4 1 I wince as a nurse cleans the burns on my arm I’m on board the hospital ship Solace with about 100 other wounded marines and sailors The ship has also picked up many dead bodies I’m a U S marine stationed at the Pearl Harbor base off the coast of Oahu Hawaii It is Sunday December 7 1941 and today my country was attacked Ronald Carter U S Marine
5 The morning started like any other Sunday I got out of bed aboard the USS Arizona which was docked on the east side of Ford Island I had been training on the ship since February 1941 The USS Arizona was part of the United States Pacific Fleet an impressive group of great battleships This fleet is the country’s main military force in the Pacific Ocean Other ships were docked with us on Ford Island including the USS Nevada to the east and the USS West Virginia and USS Tennessee to the west This grouping of docked ships was called Battleship Row There were a few other battleships on the west side of Ford Island too including the USS Utah and the USS Raleigh Europe is at war and some areas of Asia have also been affected by the conflict China in particular has been facing danger as Japan tries to conquer more of China’s land On September 27 1940 Japan joined in the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy The pact linked these countries together as the Axis Powers
6 The Axis Powers are fighting against the Allies mainly Great Britain and France attempting to gain more land and resources Great Britain is a major ally to the United States and had been asking for help But most people in the United States wanted to stay out of the war In 1940 Japan Germany and Italy formed the Axis Powers and fought allies of the United States but the United States still stayed out of the war at that time
7 Before today my fellow trainees and I thought we were pretty safe at Pearl Harbor The U S military knew that an attack on this base would have to come from Japan the nearest physical enemy to Hawaii But they did not think Japan had enough resources to pull off an extensive attack It was believed that Japanese military forces were already stretched too thin as they tried to expand their rule in East Asia Plus we thought the Japanese had simple planes and unskilled pilots After what I’ve seen today I know that’s not true The attack started when I was in the dining hall for breakfast Since it was Sunday there were fewer men on the ship A lot of the crew had weekend passes and were on the main island with their families As I finished my breakfast I was Read Private Carter’s explanation of the situation in Europe and Asia What is the main point Give two reasons why you think this Think about It
