On december 7th, 1941, the Empire of Japan attacked and bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and pulled the USA into the second world war. Aboard a Japanese carrier before the attack on Pearl Harbor, crew members cheer departing pilots A photo taken from a Japanese plane during the attack shows docked American battleships, and in the distance, smoke rising from Hickam Airfield where 35 men having breakfast in the mess hall were killed after a direct bomb hit. The USS Shaw explodes during the Japanese air raid. The battleship USS Arizona after a bomb penetrated into the forward magazine causing massive explosions and killing 1,104 men. The next day, president FDR gave a speech to the American public. The speech was as follows. On this date, we take a moment to look back into our past, and examine it, hoping to learn from it. For only in learning from our past, can we create a better future.