A Sunday Morning Ambush

At 7:48 AM on December 7, 1941, the first of two waves of Japanese aircraft screamed over Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. That opening wave numbered 183 planes, with a second wave following soon after for a total of about 353 aircraft. Most American sailors were still asleep or eating breakfast. The attack lasted two hours and was brutally effective.

The Japanese sank or damaged 19 ships, destroyed 188 aircraft, and killed 2,403 Americans. A famous line popularized by the 1970 film Tora! Tora! Tora! has Admiral Yamamoto fearing the attack had only "awaken[ed] a sleeping giant" — there is no record he actually said it, but it captured what came next exactly.

The next day, Congress declared war with only one dissenting vote. Isolationism died at Pearl Harbor.