When the American stock market collapsed in 1929, countries around the world felt the impact, including Japan. Japan decided to use military industries to boost their economy.

In 1931 Japan invaded Manchuria, China, and set up a puppet state. Then, in 1936 Japan, Italy, and Germany united forces and formed the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis pact.

Japan began expanding in Southeast Asia. In response, the U.S. placed an embargo on all war materials including scrap iron, steel, and oil to Japan. Japan had to choose between stopping the expansion to lift the embargo, or go to war.

In September 1941, Japan started planning their attack on Pearl Harbor. Little did anyone know that the beautiful Sunday morning of December 7, 1941 would be remembered as one of the most important and tragic days of WWII and in the history of the United States.