December 7, 1941 is truly a date that will be remembered. The attack on Pearl Harbor caused so much trauma and damage to the United States Army, Navy, and even the country itself. This tragic event pushed America off the stand and straight into World War II. Did you know that plans for the surprise attack on the United States began as early as January 1941? Did you know that Japan also specifically chose to attack on Sunday because it believed the Americans would be less vigilant? In December 1941, the Japanese Army consisted of 2,400,000 trained ground soldiers and an air force of 7,500 aircraft. The United States, however, was forced to produce much of the war equipment for Europe. Thus, the United States had only 1,500,000 ground troops, 1,157 fighter aircraft, and 347 warships. Only 500,000 ground troops were combat ready. The US Pacific Fleet was quite large and Japan believed it posed a threat. A surprise air attack would be just what Japan needed to annihilate the fleet. On October 16, 1941, Hawaii received a message from the Navy: Japan might attack. Disagreeing with the warning, Washington's Army staff told Hawaii to ignore it. No one believed that Japan was or could be about to attack. Washington assumed that Japan had no maritime aircraft capable of competing with the Army's B-24 bombers. Furthermore, they believed that Japan had spread its military too far into other countries, leaving insufficient forces for a large-scale attack in the Pacific. Even the night before the attack, the Honolulu press expressed America's belief that Japan was impotent as a threat. Furthermore, none of the American authorities believed that Pearl Harbor was in danger. No one saw the need for... half the paper... and down, impossible to recover. Oil still leaks from the USS Arizona today. A planned trip to the mainland later in the month required the Arizona to be filled out in preparation. The day before the attack, nearly 1.5 million liters of fuel were loaded into the ship's tanks. Much of the fuel fueled the explosion and fire on the ship the next day. But over the course of more than 70 years, Arizona continues to pour about 9 gallons of oil a day into the port. Words cannot describe the terrible loss and pain this day has caused. Looking back, it seems easy to point to times when the attack could have been prevented or when the United States could have been better prepared. Instead, we look back to remember those lost and to ensure that day is not repeated. Roosevelt's words are eternally linked to our memory of this day. “A date that will live in infamy.”