12/8/1941- TAMPA NEWSPAPER - WW II - JAPANESE ATTACK PEARL HARBOR - COMPLETE

Description

Item for sale is the original and complete ( 18 page,) December 8th, 1941, edition of the Tampa Daily Times, a Florida daily newspaper. The lead story of the day was of the unprovoked attack by the Japanese Navy on American Naval and Air installations at Pearl Harbor Hawaii and Hickam Field. The attack which occurred on a Sunday just before 8 a.m. (Hawaiian time,) on December 7th, would catch the U.S. Navy and Army Air Corps asleep at the switch; and as a result Japan's highly coordinated air attack would obtain maximum effect. 17 Naval Ships would flounder, including the Battleship, USS Arizona, which would go down with 1,177 of her crew, never to rise again. Also hard hit would be the Battleship USS Oklahoma; five torpedo's would rip into her, killing 429 men. The raid would result in over 2,000 American deaths.
But, for the grace of God, America's  mighty Aircraft Carriers were absent from the destructive onslaught and the attack occurred on a Sunday when many men were not aboard the ships. The attack although brutal,  would fail to cripple the Pacific Fleet.
President Roosevelt would be livid as would most Americans. The Senate and the Congress would later convene and the President would announce that a state of war existed between the Empire of Japan and America.
Britain, would also declare war on Japan, as many of her territories were attacked up and down the pacific Rim. Britain had been holding Hitler at bay in the European theatre in a slow dance with death; both Germany and Italy would simultaneously declare war against the United States. Many other American interest would be assailed in the Pacific; the Japanese offensive would be all encompassing and prolific in scope. There was a glimmer of hope however, it was reported that the battleship, The USS Oklahoma, could be raised and repaired, and that forces on the Philippine Islands, and at Midway and at Wake were heroically fighting on. Christmas was a mere  17 days away and the specter of American treasure going off to war again, only a mere 20 years after the cessation of the Great War, to end all wars, would become a nightmarish reality. Hyper inflation had resulted in that war's aftermath and that one fact would greatly contribute to the second world war. Much blood was yet to be spilled before both the European and Pacific conflicts would eventually come to an end. This is a great historic item, suitable for framing. It is both original and complete, at 20 pages. It features a great bold headline that makes it definitely displayable, it has some stains on the front cover, but it doesn't really detract from its value. In addition the paper has not deteriorated as many from this era have, and only adds to its value.