ABSTRACT
Japanese aircraft carriers supported by heavy cruisers had moved secretly and inconspicuously across about 2,000 miles of ocean to assemble in a wedgelike formation for the assault on Hawaii. The attack was an outgrowth of planning that had been in process for several years. The millions of Americans who were listening to their radios were shocked by the news that interrupted their regular programs. Suddenly and without warning, military forces from Japan had launched an aerial attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. The lack of military preparation now contributed to a collective sense of vulnerability. The lack of preparedness at Pearl Harbor was a single episode in the lack of preparedness for a war that many saw as inevitable but hoped would never occur. The internment camps were located in desolate areas far removed from the West Coast.
