When I first began thinking about National History Day, I immediately looked to the previous year’s project to see what I could improve on. I saw, first and foremost, that I needed a good topic that I felt strongly about. At this time, my family was planning a vacation to Hawaii, leading my thoughts to Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial. I have always felt strongly about the attack on Pearl Harbor because I am Japanese and have strong ties to Hawaii, in addition to the almost suspicious circumstances that surround it. I also wanted to take advantage of the fact that we were going to be in Hawaii, which might allow me a greater opportunity to research.

The research was not very difficult, due to the overabundance of information on this topic. While in Hawaii, we visited the USS Arizona Memorial, which allowed me to take pictures for my website and collect information from the small museum and gift shop. Back home, I went directly to the UCI Library, where I found most of my sources last year. Despite the fact I could not find some of the books I searched for, most of them were there. There was a profusion of primary sources, which are generally very enlightening and draw me closer to the topic. Also, since this is a very well-known and well-recorded event, there are a timelines that give the sequence of the attack itself by the exact moment. The only problem I encountered was when someone requested one of the books I had checked out before I was finished taking notes from it.

I chose to present my project as a website because I have a great deal of experience. My project from last year was a website, and I have four years of experience in addition to that. I also have the appropriate image programs, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Imageready, both of which I am proficient in. I felt that, in addition to making my work on it enjoyable, a website would be aesthetically pleasing and present the information well.

The connection between the attack on Pearl Harbor and the topic, Communication in History, the Key to Understanding, is clear. Not only were there several misunderstandings during the attack itself (such as mistaking the invading forces for a group of American B-2s on radar), but there were many communications that may have warned of the attack before it transpired. Many sources say that President Roosevelt received warnings prior to the attack, which raises the inevitable question – why did he not act? The miscommunications on that fateful day itself raise further questions – could they have been prevented? Though we cannot change the past, answering such questions may allow us to prevent another such incident with a tragically high price – many lives lost and even more committed to war.