December 7, 1941

**The U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaiʻi, in flames, 1941**
*Courtesy of National Archives*

“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. . .”

—President Franklin Roosevelt

**Honolulu Star-Bulletin** **newspaper, December 7, 1941**

Toku Shimomura of Seattle described in her diary hearing news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 1941:

[transcription]
December 7, 1941
When I came back from church today, I heard the dreamlike news that Japanese airplanes had bombed Hawaiʻi. I was shocked beyond belief. I sat in front of the radio and listened to the news all day. They said that at 6 a.m. Japan declared war on the United States. Our future has become gloomy. I pray that God will stay with us.