DECEMBER 7, 1941: This Day in Pittsburgh Everyone alive on this day would remember what they were doing when hearing the news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Just as future generations would remember where they were on November 22, 1963, and September 11, 2001. The Japanese Attack On this Sunday morning, Japanese bombers under the command of Mitsuo Fuchida were approaching Hawaii’s Hickam Field, a few miles from Pearl Harbor and heading directly for “Battleship Row”. At 0753 hours, in the skies over Hawaii (1:23PM Pittsburgh) Fuchida sang out, “Tora! Tora! Tora!” - Code words which told the entire Japanese Navy that they caught the United States Pacific Fleet unaware. At 1:47PM that afternoon Navy Secretary Frank Knox calls and informs President Roosevelt of the ongoing attack. At 2:05PM President Roosevelt calls Secretary of State Cordell Hull and tells him not to say anything about Pearl Harbor when he receives the Japanese envoys, Nomura and Kurusu, who were to ...
Birmingham Family History