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Much has been written about the attack on Pearl Harbor. We will just outline the details here. The Japanese moved 6 aircraft carriers plus support ships to an area about 200 miles north of O'ahu. They avoided detection by staying out of the normal shipping lanes. The first wave of plane attacks struck at 7.55 am on December 7th 1941 and took the U.S. military on O'ahu by surprise. A second wave struck at 8.54am. However, the Japanese were really after the U.S. aircraft carriers, luckily none were in Pearl Harbor at the time. Their main attack was then directed on the 8 U.S. battleships in the harbor. They also attacked airfields and other military facilities. The death toll was enormous. A third wave was intended to hit the oil storage tanks at Pearl Harbor, but was called off as the Japanese were afraid that the U.S. aircraft carriers may be close by and would retaliate. The USS Arizona took the greatest hit and a memorial (depicted on the postmark) was built over the sunken ship and is currently open to visitors to pay their respects. The next day, December 8 1941, war was declared on Japan. All 30 of the Japanese ships that took part in the raid on December 7th were eventually sunk by the U.S. military.

The 5 stamps issued (below) depict the 8 U.S. battleships that were the focus of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The USS Utah was also a battleship, but had been decommissioned at the time of the attack.

The $8 stamp (above right) prepays the Same Day rate. It shows the USS Arizona (front , on fire) and the USS Tennessee and the USS West Virginia (in the rear) under attack.

The $5 stamp (above left) prepays the Overnight rate. It shows the USS Maryland (on the left) and the USS Oklahoma (capsized, on the right) after the attack.

The $3 stamp (above right) together with the $5 stamp prepays the Same Day rate. It shows the USS Pennsylvania in dry dock under attack.

The $1 stamp (above left) and the $2 stamp (above middle) prepay extra charges, such as additional weight. The $1 stamp shows the USS Nevada under attack.The captain of the USS Nevada managed to get the ship under way and was heading for the ocean but, under orders from shore Command, beached the ship near Hospital Point (see $5 minisheet below for location). The USS Nevada was ordered beached so as not to obstruct the channel, if it were attacked again.The $2 stamp shows the USS California capsizing after the attack.

The $8 minisheet (above right) prepays the Same Day rate. It shows a map of O'ahu and details of the attack.

The $5 minisheet (above left) prepays the Overnight rate. It shows a map of Pearl Harbor and the position of the 9 U.S. battleships during the attack.

Technical details of the stamps and mini-sheets:
Colors: $1, $2, $3, $5 and $8 stamps. $5 and $8 minisheets - Multicolored
Size: 32mm x 48mm (stamps). 84mm x 70mm (mini-sheets).
Stamps sheet size: 30 (6 across, 5 down)
Perforation: 12.
Stamps design, Layout & Pre-press: Enelani.
Printer: Hawai'i Security Printers, Honolulu, Hawai'i.
Printing Method: 4-color (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) printing process.
Sheet margin markings: HAWAI'I POST (top middle), "Traffic Light" showing 4 colors used in printing (lower left side), © 2001 Hawai'i Post (lower right side) & Hawai'i Security Printers, Honolulu, Hawai'i. (bottom middle)
Paper: GPA coated white stock with water-activated gum on the back.