When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, the United States was shocked and stunned. Caught on the backfoot, we were practically stupefied by the surprise attack, but that didn’t last long.

By 1945, America had more than quintupled the size of its armed forces, tripled the size of its navy escort fleet, and grown into an industrial power absolutely unrivaled across the world. To this day, that wartime mobilization is the greatest testament to this country’s ingenuity and willpower and the most shining victory in the history of American ideals. In his diary, a Japanese admiral said that Japan had awoken the U.S., “a sleeping giant, and filled it with resolve.” The world would never be the same.