A date which will live in infamy

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i, on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941.

All eight U.S. Navy battleships were damaged, 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed; 2,402 Americans were killed and 1,282 wounded.

The attack came as a profound shock to the American people and led directly to the American entry into World War II in both Europe and the Pacific. The United States declared war on Japan on Dec.8, and Germany and Italy to declared war on the U.S. on Dec. 11, which was reciprocated by the U.S. the same day.

The lack of any formal warning led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to proclaim Dec. 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy."