Passage 23

America's Worst surprise

December 7,1941 was one of the worst days in American history. Nearly all Americans who are old enough to remember that day can still remember what they were doing at the moment they heard "the news". The news was that America had been attacked!

Shortly before 2:00 P.M., a radio dispatch came into Washington from Honolulu, Hawaii, "Air Raid, Pearl Harbor— This is no drill." Japanese planes had begun an attack on the largest American military base in the Pacific. They first destroyed planes on the ground. Then they bombed the ships in the harbor.

No one had expected the attack. So no one was prepared for it. And it did not take long for the Japanese to do their damage. When the smoke cleared, the Navy counted its losses- Eighteen ships had been sunk or badly damaged. Nearly 150 planes had been destroyed. More than 2,400 Americans had been killed and more than 1, 200 wounded. (157 words)