The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20110215213541/http://www.life.com:80/image/first/in-gallery/53071/pearl-harbor-december-7-1941

Previous 1 of 22 Next

Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941

See More War, World War II

Infamous

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 -- "a date which will live in infamy," as FDR famously and rightly called it -- is at once a defining moment in American and world history, and a more complicated affair than is generally acknowledged. While Japan undeniably declared war on the United States that day, it's worth remembering that most of the Empire of the Rising Sun's military leaders believed they had little choice but to attack. Above: A picture taken from a Japanese bomber shows another Japanese plane and plumes of black smoke on the ground during the Pearl Harbor attack.