The attack on Pearl Harbor lasted 110 minutes. It started at 7:55 AM and ended at 9:45 AM. The attack came in 2 waves, the first at 7:55 AM and the second starting about 8:40 AM.

The attack killed 2335 men and left 1143 wounded. It also killed 68 civilians and wounded another 35.

As of 6 December 1941, there were 37 confirmed pairs or trios of brothers assigned to the USS Arizona. Of these 77 men, 62 were killed and 23 sets of brothers died from the attack. Only one full set of brothers survived, Kenneth and Russell Warriner.

Nearly 300 airplanes and 18 ships were crippled or destroyed in the attack.

On 8 December 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared 7 December 1941 “a date that will live in infamy” while asking Congress to declare war on the Empire of Japan. Congress granted his request with 470 voting yes and 1 vote no. The sole no vote was cast by Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana. A known pacifist who also voted against the United States entering WWI, Rankin is quoted as saying “As a woman I can’t go to war and I refuse to send anyone else”.

On 6 December 1941 the USS Arizona was completely refueled with nearly 1.5 million gallons of fuel. Today she leaks up to 9 quarts a day into the harbor. The National Park Society and several other governmental agencies regularly monitor the leak but are reluctant to preform a large repair or modification because the wreckage is a war grave.

One of the ships in the harbor when it was attacked was the USS Selfridge DD-357. The ship was able to make it safely out of the harbor and managed to take out several Japanese planes along the way. (You can read the ship’s log from that day here.) Today, the U.S. flag that was flying over the Selfridge during the attack is proudly on display in the Officer Ward Room on board the USS Edson.

We hope you will join us on 7 December 2015 to honor the brave men and women who lost their lives on the fateful day 74 years ago. We will have a short ceremony at NOON and admission all day will be FREE with a DONATION. Also, the newly formed USS Edson Radio Club will be on hand to broadcast across the world.