Hit first
The Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor lasted about 90 minutes, killing and wounding more than 3,000 military and civilians.
The first targets were U.S. airfields, to prevent a U.S. counter-attack by air. T
The first Medal of Honor awarded in World War II went to a sailor who defended one of those airfields.
The U.S. declared war on Japan a day after the attack.
U.S. airfieldsThe first bombs fell on airfields in Oahu.
1. Wheeler Air Field2. Hickam Field3. Bellow’s Field4. Kaneohe Naval Air Station5. Ewa Marine Air Station6. Ford Island Naval Air Base
At least 181 Japanese planes started bombing and strafing airfields and ships in Pearl Harbor around 7:48 a.m.
A second wave began an hour later with 170 more Japanese planes.
The attacks ended just before 10 a.m.
There were 402 American aircraft in Hawaii.
Eight U.S. pilots managed to get airborne during the attack and six were credited with downing at least one Japanese aircraft.
Kaneohe Bay was home to 33 American Sea Planes (PBY-5s). Only three of those planes were fit for patrol after the attack.
Eighteen sailors and three civilians died protecting the base.
Costly day
Totals for the Dec. 7, 1941 attack
Total killed: U.S. 2,341, 49 civilians Japan: 64, 55 in aircraft, 9 in mini-subs
Aircraft: 188 destroyed, 159 damaged Japan: 29 destroyed and 74 damaged
Ships: U.S. 8 sunk battleships, 6 damaged Japan 5 subs
Chief FinnJohn Finn was a 32-year old chief petty officer in charge of guns and bombs for the planes at Naval Air Station Keneohe Bay. Once he learned of the attack, he raced from his home and wife to the base.
Finn’s Medal of Honor citation states: “During the first attack by Japanese airplanes he promptly secured and manned a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on an instruction stand in a completely exposed section of the parking ramp, which was under heavy enemy machine gun strafing fire.
Although painfully wounded many times (shot in foot and shoulder), he continued to man this gun and to return the enemy’s fire vigorously and with telling effect throughout the enemy strafing and bombing attacks and with complete disregard for his own personal safety.”
Finn had to be ordered to go for medical treatment and his wounds kept him in the hospital until Dec. 24.
Admiral Chester Nimitz presented Finn with the first World War II Medal of Honor on Sept. 14, 1942.
Finn served in the Navy from 1926 to 1956 and retired as a lieutenant. He lived to the age of 100 before he died in Chula Vista in 2010.
Only five men of the 15 awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions on Dec. 7, 1941 survived the attack. Most died while saving men on ships attacked in the harbor.
There were 51 Navy Cross recipients.
Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum
The museum opened on Dec. 7, 2006 for the 65th anniversary and has had several expansions and upgrades.
The museum occupies Hangars 37 and 79 on Ford Island and covers 16 acres.
In 2012, the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor was named an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.
The Operations Building, officially Building S84, is a historical cornerstone to Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum’s campus.
Originally serving as administrative offices, barracks, an aerological tower and aircraft control during its early years.
The 168-foot tall historic building played an important role during the attack.
The control tower, as well as the runway, has been designated a National Historic Landmark since 1964.
Abandoned after decades of use, the Operations Building fell into disrepair until the Museum launched an ambitious restoration project in 2012.
Visitors can begin with the Top of the Tower Tour, a guided journey up the Ford Island Control Tower.
There are more than 50 aircraft to see including a B-17 flying fortress and a B-52 Stratofortress.
You can learn more about the museum here.
Sources: Congressional Medal of Honor Society; National WWII Museum, New Orleans; Pearl Harbor War Museum