Things to Know About Pearl Harbor

Well, more than five.

From the December 7, 2019, Kankakee (Illinois) Daily Journal "Five things to know about Pearl harbor."

**  The attack destroyed or damaged  about 20 Navy ships and more than 300 planes.

**  Drydocks and airfields were likewise destroyed.

**  2,403 sailors and soldiers and civilians were killed.

**  Nearly all the battleships at Pearl Harbor were significantly damaged:  Maryland, West Virginia, California, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Tennessee were either sunk of badly damaged.  All, however, were raised and repaired and fought.  The USS Arizona and Oklahoma were both sunk and never fought again.

**  Despite this,the U.S. Pacific Fleet was not knocked out of the war..

**  The Japanese failed to destroy the most important onshore facilities:  oil storage depots,  repair shops, shipyards and submarine yards.  As a result, the U.S. was able to rebound rather quickly.

**  Unexpected American reaction.  The attack united the country with a desire to go to war,

**  When FDR asked for a declaration of war the next day,  Congress was just one vote shy of unanimous, with Rep. Jeannette Rankin of Montana voting against it (she had also voted against the WW I declaration).  She said, "As a woman I can't go to war, and I refuse to send anyone else."

--GreGen