Remembering December 7th

World War I - Declared December 7, 1917

Congress passed a joint resolution declaring war which President Wilson signed on April 6, 1917. However, Wilson delayed requesting a war declaration against AustriaHungary until December 4, 1917.  Congress quickly passed a joint resolution declaring war which the President signed on December 7, 1917 

At 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time, a Japanese dive bomber bearing the red symbol of the Rising Sun of Japan on its wings appears out of the clouds above the island of Oahu. A swarm of 360 Japanese warplanes followed, descending on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in a ferocious assault. The surprise attack struck a critical blow against the U.S. Pacific fleet and drew the United States irrevocably into World War II.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt requested a declaration of war against Japan on December 8, 1941, because of direct military attacks by that nation against U.S. territory, military personnel and citizens in Hawaii and other outposts in the Pacific area.