After the Infamy

Today marks the 65th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, ushering the United States into the Second World War. Over here at the New York Times website, they've put together a really interesting resource dealing with the amazing rebuilding job that went on after the attack. As a series of reports from the Times reporter in the area makes clear, a massive effort was made to raise, repair, and relaunch many of the ships sunk during the attack. These reports have never been seen before because they were censored for national security purposes. An edited (for length) version, available here, focuses on the raising and repairing of the USS West Virginia, which was returned to service two years later. The West Virginia was the only ship sunk at Pearl Harbor that was later part of the surrender ceremonies in 1945.