President Franklin Roosevelt called December 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy." The vulnerable United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor was not on a state of high alert, a junior officer disregarding the report of the approaching Japanese air attack detected at Oahu's northern shore radar station. The bombing caused massive explosions killing over 2,300 Americans and completely destroyed the American battleship U.S.S. Arizona and capsized the U.S.S. Oklahoma. The attack sank or beached a total of twelve ships and damaged nine others. The attack took the country by surprise, especially the ill-prepared Pearl Harbor base.
A hurried dispatch from the ranking United States naval officer in Pearl Harbor, known as the Commander in Chief Pacific, to all major navy commands and fleet units provided the first official word of the attack. It said simply: "AIR RAID ON PEARL HARBOR X THIS IS NOT drill ." Radio stations receiving the news interrupted regular broadcasts to announce the tragic news. Most people knew what the attack meant for the U.S. even before Roosevelt's official announcement the next day. The Americans believed a Japanese attack was imminent. The U.S. was already close to joining the war, but it had only committed to sending war supplies on loan to the Allied forces. Within days, the United States was brought into World War II.
1. Linguists warn that conservative attitudes toward loanwords and grammatical changes often hamper efforts to preserve endangered languages. (DANGER)
2. Luck that determines how successful or talented family members are is not always mentioned where talent is concerned but plays an undoubted part. (DOUBT)
3. You cannot have thunder without lightning because thunder is the sound of outspreading pressure waves from the sudden heating of the air along a lightning flash. (HEAT)
4. Having had a terrific career with plenty of ups and occasional downs, the athlete has announced his retirement from professional sport due to an eye injury. (TERROR)
5. Apparently we humans share 98% of our genes with chimpanzees; indeed, they are our closest relative in the animal kingdom.(KING)
