FUN WITH MAPS – ISSUE 2021-231 DAILY FEATURE:

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (December 7, 2021) – In Issue 2021-231 of Steve Kovacs Fun with Maps, we pause to remember  the most infamous day in American history.

USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor – Oahu, HI (Personal File Chuck Gibson)

A Day IN INFAMY

“A date which will live in infamy.”  So declared President Roosevelt regarding December 7, 1941.  Yes, 80 years has passed.

Why did Japan attack, on that day, the naval base at Pearl Harbor, along with American military bases in Guam, Wake Islands and the Philippines?

Most believe it was a preemptive strike to cripple the US Navy in the Pacific allowing then Japan to capture territories in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, which were then mostly held by various European nations, without much resistance. 

But it backfired.  The attack on Pearl Harbor catapulted the previously neutral America into World War II.  And we all know how that turned out.

The Hawaiian Government issued this map of Oahu in 1881, 18 years prior to US Navy presence at Pearl Harbor, near Honolulu.

Oahu, Hawaii 1881 (Credit Steve Kovacs)

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Antique Maps & Fun Facts here on Loveland Beacon.