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Description
In the tragedy that was Pearl Harbor, about 2,455 men, women, and children were killed in the attacks on Oahu.
The total includes 2,390 American service members and Oahu civilians, 56 Japanese aviators, and up to nine Japanese submariners.
It was a brilliantly executed Japanese attack to neutralize the Pacific Fleet and gain time as the empire conquered Southeast Asia.
USS Arizona dead would total 1,177 — the single greatest loss of life in U.S. Navy history. Hawaii's service members and civilians paid the initial price, but Japan would face a much greater one as America's economic might and fighting spirit eventually brought victory in the Pacific.
"Pearl Harbor is a saga of swift action, stark tragedy and great heroism," author Gordon W. Prange wrote in At Dawn We Slept.
Stories abound of U.S. military men, unprepared for what had come, standing up to fight back in the face of the onslaught. Many of those stories are recounted in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser's extensive coverage of the historic 75th anniversary. Those stories, along with many from our daily coverage, are featured in this book. Most appear as they ran in the newspaper; a few have minor changes.
Three-quarters of a century after the attack, the wounds inflicted at Pearl Harbor have largely healed. The U.S. State Department likes to point out that the U.S.-Japanese alliance is the cornerstone of U.S. security interests in Asia.
At a ceremony at Ewa Field on Dec. 6, 2016, retired Marine Maj. John Hughes, 97, who returned fire on Dec. 7, 1941, with a Springfield bolt-action rifle, said he has no resentment toward the Japanese.
"On this 75th anniversary," said Daniel Martinez, chief historian at the USS Arizona Memorial, "as we pause here to remember Pearl Harbor and also now to celebrate 70 years of peace between the United States and Japan, we can look at the words that Mr. Hughes said — that he has no ill feelings toward (the Japanese) — and we can move forward."
Hard cover. 160 pages. Printed in South Korea. Coffee table style book. Includes many color and black and white photos. Approximately 12 inches by 9 inches.
