s did what they could to defend the fleet. (13)Soon it was all over. All but a small number of Japanese planes had made it back to their carrier fleet. Naguam, his ships and his victorious pilots headed back to the Pacific Ocean, preparing to launch a similar attack against the Philippine islands and their famous commander, Douglas MacArthur. During their course, the Japanese left the smoldering ruins of the once proud American Pacific Fleet (15).For a year and a half the debate that raged the length was over going to war or staying out. It was bitterly fought over the radio, in public forums, in private homes, by propagandists, by politicians and by the plain people. However, unknown by the people their words were futile. Long before December 7, the United States was in fact at war. According to George Morgenstern’s book “Pearl Harbor: The Story of the Secret War”, that decision had bee put into execution without anybody asking a vote from Congress or bothering to let the people in on the secret. (Morgenstern 3).The Japanese particularly attacked Pearl Harbor for both catalyst reasons and strategic reasons. Although the Japanese were quite confident of themselves, they still did worry about the threat of intervention. The United States were a huge threat to Japan. They also were perceived a threat to Japanese domination over China (Kaplan 289). However, the main reason for the attack on Pearl Harbor was “the powerful United States Fleet” (Shapiro 9). Pearl harbor nestles against Diamond Head, the extinct volcanic crater that rises majestically over a scene of tropical beauty. In 1941, Pearl Harbor was the most important American naval base in the Pacific Ocean. It lay two thousand miles southwest of the West Coast of the United States and protected the security of mainland America (Bachrach 13).In December 1941, Pearl Harbor was home to a large part of America’s aircraft carrier fleet...
