By Daniel Garas, Naval History and Heritage Command Emboldened by a string of victories across the Pacific in the early months of World War II, the Japanese empire launched a bold and unorthodox attack that is seldom remembered today. Though a tactical victory, the December 7 attack on Pearl Harbor …

Editor’s note: Pearl Harbor Day is a day of remembrance during which we often hear from historians, veterans and Navy leadership about the importance of honoring our past and how this day of infamy inspires our future. But what do today’s Sailors, the young women and men wearing the cloth of the nation, ready to …

By Moneé Cottman, Public Affairs Specialist, National Museum of the United States Navy      More than 25 years ago, historian Reverend Todd Hammond decided to make a model display of the center of Pearl Harbor based in part on photos taken prior to the attack. The model has only been seen …

By LT.j.g. Tyler Barker, Communications Officer, Precommissioning Unit John Finn (DDG 113) More than seventy-five years ago, the tranquil wind-swept and sun-soaked skies over the then-U.S. territory of Hawai’i were pierced by the whine of 353 Japanese aircraft, launched in a surprise attack from four Japanese aircraft carriers on the …

By Robert J. Cressman, historian, Naval History and Heritage Command What does ‘toughness’ mean to a U.S. Navy Sailor? Navy toughness means you take a hit and keep going, tapping all sources of strength and resilience. This is one such story; how, a young ensign embodied the fighting spirit of …

By Devon Hubbard Sorlie, Naval History and Heritage Command, Communication and Outreach Division (Editors Note: This is the final part of a three part series blog featuring John Finn and other Medal of Honor recipients following the Dec. 7, 1941 attacks on Pearl Harbor. Click here to read Part I and Part …

By Devon Hubbard Sorlie, Naval History and Heritage Command, Communication and Outreach Division (Editors Note: This is Part II of a three part series blog featuring John Finn and brief information of other Medal of Honor recipients following the Dec. 7, 1941 attacks on Pearl Harbor. Click here to read Part …

By Devon Hubbard Sorlie, Naval History and Heritage Command, Communication and Outreach Division (Editors Note: This is Part I of a three part series blog featuring John Finn and brief information of other Medal of Honor recipients following the Dec. 7, 1941 attacks on Pearl Harbor.) Dec. 7, 1941 started like …

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Eric Lockwood Naval History and Heritage Command, Communication and Outreach Division As more than three-quarters of a century have passed since the attack on Pearl Harbor, a dwindling number of people are alive who remember the shock, horror and heroism that turned a Sunday morning …

  From Naval History and Heritage Command, Communication and Outreach Division   The road to war between Japan and the United States began in the 1930s when differences over China drove the two nations apart. In 1931 Japan conquered Manchuria, which until then had been part of China. In 1937 …