Unsung Heroes of Pearl Harbor

History Education

Filmed as a long-overdue tribute to the defenders of Pearl Harbor, this A&E Special illustrates that the infamous Imperial Japanese sneak attack was so overwhelming in its surprise and force that practically every American soldier, sailor, and Marine who rallied himself to resist it inevitably became part of a doomed and heroic last stand. The program describes how badly these unsung heroes were let down by luck, circumstance, and bureaucracy—and in so doing shines an even brighter light on their valor. Distributed by A&E Television Networks. (45 minutes)

Pearl Harbor (Remembering World War II)

History Education

How big a surprise was the Imperial Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor? Why did the United States ignore advance warning from secret Tokyo sources? Did Churchill and Roosevelt permit the attack so that America would be forced into the war? This program searches for answers. Distributed by A&E Television Networks. (45 minutes)

Part 1: A Necessary War (December 1941-December 1942) (The War: A Ken Burns Film)

PBS

After a haunting overview of the Second World War in episode 1, A Necessary War, Ken Burns takes us to back to the moment it all began. The inhabitants of four American towns recall life in their communities on the eve of the conflict. For them others finally beginning to recover from the Great Depression, the events overseas seem impossibly far away. But suddenly, their tranquil lives are shattered by the shock of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and an utterly unprepared America is thrust into the greatest cataclysm in history. At the end of America’s first year of war, more than 35,000 U.S. troops have been killed. Part of series The War: A Ken Burns Film. Distributed by PBS Distribution.

Day of Infamy

MVD Entertainment Group

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed the U.S. naval base of Pearl Harbor, situated on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. More than 60 years after the event, eyewitnesses and experts have come together to provide eyewitness accounts of the bombing and the events following on from this devastating attack.

Part 6: The Common Cause (1939-1944) (The Roosevelts: An Intimate History - A Film by Ken Burns)

Ken Burns

FDR shatters the third-term tradition, struggles to prepare a reluctant country to enter World War II and, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, helps set the course toward Allied victory. Meanwhile, Eleanor struggles to keep New Deal reforms alive in wartime and travels the Pacific to comfort wounded servicemen. Diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 1943 and with the war still raging, FDR resolves to conceal his condition and run for a fourth term.

Episode 4: The World Ablaze

France Television Distribution

Following the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt declares war on Japan. The war becomes global. Despite their determined resistance, the Allied forces are unable to slow the furious progress of the Japanese army through South-East Asia. Even India and Australia are at risk. The Japanese defeat at Midway, followed by the American landing at Guadacanal, are the first signs of hope, but also the beginning of long and bloody battles in the “green hell” of the jungle. Meanwhile, the resistance starts to organize itself in Europe and North Africa. Their attacks increase and the British bombers start to spread terror across Germany. Yet nothing seems to be able to stop Hitler’s troops. Rommel is at the border of Egypt and the Swastika flies over the city of Stalingrad. The “Final Solution” is instigated to exterminate the Jews.

Valor in the Pacific (Pearl Harbor)

Cerebellum Corporation

Valor in the Pacificrecounts the events of December 7, 1941, with a dramatic immediacy and scrupulous attention to detail. Early on that Sunday morning, a Japanese fleet closed in on the Hawaiian Islands. Their bold air attack would successfully destroy a significant portion of the United States Pacific Fleet and draw America into World War II.

Pearl Harbor (Battleline)

A&E

Americans will never forget the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands on December 7, 1941. But what was going through the minds of the Japanese pilots as they flew their ominous mission? This classic program incorporates authentic WWII archival film footage and accounts from soldiers on both sides of the battleline in the Pacific. Part of the series Battleline. Distributed by A&E Television Networks. (23 minutes)

The Big Picture: Hawaiian Defense

Nat'l Archives & Records Administration

This episode of the U.S. Army’s The Big Picture television series takes viewers to the tropical islands of Hawaii, whose strategic geographical location puts a great deal of stress on the military activities within the isles. This video from the National Archives and Records Administration examines the summer training of the National Guard in Hawaii. (30 minutes)

FedFlix: The Drawing of the Battle Lines, December 1941–April 1942—The Air Force Story

Fedflix

This film depicts efforts to establish a Pacific Front from December 1941 to April 1942, including Roosevelt declaring war after Pearl Harbor; losing Clark Field to Japan; Gen. Chennault’s “Flying Tigers” defending Kunming Air Base; and Col. Doolittle bombing Tokyo in the first air attack against Japan. Note: this historical recording may contain variations in audio and visual quality based on the variations of the original source material. (17 minutes)

FedFlix: Flames on the Horizon—Army in Action, Episode 3

Fedflix

World events 1939–1941: war in China, early phases of World War II in Europe; fall of France; U.S. mobilization; and Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. (29 minutes)

Franklin D. Roosevelt Delivers His "Day of Infamy" Speech ca. 1941

British Pathe

President Franklin D. Roosevelt had pledged that the United States would not become involved in World War II. However, on December 7, 1941, Japan bombed the Pearl Harbor naval base in the U.S. territory of Hawaii. After a direct attack on American soil, Roosevelt felt he had no choice but to ask Congress to declare war. In a speech delivered before a cheering Congress on December 8, Roosevelt deplored the bombing of Pearl Harbor as "date which will live in infamy".

Allied Forces and Japanese Forces Fight at the Battle of the Coral Sea ca. 1942

The WPA Film Library

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, Japan became more aggressive throughout the South Pacific. In an attempt to invade Australia, the Japanese navy entered the Coral Sea in early 1942. The Allies, however, won a decisive victory over the Japanese in the Coral Sea, damaging two of Japan's most important aircraft carriers. Naval air battles were characteristic of the Pacific theater of World War II, and the loss of the two carriers was enough to halt Japan's southward advance. Copyright The WPA Film Library.

Pearl Harbor: Legacy of Attack

National Geographic

In the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, thousands of American servicemen were left dead, nearly two dozen U.S. warships were sunk, and hundreds of airplanes were damaged or destroyed. Had events been different, could America have avoided that attack, or could Japan have won the war with a single stroke? In this classic program, Robert Ballard—discoverer of the sunken Titanic—conducts an underwater investigation, filming the interior of the battleship USSArizona and seeking a missing Japanese mini-sub on the ocean floor; World War II historian Stephen Ambrose provides historical insight; and three survivors of the attack give harrowing eyewitness accounts of the events of December 7, 1941, “a date which will live in infamy.” A National Geographic Production.

100 Years, 100 Events: 1940's

Film Ideas

Every decade has its share of important events. But in this completely engrossing series we bring you only the best, the most far-reaching, the most worldly, and the most consequential. You will see a unique clarity of history through the "most privy" in insider accounts and expert witnesses. Events include: Hitler In Paris, The Attack On Pearl Harbor, The Attack On Russia, Auschwitz, The Unbelievable Horror: A Boy From Warsaw, Stalingrad, D-Day, The Bomb At Hiroshima, The Capitulation, The Nuremberg Trials, The Fight For Jerusalem, Aid Shipments For Berlin, and The Founding Of The East And West German States.

The Other Tragedy at Pearl Harbor

History Education

In this A&E Special, four World War II veterans return to Pearl Harbor, where, in 1944, they narrowly survived a chain of mysterious explosions that wreaked havoc among the tightly berthed ships being loaded for the invasion of Saipan. Distributed by A&E Television Networks. (43 minutes)

Tora, Tora, Tora: The Real Story of Pearl Harbor

A&E

This A&E Special examines the planning and execution of Imperial Japan’s sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, the incident that propelled the United States into World War II.

1941 (Year by Year: 1929-1967)

History Education

1941 bought the bombing of Pearl Harbor and America’s entrance into World War II. This episode of Year by Year also examines baseball during the war. Distributed by A&E Television Networks. (45 minutes)

America at War

Reuters Television

From Pearl Harbor to the Persian Gulf-the American effort during World War II in the Pacific and European theaters, followed by Korea, the Bay of Pigs, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, and Operation Desert Storm-this program covers 50 years of almost continuous action by America's military. (35 minutes)

Prelinger Archives: Avenge December 7 (Pearl Harbor)

Prelinger Archives

War bond sales promo stridently advocating vengeance against Japan for bombing of Pearl Harbor. (2 minutes)

This Day In History: December 7, 1941 – Pearl Harbor Attack

The WPA Film Library

The Japanese attack Pearl Harbor.

FedFlix: World War II, Pacific—Evolution of Modern Warfare, Lesson 11

Fedflix

This program from the Combat Studies Institute considers broad U.S. and Japanese strategy in the Pacific. Panelists consider the reasons for America's "Europe First" strategy, and the reasons it moved away from that strategy to go on offense in the Pacific. They consider why deterrence of Japan failed, and the reasons Japan sought strategic depth against America with vast Pacific conquests, and the way they overstretched themselves. It considers the choice between allowing MacArthur to return to the Philippines and pushing through the Central Pacific, looking at the military and political calculations involved from many perspectives. It shows how the Japanese still hoped to wear down the U.S. in 1945, and indications it might have done so had it not been for the nuclear bomb. (58 minutes)

FedFlix: The Air War Starts, 1939–1941—The Air Force Story

Fedflix

When Germany attacks Poland, President Roosevelt proclaims a national emergency and aircraft production steps up. Britain withstands the Luftwaffe’s attacks as the U.S. trades Britain destroyers for air and naval base rights at key positions around the world. Japan attacks Pearl Harbor. (17 minutes)

FedFlix: The Spreading Holocaust—Army in Action, Episode 4

Fedflix

This classic episode of the U.S. Army’s The Big Picture television series covers events in 1941 and 1942, from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor to the U.S. amphibious landing in North Africa. Footage from the National Archives and Records Administration includes early Pacific Theater battles, America’s military mobilization, a speech by President Roosevelt on increasing arms production, and troop deployment to Europe. Note: this historical recording may contain variations in audio and visual quality based on the variations of the original source material. (29 minutes)

Sophie and the Rising Sun

BayView Entertainment LLC.

Set in the autumn of 1941 in Salty Creek, a fishing village in South Carolina, the film tells the dramatic story of interracial lovers swept up in the tides of history. As World War II rages in Europe, a wounded Asian stranger, Mr. Ohta, appears in the town under mysterious circumstances. Sophie, a native of Salty Creek, quickly becomes transfixed by Mr. Ohta, and a friendship born of their mutual love of art blossoms into a delicate and forbidden courtship. As their secret relationship evolves, the war escalates tragically. When Pearl Harbor is bombed, a surge of misguided patriotism, bigotry and violence sweeps through the town, threatening Mr. Ohta’s life. A trio of women, each with her own secrets—Sophie, along with the town matriarch and her housekeeper—rejects law and propriety, risking their lives with their actions.

Remembering the Pearl Harbor Attack

ABC News

Remembering the Pearl Harbor Attack It was over in less than two hours and more than 2,000 Americans lost their lives on Dec. 7, 1941.

Road to War

MVD Entertainment Group

Japan's economic troubles during the 1920s allowed its military to gain almost complete control over the government, leading to its eventual joining with the Axis powers in 1940. More than 60 years later, eyewitnesses and experts came together to give accounts of events leading up to the devastating attack at Pearl Harbor. Includes interviews woven into new archive accounts of what really happened.