Hundreds gasped as the Japanese planes came into view, dropping bombs from the air.
American soldiers frantically rushed to their anti-aircraft battle stations. Unfortunately it was too late; the bombs exploded. Pearl Harbor had been bombed. However, even though Pearl Harbor suffered casualties on December 7, 1941, the bombing can be looked upon as a triumph for the Americans. One explanation is that America finally woke up to all the chaos around them, and it prompted them to work with their allies, the UK, Soviet Union, and China to declare war on Japan. There is also the fact that if the Americans hadn't been bombed, they would've never bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which means that the Japanese would've never surrendered, leading to WWII continuing. Another example is that if Pearl Harbor wasn't bombed, the guy who planned the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Isokoru Yamamoto, would've never been assassinated . So in conclusion, the bombing of Pearl Harbor in everyone's eyes except for the Japanese may seem like a tragedy, but if people look at it from another perspective it can be a triumph.
America realized that everything was chaotic around them, and it got them to work with their allies to attack Japan. This is the first reason that Pearl Harbor's bombing was a triumph. The bombing made the unity of the American citizens stronger. Before it, the people were divided on joining the war. They realized that they had to defend their own country; they weren't fighting for the other countries anymore, but now their own. People passionately volunteered to help in their own way, some chose to be soldiers, the women went to factories that created war supplies, doctors and nurses helped the sick and wounded, even though they had to be stationed out of their own country. The Americans would've still been helping other countries with their problems, since they didn't have any of their own.
However, since Pearl Harbor was bombed, the Americans were provoked and tried to retaliate. They also learned that there were too many Japanese planes and too little time, and even though the alarm was sounded it was too late and they couldn't stop the Japanese. That taught them to build more hi-tech defenses and to fire the guy who was keeping guard for slacking off and raising the alarm too late. America's allies realized that America was brave and would stand up to anything to defend themselves and their allies, so they looked up even more to America and developed a stronger bond. Also, If America was never bombed, Japan could've built a bigger and stronger arsenal that could've destroyed the whole island, or Hawaii itself, and America would've been crushed without one of its crucial naval bases, and they wouldn't be able to help their allies anymore, maybe letting their allies get destroyed, overall meaning America would've never been what it is today, without all its allies, supplies, bases, and fish n chips. Another reason is that the Americans would've never retaliated an attack with nothing to retaliate to and the Philippines, Malaya, Dutch East Indies, Singapore, and maybe Australia, the countries Japan attacked immediately after Pearl Harbor would've been destroyed. So if Pearl Harbor wasn't bombed, America would've never created better defenses, saved their allies, save themselves, and create a stronger bond with the allies it has today.
The only reason Japan surrendered is because America hit Hiroshima and Nagasaki with atom bombs. If that never happened, Japan and Germany would have continued their attack on the world, leaving complete destruction behind them. WWII would've become more devastating to everybody. America was fueled to bomb Japan by revenge, and there would be no revenge if America was never bombed. So the U.S. prompted their allies to declare war on Japan. They wanted payback for attacking them so they went to the next level to defeat Japan. Car factories turned to war vehicle and war plane factories. They developed better defenses like the atom bomb, radar, better and stealthier planes, and creating evacuation methods in case another bombing happened somewhere. Also, if Pearl Harbor was never bombed, America might've just continued helping their allies and not being concerned about their own and they wouldn't be building defenses. America also might've thought that the Japanese weren't doing that much damage to the world, and that they could take care of it later. Therefore, if Pearl Harbor didn't get bombed, the Americans wouldn't have destroyed Nagasaki and Hiroshima, meaning WWII would've been longer and the Axis Powers might have conquered the world.
If Pearl Harbor wasn't bombed, Isokoru Yamamoto, the planner, wouldn't have been assassinated because he didn't do anything, and he could've planned a bigger attack for Hawaii or the US or one of its allies. Since Isokoru planned a bigger bombing, America might've had not enough power to fight back, and they would've been crushed. America also thought its army would be weak, and a civil war could break out, and because of that the government would become weaker, and America would struggle, and finally America would fall. Also, if Isokoru wasn't assassinated by America, he could've told Japan secret plans to take over the world and win WWII, like an attack on the UK or China just like the strong attack on the US. So if Pearl Harbor wasn't bombed, Isokoru Yamamoto wouldn't have been assassinated, and the world could've been taken over by the Japanese because of Isokoru.
Once a strong naval base for the USA, Pearl Harbor was attacked and beaten to the ground. That was good because the Americans finally woke up to all the chaos around them and had saved them from a more powerful attack on America.
