On December 7, 1941, a date that President Franklin D. Roosevelt claimed would “live in infamy,” the Imperial Japanese Navy conducted a surprise aerial assault on Pearl Harbor. Japan attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack by some 350 Japanese aircraft sunk or badly damaged eighteen US naval vessels, including eight battleships, destroyed or damaged 300 US aircraft, and killed 2,403 men.This unprovoked attack brought the United States into World War II, as it immediately declared war on Japan.