The Japanese strike on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941—a “Day of Infamy,” as President Franklin D. Roosevelt described it—left the American Pacific Fleet in almost total ruin, plunged the United States into World War II, and set off a controversy regarding the events that led up to the attack that is still being hotly debated. In a move that would later prove disastrous in the pre-Pearl Harbor scenario, one of the Purple machines that went to the British was originally supposed to be given to the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puʻuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi, west of Honolulu. Early reports claimed that she had been hit by one torpedo in the first part of the action.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941 was well planned. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Trevor Welsh/Released)

That was the plan, after all. Temporary repairs were made at Pearl Harbor during December 1941 and January 1942.

USS Arizona was moored inboard of the repair ship Vestal when the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor. But the attack—and the recovery—could not have been possible without the people in charge at the time in both Japan and the United States. Commanding Officer, NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center Pearl Harbor Captain Kalp, a native of Southern California, graduated from Texas Tech University earning a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration in 1994, receiving his commission through the Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps program. USS Arizona during the Pearl Harbor Attack. The attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan on Sunday, December 7, 1941, brought the United States into World War II. On 9 February, Shaw steamed towards San Francisco where repairs were completed, including the installation of a new bow, at the end of June.

DeWayne Sanders as commanding officer of USS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52) during a change of command ceremony on the flight deck of the USS Midway (CV 41) Museum, April 24. Attack on Pearl Harbor Part of the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of World War II: File:Attack on Pearl Harbor Japanese planes view.jpg Photograph of Battleship Row taken from a Japanese plane at the beginning of the attack. The Kanji inscription at left is an exhortation to pilots to do their duty. '2nd Pearl Harbor,' kept top secret until 1962, commemorated Email Print Reddit Tweet Share ... Marines and soldiers were all working on the vessels in preparation for the invasion of Saipan. Following training in the San Diego, California, area, Shaw returned to Pearl Harbor on 31 August.

For other views of USS Arizona soon after her explosion, and during the days following the Pearl Harbor Attack, see:; USS Arizona burning on 7 December 1941; and; Wreck of USS Arizona, after 7 December 1941.. For pictures and information on USS Arizona officers who were cited for heroism during the Pearl Harbor attack, or who were honored posthumously by having a ship named for them, see: