Pearl Harbor: Difference between revisions

{{RefimproveMore citations needed|date=March 2012}}

Pearl Harbor was originally an extensive shallow [[embayment]] called ''Wai Momi'' (meaning, “Waters of Pearl”)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/valr/historyculture/places.htm|title=Places - The History of Pearl Harbor|publisher=National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior|accessdate=December 22, 2014}}</ref> or ''Pu{{okina}}uloa'' (meaning, “long hill”) by the [[Hawaiian people|Hawaiians]]. Pu{{okina}}uloa was regarded as the home of the shark goddess, Ka{{okina}}ahupahau, and her brother (or son), Kahi{{okina}}uka, in Hawaiian legends. According to tradition, [[Keaunui]], the head of the powerful Ewa chiefs, is credited with cutting a navigable channel near the present Pu{{okina}}uloa saltworks, by which he made the estuary, known as "Pearl River," accessible to navigation. Making due allowance for legendary amplification, the estuary already had an outlet for its waters where the present gap is; but Keaunui is typically given the credit for widening and deepening it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/36742/cold-spots-pearl-harbor|title=Cold Spots - Pearl Harbor - Dread Central|work=Dread Central}}</ref>

{{Main article|Naval Station Pearl Harbor}}

Following the overthrow of the [[Hawaiian Kingdom]], the [[United States Navy]] established a base on the island in 1899. On December 7, 1941, the base was [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|attacked]] by the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] airplanes and midget submarines, causing the American entry into [[World War II]]. One of the main reasons that Pearl Harbor happened was because the United States had major communication breakdowns among several branches of the U.S. armed services and departments of the U.S. government. This led to the surprise Japanese attack at the Hawaiian air base.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Burtness|first1=Paul|last2=Warren|first2=Ober|title=Communication Lapses Leading to the Pearl Harbor Disaster|date=2013|volume=75|issue=4|page=20}}</ref> There was no meaningful plan for the air defense of Hawaii, for American commanders had no understanding of the capabilities and proper employment of air power. As it was, had the Pacific Fleet acted on the war warnings it undoubtedly would have sortied and been at sea on December 7, where the major ships would have been sunk in deep water, making salvage impossible.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Smith|first1=Dale|title=Pearl Harbor: A lesson in air power|journal=Air Power History|date=1997|volume=44|issue=1|pages=46–53}}</ref>

Over the years, Pearl Harbor remained a main base for the [[US Pacific Fleet]] after World War II along with [[Naval Base San Diego]]. In 2010, the Navy and the Air Force merged their two nearby bases; Pearl Harbor joined with [[Hickam Field|Hickam Air Force Base]] to create [[Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam]].