32 historical photos of the attack on Pearl Harbor
To commemorate the 78th anniversary, here's a look back at a collection of Associated Press photos of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
Warning: Some photos contain graphic content.
WWII PEARL HARBOR
Three U.S. battleships are hit from the air during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Japan's bombing of U.S. military bases at Pearl Harbor brings the U.S. into World War II. From left are: USS West Virginia, severely damaged; USS Tennessee, damaged; and USS Arizona, sunk. (AP Photo)
WWII USS CRUISER PEARL HARBOR
An undamaged light cruiser steams out past the burning USS Arizona and takes to sea with the rest of the fleet during the Japanese aerial attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941 during World War II. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy)
Roosevelt
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the declaration of war following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, at the White House in Washington, D.C., Dec. 8, 1941 at 3:08 p.m. EST. Watching from left to right are, Rep. Sol Bloom, D-N.Y.; Rep. Luther Johnson, D-Texas; Rep. Charles A. Eaton, R-N.J.; Rep. Joseph Martin, R-Mass.; Vice President Henry A. Wallace; House Speaker Sam Rayburn, D-Texas; Rep. John McCormack, D-Mass.; Sen. Charles L. McNary, R-Ore.; Sen. Alben W. Barkley, D-Ky.; Sen. Carter Glass, D-Va.; and Sen. Tom Connally, D-Texas. (AP Photo)
JAPANESE ATTACK PEARL HARBOR
American ships burn during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1942. (AP Photo)
PEARL HARBOR
A small boat rescues a USS West Virginia crew member from the water after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941 during World War II. Two men can be seen on the superstructure, upper center. The mast of the USS Tennessee is beyond the burning West Virginia. (AP Photo)
WWII ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR
The battleship USS West Virginia is seen afire after the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. (AP Photo)
WWII PEARL HARBOR ATTACK
Black smoke rises from the burning wrecks of several U.S. Navy battleships after they had been bombed during the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. (AP Photo)
WWII EXPLOSION USS SHAW
The destroyer USS Shaw explodes after being hit by bombs during the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. (AP Photo)
WWII Attack on Pearl Harbor
In this image provided by the U.S. Navy, sailors stand among wrecked airplanes at Ford Island Naval Air Station as they watch the explosion of the USS Shaw in the background, during the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy)
WWII ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR
This photograph, from a Japanese film later captured by American forces, is taken aboard the Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku, just as a Nakajima "Kate" B-5N bomber is launching off deck for the second wave of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. (AP Photo)
WWII PEARL HARBOR SCHOOL BOMBING
Rescue workers help evacuate the Lunalilo High School in Honolulu after the roof of the main building was hit by a bomb during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941. (AP Photo)
PEARL HARBOR ATTACK 1941
A Japanese dive bomber goes into its last dive as it heads toward the ground in flames after it was hit by Naval anti-aircraft fire during surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. (AP Photo)
PEARL HARBOR 1941
An American Seaman looks at the charred corpse of a Japanese flier brought up from the bottom of Pearl Harbor where he crashed with his burning plane during the Japanese attack on Dec. 7, 1941 in Hawaii. (AP Photo)
Pearl Harbor Reactions 1941
Declaring Japan guilty of a dastardly unprovoked attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war, Dec. 8, 1941. Listening are Vice President Henry Wallace, left, and House Speaker Sam Rayburn. (AP Photo)
Pearl Harbor Anniversary
Rescue workers help evacuate the Lunalilo High School in Honolulu after the roof of the main building was hit by a bomb during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in this Dec. 7, 1941 file photo. (AP Photo/File)
WWII Pearl Harbor Reactions 1941
Unidentified Japanese men, taken into custody under an order issued by Pres. Franklin Roosevelt, enter the Federal Building in New York, Dec. 7, 1941, accompanied by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. (AP Photo/Matty Zimmerman)
WWII Pearl Harbor Reactions 1941
"Japanese cabinet meets in emergency session," is the bulletin shown in Times Square's news zipper in lights on the New York Times building, New York, Dec. 7, 1941. (AP Photo/Robert Kradin)
WWII Pearl Harbor Reactions 1941
Unidentified attaches of the Japanese consulate began burning papers, ledgers and other records shortly after Japan went to war against the U.S., Dec. 7, 1941, in New Orleans. Police later stopped the fire after most of the papers had been destroyed. (AP Photo/Horace Cort)
War Against Japan
Believed to be the first bomb dropped on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in the sneak-attack on Dec. 7, 1941, this picture was found torn to pieces at Yokusuka Base by photographer's mate 2/C Martin J. Shemanski of Plymouth, Pa. One Japanese plane is shown pulling out of a dive near bomb eruption (center) and another the air at upper right. (AP Photo)
Pearl Harbor Attack
The wreckage of a drug store smolders at Waikiki after attack by Japanese planes, Dec. 7 1941. (AP Photo)
Pearl Harbor Attack
A Japanese plane, braving American anti-aircraft fire, proceeds toward “battleship row,” Pearl Harbor, after other bombers had hit USS. Arizona, from which smoke billows, Dec. 7, 1941. (AP Photo)
WWII Pearl Harbor Attack
Officers' wives, investigating explosion and seeing smoke pall in distance on Dec. 7, 1941, heard neighbor Mary Naiden, then an Army hostess who took this picture, exclaim "There are red circles on those planes overhead. They are Japanese!" Realizing war had come, the two women, stunned, start toward quarters. (AP Photo/Mary Naiden)
Battleship Arizona
Battle ship Arizona at pearl Harbor, December 1941. The photo was taken shortley after the battleship was bombed and destroyed during the surprise attack by Japanese forces, December 7, 1941. The vessel at right is a rescue tug. Flag still flying the ship is resting on the bottom of the ocean with decks flooded. (AP Photo)
WWII Pearl Harbor Reactions 1941
Young Japanese Americans, including several Army selectees, gather around a reporter's car in the Japanese section of San Francisco, Dec. 8, 1941. (AP Photo)
Pearl Harbor Anniversary
FILE - In this Dec. 7, 1941 file photo, people buy newspapers reporting the Japanese attack on U.S. bases in the Pacific Ocean, at Times Square in New York. (AP Photo/Robert Kradin)
PEARL HARBOR 1941
The wing of a Japanese bomber shot down on the grounds of the Naval Hospital at Honolulu, Hawaii, Dec. 7, 1941. (AP Photo)
Keeping the flag on his lap, Toshihiro Mutsuda said, “I feel the weight of the flag."