Attack+on+Pearl+Harbor

Dear Journal, It is a terrible day for America, a day that should never be forgotten in history. My naval base on Pearl Harbor was just completely destroyed by black objects. I know they were planes, but to all of us, standing there innocently on the ground, to us, they looked like something straight from hell. I saw my best friends, right in front of my eyes dying. December 7, 1941, something I will never forget.It was still morning, and I saw hundreds of my fellow soldiers, that I played cards with and ate dinner with the night before, with no leg, or a completely bloody body, being carried into the infirmary (Clausen). Soon I found out the information behind it. Within two hours, Japanese aircraft had destroyed or seriously damaged 18 American vessels, including eight battleships, three light cruisers, three destroyers, and four auxiliary craft (Roberts). Some 73 aircraft were destroyed and 120 damaged, most of them on the ground at Hickham Field. It was a Japanese air fleet of over 300 planes, led by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, who was the commander in chief of this operation, he had planned this out carefully for 5 months leading up to it. The problem I have with this, is that its being said we had signs of this happeneing, and we did nothing, not even another line of defense, we were extremely vulnerable for attack. Signs that the Japenese might attack the Pearl Naval base came as early as January of 1941 (Roberts). The outrage of Americans was palpable after the attack. Pearl Harbor was the worst naval disaster in U.S. history, with more than 2,000 casualties, dozens of aircraft destroyed, and 16 ships damaged or destroyed. This left me and my remaining conrads wondering why we were still alive and not dead like the rest.
 * Name**: Kyle Johnson
 * Age**: 21
 * Hometown**: Chicago
 * Relationships**: Naval Officer
 * Ethnicity**: American

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Work Cited Clausen, Henrey. "Pearl Harbor Attack." American History 24 Oct. 2007 http://www.americanhistory.abc-clio.com/library

Roberts, Priscilla. "Pearl Harbor." __Facts on File__ 21 Oct. 2007 

http://www.fofweb.com/NuHistory/default.asp?ItemID=WE52&NewItemID=True __http://www.solarnavigator.net/history/explorers_history/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor_Japanese_planes_aerial_view.jpg__