So I know this is a kind of random topic, but oh well. Recently I watched
the Pearl Harbor movie (I can easily say that it was the longest movie of my
life! I mean seriously, it is so long it is on two discs!), and decided to
write an essay about it. So here is my essay! :)
The Pearl Harbor movie tells us about the men and women who fought to protect us and those who died trying. The attack on Pearl Harbor took place December 7th, 1941 around 8 am Hawaiian time. One reason that the Japanese attacked is because the U.S. cut off their oil supplies while they were engaged in a war with China.
The Japanese were sending messages to the Japanese embassy in Washington D.C. knowing that the U.S. would intercept them; the messages were saying that they still wanted and were working on peace with the U.S. Mean while they were moving their carrier ships closer to Pearl Harbor for the surprise attack. They attacked while all the navy men would still be asleep.
Before the attack, a U.S. Army private noticed a large flight of planes on his radar screen and was told to ignore them because a flight of B-17s from the continental U.S. was expected at the time. Right before they attacked the Japanese sent more messages, this time saying that they no longer wanted peace with the U.S. and that the relationship was to be severed.
The attacks began, men were shocked as torpedoes hit their ships, the harbor was supposed to be shallow enough that torpedoes could not make it. However, the Japanese knew this so they added on wooden propellers. Then they were getting bombed and shot from above too. The Japanese attack force consisted of six carriers with 423 planes. 6 am was when the first attack wave of 83 planes took off. The Japanese hit 18 U.S. ships. The attack lasted for about two hours. The day after the war President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on Japan.
The U.S. planned a top secret mission where they had 16 planes they were going to use to bomb Tokyo. The men who were going to be flying the planes had to learn how to make a plane, loaded with fuel and bombs, fly using only 400 feet of runway, they said anymore and you're dead. They called this attack The Doolittle raid. Their planes were about 600 miles away when the Japanese reported their position. They had to launch their attack then and there, adding 10 jugs of fuel to every plane. The attack was launched a full 12 hours earlier than they had planned.
They hit all of their targets; but then they had nowhere to land, and the planes were running out of fuel. Then one of the pilots spotted the coast. They were going to make it, but it would be a rough landing. They crashed into Chinese rice patties, where Japanese troops were waiting to ambush them, they shot back at them with pistols. But then some came and snuck up and tied them up. However, as one American troop was being dragged and tied saw a pistol on the ground next to him. He picked it up and shot some Japanese soldiers. The pistol ran out of ammo, and he was about to be shot but his friend jumped in front of the bullets. He took the hits and soon died. They killed the rest of the Japanese soldiers and then the Chinese came to save them.
In the attack on Pearl Harbor over 3,000 people were hurt. Some drowned from getting trapped in sinking ships, while others were shot, and many got blown up by the bombs. The Japanese could have done a lot more damage than they did. They only launched two attack waves, and they had a third one waiting. Today there is a memorial over the USS Arizona ship that sunk. 1,177 people were trapped in that ship and died there. On the inside of the memorial there is a plaque with the names of all of the men who died in that ship. The memorial is off of the coast of Oahu, Hawaii.
The Pearl Harbor movie tells us about the men and women who fought to protect us and those who died trying. The attack on Pearl Harbor took place December 7th, 1941 around 8 am Hawaiian time. One reason that the Japanese attacked is because the U.S. cut off their oil supplies while they were engaged in a war with China.
The Japanese were sending messages to the Japanese embassy in Washington D.C. knowing that the U.S. would intercept them; the messages were saying that they still wanted and were working on peace with the U.S. Mean while they were moving their carrier ships closer to Pearl Harbor for the surprise attack. They attacked while all the navy men would still be asleep.
Before the attack, a U.S. Army private noticed a large flight of planes on his radar screen and was told to ignore them because a flight of B-17s from the continental U.S. was expected at the time. Right before they attacked the Japanese sent more messages, this time saying that they no longer wanted peace with the U.S. and that the relationship was to be severed.
The attacks began, men were shocked as torpedoes hit their ships, the harbor was supposed to be shallow enough that torpedoes could not make it. However, the Japanese knew this so they added on wooden propellers. Then they were getting bombed and shot from above too. The Japanese attack force consisted of six carriers with 423 planes. 6 am was when the first attack wave of 83 planes took off. The Japanese hit 18 U.S. ships. The attack lasted for about two hours. The day after the war President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on Japan.
The U.S. planned a top secret mission where they had 16 planes they were going to use to bomb Tokyo. The men who were going to be flying the planes had to learn how to make a plane, loaded with fuel and bombs, fly using only 400 feet of runway, they said anymore and you're dead. They called this attack The Doolittle raid. Their planes were about 600 miles away when the Japanese reported their position. They had to launch their attack then and there, adding 10 jugs of fuel to every plane. The attack was launched a full 12 hours earlier than they had planned.
They hit all of their targets; but then they had nowhere to land, and the planes were running out of fuel. Then one of the pilots spotted the coast. They were going to make it, but it would be a rough landing. They crashed into Chinese rice patties, where Japanese troops were waiting to ambush them, they shot back at them with pistols. But then some came and snuck up and tied them up. However, as one American troop was being dragged and tied saw a pistol on the ground next to him. He picked it up and shot some Japanese soldiers. The pistol ran out of ammo, and he was about to be shot but his friend jumped in front of the bullets. He took the hits and soon died. They killed the rest of the Japanese soldiers and then the Chinese came to save them.
In the attack on Pearl Harbor over 3,000 people were hurt. Some drowned from getting trapped in sinking ships, while others were shot, and many got blown up by the bombs. The Japanese could have done a lot more damage than they did. They only launched two attack waves, and they had a third one waiting. Today there is a memorial over the USS Arizona ship that sunk. 1,177 people were trapped in that ship and died there. On the inside of the memorial there is a plaque with the names of all of the men who died in that ship. The memorial is off of the coast of Oahu, Hawaii.
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| I have heard that to this day the USS Arizona is still leaking oil. At least, it was when I took a trip there. Hence, the yellow looking color of the water around it. |
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| To actually get to the memorial you ride on this big boat! It is so cool! |
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| You can't read the inscription on the memorial in this picture, but it says "To the memory of the gallant men here entombed and their shipmates who gave their lives in action on December 7, 1941 on the USS Arizona" |
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