Remembering Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor

On Dec. 8, 1941, following the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan bombed sites in the Philippines, Guam and Hong Kong, invaded Thailand and launched attacks across central and western Pacific. In San Diego, reports of the bombing of American possessions and ships in the Pacific electrified local defenses and unified a vengeful nation.

From the San Diego Union, Monday, Dec. 8, 1941:

JAPAN AT WAR WITH U.S.

American Island Bases Attacked Second World Conflict Begins With Bombing of Honolulu

BATTLES RAGING THROUGHOUT WIDE AREA OF PACIFIC; NIPPONESE AIRCRAFT CARRIERS, SUBS REPORTED SUNK

By The Associated Press

Japan assaulted every main United States and British possession in the central and western Pacific and invaded Thailand today in a hasty but evidently shrewdly planned prosecution of a war she began Sunday without warning. Her formal declaration of war against both the United States and Britain came 2 hours and 55 minutes after Japanese planes spread death and terrific destruction in Honolulu and Pearl Harbor at 7:35 a.m., Hawaiian time (10:05 a.m., Pacific time) Sunday.

The claimed successes for this fell swoop included sinking of the U.S. battleship West Virginia and setting afire of the battleship Oklahoma. From that moment, each tense tick of the clock brought new and f laming accounts of Japanese aggression in her secretly launched war of conquest or death for the Land of the Rising Sun.

(There were United Press reports that units of the United States f leet had sunk at least one and perhaps two-Japanese aircraft carriers for four submarines, and that the Hawaiian anti-aircraft and gun crews and pursuit pilots had shot down at least six Japanese warplanes. These reports remained unconfirmed early today.)

Honolulu Undergoes Two Bombings

As compiled from official and unofficial accounts from all affected countries, the record ran like this:

U.S. Transport Gen. Hugh L. Scott, carrying lumbers, sunk 1600 miles from Manila.

Liner President Harrison, now a transport, seized or sunk in the Yangtze river near Shanghai.

British colony of Hongkong bombed twice.

Small U.S. garrison at Tientsin, China, disarmed and presumably captured.

U.S. island of Guam bombed, surrounded and oil reservoir and hotel set afire.

Honolulu bombed a second time. Lumber-laden U.S. army transport torpedoed 1300 miles west of San Francisco and another transport in distress.

Capture of Wake Island Reported

U.S. gunboat Wake captured and British gunboat Peterel destroyed.

Capture of the U.S. island of Wake.

Bombing of many points throughout the Philippine islands.

Invasion of northern Malaya and bombing of Singapore. Invasion of Thailand (Siam) and bombing of Bangkok. Australian declaration of war against Japan.