| Includes four programs, totalling over 3-1/2 hours, each offering up footage and insights into the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941.
"America's Darkest Day". It was 7:55 a.m. local time. On December 7, 1941, while negotiations took place between Tokyo and Washington, Japanese planes attacked the U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor. Nineteen of the Navy's vessels, including eight battleships, were sunk or damaged. 188 U.S. planes were destroyed. Military casualties: 1109 wounded, 2280 killed. 68 civilians also died. Hours later, America declared war on Japan...and the world would never be the same.
There were many charges of negligence against those responsible for Pearl Harbor's defense. A special commission appointed by President Roosevelt harshly accused the Army and Navy commanders at Pearl Harbor, claiming that officers at the base were derelict in their duties. But were they?
"America's Darkest Day" examines these questions about why the American forces at Pearl Harbor were caught so off-guard. Look behind the scenes in Washington, where some claim that Roosevelt could have been given knowledge of the attack the night before the first strike. Was Roosevelt unaware of the impending attack, or did he need a defining moment to get America around the Neutrality Act--a defining moment that would force America to help its allies already at war? "America's Darkest Day" also features actual footage shot on Japanese ships, and includes hour by hour and minute by minute accounts of the events leading up to that fatal hour.
"December 7, 1941". This John Ford directed classic is one of the most well-known films on the infamous attack. A combination of re-creation and actual footage, "December 7, 1941" won the Academy Award for "Best Short Subject" in 1943.
"Kill That Zero!". Discover what it was like to fly a carrier-based F6F Hellcat against the Japanese Zero in WWII. Includes actual cockpit dogfight footage, as well as rare Japanese military archival film of the Zero under construction and Japanese aviators in training. See carrier crews struggle with raging fires created by savage Kamikaze pilots and watch the sinking of the Lexington.
"Kamikaze". This 1961 black and white documentary provides additional insight into Japanese preparations for the Pearl Harbor attack, including interesting footage from the Japanese home front. Also included is additional evidence that enemy planes were sighted and messages were decoded in plenty of time to give advance warning before the attack.
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