MCQs on Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (December 7)
1. What event does Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day commemorate?
A) The end of World War II
B) The attack on Pearl Harbor
C) The signing of the Treaty of Versailles
D) The beginning of the Korean War
Answer: B) The attack on Pearl Harbor
2. On which date is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day observed?
A) December 7
B) July 4
C) November 11
D) September 11
Answer: A) December 7
3. In what year did the attack on Pearl Harbor occur?
A) 1939
B) 1941
C) 1945
D) 1950
Answer: B) 1941
4. Which country launched the attack on Pearl Harbor?
A) Germany
B) Japan
C) Italy
D) The Soviet Union
Answer: B) Japan
5. What was the primary target of the Pearl Harbor attack?
A) The U.S. aircraft carriers
B) The U.S. Navy battleships
C) The U.S. Army bases
D) The U.S. airfields
Answer: B) The U.S. Navy battleships
6. Which U.S. President delivered the famous “Day of Infamy” speech?
A) Franklin D. Roosevelt
B) Harry S. Truman
C) Dwight D. Eisenhower
D) John F. Kennedy
Answer: A) Franklin D. Roosevelt
7. What was the immediate U.S. response to the attack on Pearl Harbor?
A) Negotiation with Japan
B) A declaration of war against Japan
C) Isolationism
D) Sending troops to Europe
Answer: B) A declaration of war against Japan
8. How many American battleships were sunk during the Pearl Harbor attack?
A) 2
B) 4
C) 6
D) 8
Answer: B) 4
9. Which battleship was the most heavily damaged and remains a memorial today?
A) USS Missouri
B) USS Arizona
C) USS Nevada
D) USS Oklahoma
Answer: B) USS Arizona
10. How many people were killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor?
A) Approximately 2,400
B) Approximately 1,500
C) Approximately 3,000
D) Approximately 5,000
Answer: A) Approximately 2,400
11. What was the main objective of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor?
A) To destroy U.S. aircraft carriers
B) To cripple the U.S. Pacific Fleet
C) To capture Hawaii
D) To force a peace treaty
Answer: B) To cripple the U.S. Pacific Fleet
12. Which U.S. naval base was attacked on December 7, 1941?
A) San Diego
B) Norfolk
C) Pearl Harbor
D) Guantanamo Bay
Answer: C) Pearl Harbor
13. How many aircraft were destroyed or damaged in the Pearl Harbor attack?
A) Approximately 150
B) Approximately 200
C) Approximately 350
D) Approximately 400
Answer: C) Approximately 350
14. Which military branch suffered the most casualties during the Pearl Harbor attack?
A) Army
B) Navy
C) Marine Corps
D) Air Force
Answer: B) Navy
15. What was the name of the Japanese aircraft carrier that launched the attack on Pearl Harbor?
A) Akagi
B) Kaga
C) Shokaku
D) Hiryu
Answer: A) Akagi
16. What time did the attack on Pearl Harbor begin?
A) 7:00 AM
B) 7:30 AM
C) 8:00 AM
D) 8:30 AM
Answer: B) 7:30 AM
17. What type of aircraft did the Japanese use in the attack on Pearl Harbor?
A) Fighters and bombers
B) Helicopters and transports
C) Reconnaissance planes and gliders
D) Jet fighters
Answer: A) Fighters and bombers
18. What was the name of the Japanese admiral who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor?
A) Isoroku Yamamoto
B) Chuichi Nagumo
C) Yamaguchi Yoshio
D) Takashi Saito
Answer: A) Isoroku Yamamoto
19. Which ship was able to get underway during the attack on Pearl Harbor and later fought in the Battle of Midway?
A) USS Arizona
B) USS California
C) USS Nevada
D) USS Oklahoma
Answer: C) USS Nevada
20. Which U.S. President called December 7, 1941, “a date which will live in infamy”?
A) Theodore Roosevelt
B) Franklin D. Roosevelt
C) Harry S. Truman
D) Dwight D. Eisenhower
Answer: B) Franklin D. Roosevelt
21. What was the primary goal of the Japanese strategy at Pearl Harbor?
A) To secure oil resources
B) To destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet and prevent it from interfering with Japanese military operations
C) To capture Hawaii
D) To provoke the U.S. into war with Germany
Answer: B) To destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet and prevent it from interfering with Japanese military operations
22. What was the name of the Japanese aircraft that attacked Pearl Harbor?
A) Zero
B) Wildcat
C) Mustang
D) Spitfire
Answer: A) Zero
23. Which U.S. military base was also attacked on December 7, 1941, besides Pearl Harbor?
A) Midway Atoll
B) Wake Island
C) Guam
D) Johnston Atoll
Answer: B) Wake Island
24. What was the name of the first U.S. aircraft carrier that was hit during the Pearl Harbor attack?
A) USS Enterprise
B) USS Hornet
C) USS Lexington
D) USS Saratoga
Answer: A) USS Enterprise
25. How many U.S. submarines were damaged or sunk during the Pearl Harbor attack?
A) None
B) 1
C) 2
D) 3
Answer: A) None
26. Which U.S. general was in charge of the Army forces at Pearl Harbor during the attack?
A) Douglas MacArthur
B) Walter Short
C) George Marshall
D) Ernest King
Answer: B) Walter Short
27. What was the Japanese intention behind the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor?
A) To intimidate the U.S. into surrendering
B) To negotiate a peace treaty
C) To eliminate U.S. military presence in the Pacific
D) To acquire Hawaiian territory
Answer: C) To eliminate U.S. military presence in the Pacific
28. Which U.S. battleship was raised and later saw action in World War II after being damaged at Pearl Harbor?
A) USS Maryland
B) USS Tennessee
C) USS West Virginia
D) USS Nevada
Answer: C) USS West Virginia
29. How many Japanese aircraft were involved in the attack on Pearl Harbor?
A) Approximately 100
B) Approximately 200
C) Approximately 300
D) Approximately 400
Answer: B) Approximately 200
30. Which U.S. vessel was used as a floating hospital immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor?
A) USS Solace
B) USS Mercy
C) USS Comfort
D) USS Repose
Answer: A) USS Solace
31. Which naval base was Pearl Harbor’s primary target in the attack?
A) Pearl Harbor
B) San Diego
C) Norfolk
D) Key West
Answer: A) Pearl Harbor
32. Which notable American author wrote about the Pearl Harbor attack in his book “At Dawn We Slept”?
A) James Bradley
B) Stephen Ambrose
C) Gordon W. Prange
D) William Manchester
Answer: C) Gordon W. Prange
33. Which ship was responsible for the majority of the American casualties during the Pearl Harbor attack?
A) USS Arizona
B) USS Oklahoma
C) USS California
D) USS Nevada
Answer: A) USS Arizona
34. What is the name of the memorial built over the remains of the USS Arizona?
A) The USS Arizona Memorial
B) The Pearl Harbor Memorial
C) The Pacific War Memorial
D) The Battleship Memorial
Answer: A) The USS Arizona Memorial
35. What was the name of the American aircraft that was used for reconnaissance and spotted the Japanese attack?
A) P-40 Warhawk
B) B-17 Flying Fortress
C) P-38 Lightning
D) B-25 Mitchell
Answer: B) B-17 Flying Fortress
36. Which Japanese ship provided air cover during the attack on Pearl Harbor?
A) Akagi
B) Kaga
C) Hiryu
D) Soryu
Answer: A) Akagi
37. Which U.S. President signed the declaration of war against Japan following the attack on Pearl Harbor?
A) Franklin D. Roosevelt
B) Harry S. Truman
C) Herbert Hoover
D) Calvin Coolidge
Answer: A) Franklin D. Roosevelt
38. How many days after the attack on Pearl Harbor did the U.S. formally declare war on Japan?
A) 1 day
B) 2 days
C) 3 days
D) 4 days
Answer: B) 2 days
39. What was the significance of Pearl Harbor for the U.S. military strategy in World War II?
A) It marked the beginning of the war in Europe
B) It led to the establishment of the D-Day invasion
C) It forced the U.S. to expand its military forces and engage in the Pacific War
D) It was a minor event in the war
Answer: C) It forced the U.S. to expand its military forces and engage in the Pacific War
40. Which famous naval commander stated, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant”?
A) Isoroku Yamamoto
B) Chuichi Nagumo
C) Yamamoto Mitsuo
D) Takagi Takeo
Answer: A) Isoroku Yamamoto