Bite-Size History #4 — A Day of Infamy. Could the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor have been avoided?
Analyzing the evidence of Japan’s declaration of war on the US
Where were you when the Twin Towers were attacked? Where were you when American President J.F. Kennedy was assassinated? Or maybe you know exactly where you were when Princess Diana tragically died.
For certain generations, that pivotal seismic event was the Japanese bombing of the US Naval Station at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. And in its wake, and retaining a similar place in historical conscience, was the speech delivered by US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to a Joint Session of Congress on 8 December 1941.
Yesterday, December 7, 1941 a date which will live in infamy the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan…I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us…Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger…I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on…
