“War, war, war has been the all important topic of everyone since Sunday afternoon when the radios started broadcasting the news that Pearl Harbor and the Hawaiian Islands had been bombed by Japanese planes.
Everyone knew that strained relations existed between the United States and Japan but no one was prepared for a surprise attack while negotiations were still underway.
While detailed news of the whole affair still remains vague, it is known that Pearl Harbor and Honolulu were attacked at dawn Sunday morning, by at least 50 Japanese bombers flying in from an airplane carrier somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. At least one battleship, the USS Oklahoma, and one destroyer were sunk and severe damage done to several other naval ships, as well as to Hickum Field, one of the air bases on the Hawaiian Islands. At least 1,500 were killed and at least 3,000 injured in the air raid. At the same time, the Japanese struck the Hawaiian Islands, they struck at the Philippines, and other United States and British bases in the Pacific.
Later in the day (Sunday) Japan formally declared war on the United States.
Germany and Italy followed Japan in declaring war on the United States Wednesday afternoon, so now we have Japan, Germany and Italy along with a few lesser countries on the Axis side and the British Empire, the United States and Russia along with most of the South American countries on the Allied side. Netherlands will also be an important ally with her important possessions in the South Pacific.”
~ EDITED FROM THE DEC. 11, 1941 MEEKER HERALD REPORT
