First 24 Hours of War in the Pacific

The first the world knew of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, was at 8:00a.m., Hawaiian time, when the stunning message "AIR RAID ON PEARL HARBOR X THIS IS NO DRILL" was hurriedly flashed from Admiral Kimmel's headquarters at Pearl Harbor. Twenty-four hours and two minutes later, at 1:32p.m., Washington time, the Congress of the United States officially declared war on the Empire of Japan.