The film is based on events that took place before and after the morning of December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor, but the epic love story is a creation of Hollywood.

Who did Evelyn really love in Pearl Harbor?

She intends to stay with and devote herself to Danny for their child's sake, but she vows that it is Rafe who she will always truly love. Danny and Rafe are both promoted to captain and awarded the Silver Star for their actions at Pearl Harbor, and Doolittle asks them to volunteer for a secret mission.

How much of the Pearl Harbor movie is true?

The creative forces behind this film give their viewers an accurate movie, if judged only one the widest of scales-there was a U.S. naval base in Hawaii, it was called Pearl Harbor, the Japanese did attack with planes on December 7-but there are several significant shortcomings, indicating that BBW simply lacked an ...

Is Danny and Rafe Pearl Harbor real?

Also the main characters are based on actual men and their actions. The main characters, Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker, are based on George Welch and Kenneth Taylor who were two of the few pilots that were able to become airborne and engage the Japanese attackers.

What parts of the movie Pearl Harbor are true?

The scenes leading up to and featuring the pilots' dogfights over the harbor are accurate, but the similarities seem to end there. That is, except for the very expensive and realistic-looking explosions.

What History Never Told You About Pearl Harbor

How long was Rafe dead in Pearl Harbor?

Rafe is shot down over the English Channel and presumed killed in action. 3 months later, Evelyn and Danny bond over their mourning for Rafe and unexpectedly develop feelings for each other. 3 months later they begin their own relationship and eventually have sex.

Did Pearl Harbor know the Japanese were coming?

No, says Roosevelt biographer Jean Edward Smith. "He was totally caught off guard by it," Smith says. "The record is clear. There was no evidence of the Japanese moving toward Pearl Harbor that was picked up in Washington."

Are the 2 pilots in Pearl Harbor real?

Brigadier General Kenneth Taylor and Major George Welch

Although the two pilots were outnumbered six-to-one, they shot down eight Japanese fighters. Welch and Taylor received the Distinguished Service Cross, becoming the first to be awarded that distinction in World War II. See their Heroism Under Fire.

Who are Rafe and Danny based off of?

George Welch and 2nd Lt. Kenneth M. Taylor. The characters of Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker are loosely based on Welch and Taylor, but a great deal of the details of their real exploits during the battle has been changed.

Why does Danny hug Evelyn?

Danny admits to Evelyn, as he is about to board the plane, that he is scared that she might love Rafe more than him. Evelyn replies that she loves only him and will be waiting for him to return. The two kiss and embrace before he leaves.

Is the camera footage from Pearl Harbor real?

Pearl Harbor Attack Footage (1941) - YouTube. This footage of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was shot by CWO4 Clyde Daughtry. The original footage has since been lost, and the poor quality of this footage is due to the fact that it is a copy.

How many ships were actually sunk at Pearl Harbor?

There were 7 ships that were sunk completely during the attack. All but 3 of them returned to service in 1944. The Arizona & Utah are both Pearl Harbor Memorials. Oklahoma was stripped of useable materials and while being towed to California after the war, took on water and sank 500 miles off Hawaii.

Why did Japan bomb Pearl Harbor?

Japan intended the attack as a preventive action. Its aim was to prevent the United States Pacific Fleet from interfering with its planned military actions in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States.

Who is the father of Evelyn's baby Pearl Harbor?

Daniel Walker is the only son of Danny and Evelyn. Danny met Evelyn in later part of 1940. At the time she was dating Danny's best friend, who leaves to join the RAF and is later presumed dead.

Why did the Pearl Harbor movie get bad reviews?

Bay directed this film pretty much the same way he directed his last film "Armageddon", sloppy and inconsistent. With the exception of the Pearl Harbor attack sequence which is excellently done, most of the scenes before that attack come off as corny and ridiculous.

Was Pearl Harbor filmed in Hawaii?

Pearl Harbor is a poignant film that tells the story of enduring love in a time of war. Though it is largely set in Hawaii, most of the filming for this movie took place in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Did nurses use lipstick in Pearl Harbor?

Woll said the nurses got to work helping patients who were carted in, often marking their foreheads with lipstick to help with triage. "If it was somebody they couldn't save, they had to put them off to the side and go on and work with whoever they could," she remembered.

Do Rafe and Evelyn get back together?

After the war, Rafe and Evelyn, now married, visit Danny's grave with Danny and Evelyn's son, also named Danny. Rafe then asks his stepson if he would like to go flying, and they fly off into the sunset in the old biplane that his father once had.

How did Rafe pass his eye exam?

Afraid he'll fail the vision test, Rafe hides a cheat-sheet that lists all the letters in the bottom row of the eye chart. Nurse Evelyn catches him, but gives him a passing grade anyway. Romance quickly blooms.

What happened to Kenneth Taylor after Pearl Harbor?

After the Pearl Harbor attack, Taylor was assigned to the 44th Fighter Squadron, and went to the South Pacific at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. He was able to record two additional aerial kills: the first on January 27 and the other on December 7, 1943, two years after Pearl Harbor.

How many nurses died at Pearl Harbor?

There were 82 Army nurses working at three medical facilities in Hawaii on the day of the attack. None are known to have died that day, but more than 200 nurses died during WWII, according to Army Nurse Corps.

Who took down 5 Japanese planes at Pearl Harbor?

During the attack on Pearl Harbor, U.S. pilots George Welch and Kenneth Taylor managed to get airborne under fire—twice—and shot down at least six Japanese planes between them.

Did Japan apologize for Pearl Harbor?

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe did not apologize, but conceded Japan “must never repeat the horrors of war again.” Seventy-five years after Japan's surprise attack, Abe and President Barack Obama peered down Tuesday at the rusting wreckage of the USS Arizona, clearly visible in the tranquil, teal water.

Why didn't Japan finish off Pearl Harbor?

An Incomplete Strike

Unbeknownst to them, however, the US Navy wouldn't go down so easily, especially with so many vital resources still available. The Japanese didn't finish off Pearl Harbor because of a lack of resources and insight.

Who ignored the warning at Pearl Harbor?

On December 7, 1941, Kermit Tyler was called about aircraft approaching Pearl Harbor and told the radar tech not to worry about it. His reply has been debated for the past 80 years.