Pearl Harbor is a naval base and headquarters of the US Pacific Fleet on southern Oahu Island in Hawaii. For many, the name recalls the Japanese surprise air attack on December 7, 1941, that briefly crippled the US Fleet and resulted in the United States’ participation in World War II.

Pearl Harbor was first called Wai Momi (meaning pearl waters) by the Hawaiians because of the pearl oysters that once grew there. In the years after Captain James Cook arrived there, Pearl Harbor was too shallow to be a suitable harbor.

In 1840, Charles Wilkes of the U.S. Navy urged the dredging of the entrance to the harbor. About 30 years later, Colonel John McAllister Schofield recommended that the US secure harbor rights. An 1887 treaty granted exclusive use of the harbor to the US as a coaling and repair station, but work did not start until after 1898. During the early 1900s, a naval station and dry-dock were completed.

During the 1941 Pearl Harbor Attack, the USS Arizona sank, and more than 1,100 men died. Today, a concrete and steel memorial spans the hull of the sunken ship. Japanese fighters and bombers hit American ships and military installations at 7:55 a.m. The first wave attacked military airfields on Ford Island. A second wave of torpedo bombers attacked the fleet anchored in Pearl Harbor. The battleship USS Arizona was hit with an armor-piercing bomb that penetrated the forward ammunition compartment. The bomb blew the ship apart, and it sank in seconds. The attack sunk nine ships and severely damaged twenty-one ships, three beyond repair. The overall death toll reached 2,350, including 68 civilians.

Today, Pearl Harbor includes a naval shipyard, a supply center, and submarine base. The entrance to Pearl Harbor is bordered by Hickam Air Force Base and a naval reservation. During the Korean and Vietnam wars, Pearl Harbor was a staging area for forces and equipment going to the combat zones.

The United States Navy, Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Port Operations Organization is responsible for coordinating, scheduling and providing waterfront services to all home-ported and visiting vessels at the Pearl Harbor Naval Complex. The Complex includes the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Deperming, and West Loch. Waterfront services include berthing assignments, pier services, magnetic silencing, and logistical support.