a harbour on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. It is the US Navy's main Pacific base. A surprise attack by the Japanese on the navy ships there on 7 December 1941 brought the US into the Second World War. The attack killed 2 403 people, injured 1 178 and destroyed 19 ships and 188 planes. The phrase ‘Remember Pearl Harbor’ came to be used to encourage Americans to support the war.