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Pearl Harbor -

Pictured: Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, looking southwest on October 30, 1941. Ford Island Naval Air Station is in the center, with the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard just beyond it, across the channel. The airfield in the upper left-center is the US Army's Hickam Field.

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Pilots with a mission -

A group picture of stern-faced Japanese bomber pilots taken before their departure for Hawaii.

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The strike is launched -

Japanese naval aircraft prepare to take off from the aircraft carrier Shōkaku, one of six aircraft carriers that made up the enemy strike force.

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Target sighted -

A photograph of Battleship Row taken from a Japanese plane at the beginning of the attack. The explosion in the center is a torpedo strike on USS West Virginia. Battleship Row was the grouping of eight US battleships in port when the Japanese attacked.

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USS West Virginia -

USS West Virginia was sunk by six torpedoes and two bombs during the attack.

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USS Arizona -

The USS Arizona was hit by several bombs, the last of which penetrated the armored deck near the magazines located in the forward section of the ship. A cataclysmic explosion destroyed much of the interior structure and left the stricken vessel burning for two days.

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USS Pennsylvania -

On the morning of the attack, the USS Pennsylvania was in dry dock undergoing a refit. The destroyers Downes and Cassin were also in the dock with her. All three vessels were bombed to oblivion.

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USS Shaw -

The spectacular explosion of the forward magazine of USS Shaw provided one of the most iconic photographs of the attack. Incredibly, the destroyer was repaired within months of being hit and served in the Pacific through the rest of the Second World War.

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USS Nevada -

The USS Nevada became a prime target for the second wave of Japanese bombers bearing down on Pearl Harbor. She was hit, but managed to proceed to the west side of Ford Island before being grounded.

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Ground facilities bombed -

The Japanese also targeted important base installations such as the power station, dry dock, shipyard, maintenance, and fuel and torpedo storage facilities. Air bases were also attacked. This aerial view shows Wheeler Field burning after a bombing raid.

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Airfields rendered inoperable -

This is what's left of Ford Island airfield after coming under attack.

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Limited response -

Some US aircrews were able to take off and engage the enemy. Pictured is an enemy plane in pieces after being shot down.

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Pearl Harbor decimated -

The ferocity and the accuracy of the Japanese attack left the harbor littered with the smoldering wrecks of dozens of US Navy vessels.

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Battleship graveyard -

An aerial view of Battleship Row moorings on the southern side of Ford Island, three days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Of the eight US Navy battleships present, all were damaged, with four sunk. All but USS Arizona were later raised. Many other vessels were hit and also sunk during the strike.

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Civilian casualties -

Besides the military casualties, the attack killed upwards of 68 civilians, including firefighters who responded to Hickman Field after it was bombed. Many others were left wounded.

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High death toll -

Ninety minutes after it began, the attack was over. The death toll was staggering: 2,008 sailors killed and 710 others wounded; 218 soldiers and airmen killed and 364 wounded; and 109 marines killed and 69 wounded. The irony is that all of the Americans killed or wounded during the attack were legally non-combatants, given that there was no state of war when the attack occurred.

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Propaganda opportunity -

The attack was a huge shock to all the Allies in the Pacific Theater. But the unprovoked strike proved useful wartime propaganda material for the shaken Americans. From there, we all know what happened.

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'Remember Pearl Harbor' (1942) -

Hollywood responded quickly to Pearl Harbor in a dramatic and patriotic manner. 'Remember Pearl Harbor' was one of the first motion pictures to recreate the events surrounding the attack. Essentially a piece of propaganda, it was not very well received. In other decades to come, however, the response was different.

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'From Here to Eternity' (1953) -

'From Here to Eternity' stars Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, and Frank Sinatra as three US Army soldiers stationed in Hawaii in the months leading up to the attack. It was a commercial and critical success, winning eight Academy Awards out of 13 nominations.

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'I Bombed Pearl Harbor' (1960) -

This Japanese production starring Yosuke Natsuki is also known as 'Storm Over the Pacific.' It's the story of a young Japanese bombardier, Lt. Koji Kitami (Natsuki), who's stationed aboard the Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū, and focuses on his participation in the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway.

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'In Harm's Way' (1965) -

Starring John Wayne and Kirk Douglas, this war drama presents a relatively unromantic and realistic picture of the American Navy and its officers from the night of December 6, 1941 through the first year of US involvement in the Second World War.

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'Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) -

Despite generally negative reviews, 'Tora! Tora! Tora!' was critically acclaimed for its vivid action scenes, and found favor with aviation and history aficionados. The tora of the title is the two-syllable Japanese code word used to indicate that complete surprise had been achieved.

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'The Winds of War' (1983) -

This miniseries was a huge success, and received many accolades, including Golden Globe nominations and various Emmy wins and nominations. It tells the story of Victor "Pug" Henry (Robert Mitchum) and his family as they live through events from March 1939 until the entry of the United States into the Second World War after Pearl Harbor.

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'Pearl Harbor' (2001) -

A box-office hit despite lukewarm reviews, 'Pearl Harbor' is a heavily fictionalized version of the attack on December 7. Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett star.

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'Midway' (2019) -

Though essentially about the Battle of Midway, which took place in June 1942, this epic war movie also depicts the attack on Pearl Harbor by way of placing the Pacific Theater in context. The ensemble cast includes Aaron Eckhart, Dennis Quaid, and Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano.

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Elvis Presley benefit concert -

In other pop culture news, on March 25, 1961, Elvis Presley performed on stage at the Bloch Arena in Honolulu. The benefit concert helped raised funds for a memorial to the USS Arizona.

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USS Arizona Memorial -

The USS Arizona Memorial marks the final resting place of the sailors and marines killed when the battleship exploded.

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National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day -

Visited by more than two million people annually, the battleship's remains were declared a National Historic Monument in 1985. Pictured in 2004 is a survivor contemplating the names of the dead inscribed on the memorial wall.

Sources: (History)

See also: Pivotal events in recent world history

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