Understanding Pearl Harbor

U.S.S. Shaw burning in Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941 http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/98506923

To help us understand the background of the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and what it was like to live through it, government agencies have posted material online. For example, the Senate has made available the summary of the work of the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack as well as a PDF of their report. The Naval History and Heritage Command website has an overview and selected images about the Pearl Habor raid. The Library of Congress' American Folklife Center (AFC) has "man on the street interviews" featuring "opinions recorded in the days and months following the bombing of Pearl Harbor from more than two hundred individuals in cities and towns across the United States." The AFC also hosts the Veterans History Project making accessible personal accounts of American veterans from World War I to the present. Bibliographic records are available online for all the interviews with about 10% of the interviews (those with a VIEW DIGITAL COLLECTIONS button) being available online. Enter "Pearl Harbor" in the search box to access interviews relating to that fateful day.

Remembering Pearl Harbor

On December 7, 1941 many Americans had never heard of Peal Harbor. However, the Japanese attack quickly made Pearl Harbor a household name. At the site where the USS Arizona sunk now stands a national park memorial. How much do you know about this important national park? Here are a few questions to test your knowledge. Answers are at the end.

1. What popular singer raised funds in 1961 to erect the memorial?

2. True - False - Sets of brothers were assigned to serve on the USS Arizona during that time period.

3. True - False - The USS Arizona is still treated as a member of our current fleet.

4. True - False - The USS Arizona rests in 120 feet of water.

5. True - False - Surviving crew members can choose to be buried on the Arizona when they die.

To find out more information about Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona, access the National Parks Service USS Arizona site.

Answers
1. Elvis Presley; 2. Thirty-seven confirmed sets of brothers were assigned to the USS Arizona on Dec. 7, 1941. 3. True - The flag flying on the ship's mast flies at half-mast when other ships fly theirs at half-staff. 4.False - The Arizona rests in approximately 40 feet of water. 5. True - Crew members who so desire have a choice of having their ashes scattered over the place where the ship was located during the attack or have a diver drop an urn containing their ashes into a slot of the ship.

Day of Infamy Interviews

What did ordinary Americans think and feel following the Japanese raids on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941? The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress has made it possible for us to get an inkling thanks to a forward-thinking employee, Alex Lomax from the Archive of American Folk Song (now the Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center). Mr. Lomax asked field workers in ten geographically diverse locations across the United States to collect "man-on-the-street" reactions to the bombing of Pearl Harbor and subsequent entry of the United States into World War II. Workers also conducted a second set of interviews in January and February 1942 to gage reactions once the initial fury died down. Both sets of interviews are available in the American Memory online collection, After the Day of Infamy.