Remembering Pearl Harbor: A day of infamy in American history
Remembering the Pearl Harbor attack, with a discussion of the USS Arizona Memorial.
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News •
A historic deep sea sub that found sunken ships at Pearl Harbor and explored underwater volcanoes is retiring to a museum
• Oct. 28, 2026, 4:00 PM ET (Earth.com)
Transcript
For the United States, the Second World War started in 1941, when Japanese bombers launched a surprise attack on the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii. December 7, 1941 has gone down as one of the darkest days in American history.
Pearl Harbor is still the headquarters of the United States Pacific Fleet. But this memorial on the water is a place for silence and reflection. The unusual white structure spans the sunken hull of the battleship USS Arizona and features a marble shrine bearing the names of all those killed. Marines like to come here after signing up for their next mission. A patriotic monument, located at the place where the confidence of the United States was shaken for the first time.
Kazugo Miku is an American samurai - the nickname given to members of the 422nd infantry, composed mostly of Hawaiians of Japanese descent. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, when anything and everything Japanese was regarded with deep suspicion, they were keen to demonstrate their loyalty to America. The memorial at Pearl Harbor pays tribute to those who perished on that day in 1941 in an attack that traumatized a whole nation.
Pearl Harbor is still the headquarters of the United States Pacific Fleet. But this memorial on the water is a place for silence and reflection. The unusual white structure spans the sunken hull of the battleship USS Arizona and features a marble shrine bearing the names of all those killed. Marines like to come here after signing up for their next mission. A patriotic monument, located at the place where the confidence of the United States was shaken for the first time.
Kazugo Miku is an American samurai - the nickname given to members of the 422nd infantry, composed mostly of Hawaiians of Japanese descent. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, when anything and everything Japanese was regarded with deep suspicion, they were keen to demonstrate their loyalty to America. The memorial at Pearl Harbor pays tribute to those who perished on that day in 1941 in an attack that traumatized a whole nation.
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