart of.
Having talked with veterans and heard their stories, when approached about the subject of the Pearl Harbor raid, each of them had a note of sadness in their voice. Even though most were not there in person, they all heard about the raid and knew what it meant for the country. Many of them agreed that there was anger initially, after time it went away to feelings of remorse. Today we celebrate these brave men for what they did after the attack, like the Doolittle Raiders, who made a surprise raid in 16 B-25’s launched from the carrier Hornet against Tokyo. Today is a day we remember not only for those that we lost but for what it meant during the years that followed Pearl Harbor.