About Chris Ghiz
Chris Ghiz, Supervisor Chief Historian, US Navy. 75th anniversary commemoration of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941. The attack led to the United States’ entry into World War II. Japan intended the attack as a preventive action to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions the Empire of Japan planned in Southeast Asia. Over the next seven hours there were coordinated Japanese attacks all over the Pacific Ocean. President Roosevelt declared war on Japan the next day. Although Pearl Harbor was a devastating tactical defeat resulting in 2,335 U.S. military deaths, Navy personnel were awarded 15 Medals of Honor, 51 Navy Crosses, and four Navy-Marine Corps Medals; the most medals for bravery under fire for a one-day action in U.S. naval history.
