-
Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941, Japanese war planes bombed the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The attack killed more than 2,300 Americans and the battleship U.S.S. Arizona was damaged beyond repair and sank. This event was the primary reason the United States joined World War II as an active force. -
Japanese internment in US
After the Pearl Harbor attack, the United States government became highly suspicious of any Americans with Japanese heritage, sending (by force) any Japanese Americans living on the Pacific Coast to internment camps. This decision was based off of fear that Japanese civilians living within the United States could still be connected to the Japanese government and working as undercover spies. -
Doolittle Raid
Also known as the Tokyo Raid, this was an attack on Japan's capital city and the island of Honshu on the 18th of April, 1942. Americans thought this aggression would force Japan to recognize its own vulnerability to American air attacks. The raid, according to the US was a means of retaliating after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Sunday, December 7, 1941. The event apparently provided an important boost to American morale. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway took place six months after Pearl Harbor. During this impactful event, the United States won against Japan in one of the most decisive naval battles of World War II. As a result of significant advances in breaking Japanese code, the United States was able to prevent and counter Japan’s planned ambush. This battle was pivotal for the US in the Pacific campaign, because it ended Japanese expansion and forced them to start being more defensive. -
Air raid on Nauru Island
On the day of April 20, 1943, the U.S. struck Japanese facilities in an air raid on the island, Nauru--An island formerly under Australian control.“It is believed that this operation was the first successful attack against a valuable Japanese industrial installation since the raid on Tokyo. It was probably the longest offensive air operation of the war to date—the target was in excess of 3,200 miles by air from the home base of the attacking unit.” --General Hale -
Battle of Leyte Gulf
Many see this conflict as the biggest naval battle in the war, and some would even go as far as saying it was the biggest naval battle in all of history. On October 20th the United States invaded Leyte island in order to isolate Japan and deprive the Japanese of vital oil resources. The Imperial Japanese Navy tried to defeat the invasion but was overwhelmed and ultimately failed. The results of this battle in some ways was a point of no return for the Japanese in terms of their naval efforts. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima was a major battle in which the US Marine Corps landed on the island of Iwo Jima and eventually captured it from the Japanese Imperial Army. -
Conventional bombing of Tokyo
U.S. warplanes launched a bombing offensive against Japan, hoping to break their indomitable spirit. They ended up dropping 2,000 tons of bombs on Tokyo over the course of 48 hours. Almost 16 square miles in and around the Japanese capital were incinerated, and between 80,000 and 130,000 Japanese civilians were killed in the most devastating firestorm the world has ever seen. -
First Atomic Bomb dropped
On August 6, 1945, the American bomber Enola Gay dropped a five-ton bomb over Hiroshima. The blast produced by this awful weapon was equivalent to the power of 15,000 tons of TNT and it utterly destroyed four square miles of the city. The casualties of this tragic event were very high, with 80,000 people immediately killed, and tens of thousands more dying in the following weeks as a result of the lethal effects of radiation and their wounds. -
VJ Day
The name VJ Day comes from the events context--Victory over Japan. This was the day that the Japanese Empire surrendered, a major factor in ending the war.
