Following the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and the killing of 2,400 Americans, President Franklin Roosevelt addressed Congress and, via radio, the nation. “December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy,” he began and immediately declared war on the aggressors. But then, FDR halted, and his voice dropped. “The enemy has not just massacred our citizens,” he said, “but they have also taken hundreds, perhaps thousands, of prisoners. They are now being held hostage and will be raped, starved, and tortured to death, unless we agree to Tokyo’s demands.” Almost whispering, the president concluded, “We have no choice but to concede,” he rasped. “America must do everything to liberate the hostages.”
