I'll take a stab at this:
The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service launched a surprise attack on the United States, Pearl Harbor, on December 7th, 1941. As of up until that moment, the United States had refused to get involved in the affairs that were already going on with Japan and China any further, but the Japanese launched an attack on pearl harbor in hopes of keeping the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with their military plans and actions against the United Kingdoms, the Netherlands, and the U.S.A.
The attack was a success, as all eight of the US Navy ships were damaged, and four even sunk. The attack came as a complete shock to the U.S.A., though once that ended, the president quickly decided it was time to go to war. "<span>The Japanese also sank or damaged three </span>cruisers<span>, three </span>destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship,[nb 5]<span> and one </span>minelayer<span>. One hundred eighty-eight U.S. aircraft were destroyed; 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were wounded."</span>
