The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise, but America and Japan had been headed toward war for decades. No one thought that Japan would start a war with an attack on American soil. President Franklin Roosevelt called December 7, 1941, a day that will live in infamy. Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese on December 7, 1941; just 200 miles from Oahu. Hawaii and Japan are about 4,000 miles apart. This attack lasted a very short two hours. The bombing killed more than 2,300 Americans and sank or ran aground 12 ships and destroyed 9. Additionally, 160 aircraft were destroyed and another 150 were damaged. Not only did Japan unexpectedly attack American soil, but it used two waves of aircraft that arrived at Pearl Harbor. This was a surprise air attack to attack ships, cruisers and aircraft. Plans for the surprise attack began as early as January. The Japanese specifically chose to attack on Sunday. They thought Americans would be relaxed and less vigilant. The Japanese plan to destroy the Pacific Fleet was simple and should have been foolproof. In this case, the Americans could not react. The plan was to annihilate the US Navy at Pearl Harbor Naval Base in Hawaii. Vice Admiral Chichi Nagumo sent six aircraft carriers, 24 support ships, and a group of submarines to attack to sink the fleeing American ships. Battleship Row, located on the southeastern coast of Ford Island, was the area where seven U.S. ships were secured. When Japanese commander Mitsuo Fuchida shouted “Tora! Torah! Torra!” (Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!), after flying over Pearl Harbor, was a message to the entire Japanese Navy telling them that they had taken the Americans completely by surprise. Japan's main objective was supposed... mid-paper... the success of the plan depended on conquering the perimeter of an island in the western Pacific. The Japanese left Pearl Harbor at 9:55 am. The United States, however, did not think the attack was over. In total, 18 American ships and nearly 300 aircraft were destroyed or damaged by the Japanese fleets. 2,500 men were killed and 1,000 wounded, but on the downside, 68 civilians were killed and 35 wounded. Pearl Harbor's most important land-based facilities—oil storage depots, repair shops, shipyards, and submarine docks—remained intact. The Japanese lost 65 men and one captured, but failed to cripple the Pacific Fleet. The day after the attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to declare war on Japan. This attack finally pushed America over the edge and just over two years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, America joined World War II..