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On December 7, 1941, the USS Arizona was moored inboard of the repair ship Vestal when the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor. “The massive explosion that followed,” according to the Naval History and Heritage Command, “has never been fully explained, since the bomb apparently did not pierce Arizona's armored deck, which protected her magazines.” Over 1100 of her crew were killed, and the battleship was considered a total loss, settling at the bottom of the harbor. Sailors of the USS Tennessee can be seen at left, directing fire hoses on the oil slicked water to force flames away from their ship. The startling photo of the USS Arizona engulfed in flame swiftly became a rallying cry for the nation to “Remember Pearl Harbor.” One day after the attack the United States was at war. (Naval History and Heritage Command)
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