SURPRISE ATTACK
Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, was warm and sunny in Hawaii. Aboard the ships in Pearl Harbor the day was just getting under way: morning church services were being held on some; on others, the American flag was being raised. Meanwhile, in the sky north of Hawaii, Com- mander Mitsuo Fuchida was leading the first wave of Japanese planes toward the harbor. He grinned, thinking about the destruction of the American Navy The first bombs hit Ford Island. As the explosions went off, people panicked and tried to escape the machine-gun fire from the air-but the entire harbor was ablaze. Two hours later, the American fleet lay burning, totally destroyed. It would be months before the ships could be raised, refitted, and put back into action. The Japanese had won a great victory-this time. But from that day forward, the United States would retaliate heavily-and the history of the world would be greatly changed.