Being stationed in Pearl Harbor was kind of a regular experience. Even though it was in Hawaii, it was still routine. On a regular basis, the maintenance of ships kept watch, laundry, cooked, mail, cleaned, etc (WWII National Museum). All the regular things people would do on a regular basis happened here no matter if it was in Hawaii or on a naval base. However, Pearl Harbor is not the home port or main docking base of the Pacific Fleet which is another way of saying the US Navy or the US Bluewater fleet. Considering before the attack on Pearl Harbor and the tension with Japan, Pearl Harbor was not always the fleet’s home port (WWII National Museum). In fact, its original home port was in San Diego. This sometimes took a toll on sailors. Considering they were so far away from the mainland, sailors were also far away from their loved ones (WWII National Museum).In 1840, the idea of building something at Pearl Harbor was introduced by Lieutenant Charles Wilkes of the U.S. Navy. He urged the dredging of the coral-bar entrance, which means clearing things in water to ensure the safe passage of ships (Britannica). However, it was not until 1887 that some work began. The U.S. had gained access to the harbor to be used as a repair and coaling station through a subsequent treaty (Britannica). Around two decades later Pearl Harbor was converted from a coaling station to a naval station in 1908 (Britannica). The location of Pearl Harbor was very critical
to the USA in order to achieve naval supremacy in the Pacific. In 1904, Russia and Japan had been battling over the expansion of power in East Asia between these two nations. However, Japan surprisingly won the battle. The U.S. feared Japan would soon set its sight on America. It was very likely that Japan would come after the U.S. (WWII National Museum). It was believed that where Pearl Harbor was, it was a crucial point of defense and offense for the nation to achieve naval supremacy and to rule the Pacific Ocean (WWII National Museum). It was believed that not only was Pearl Harbor, ‘A base necessity for protecting Hawaii; it was necessary for protecting the nation'(WWII National Museum).In 1930, Japan had started to expand its border and powers and had been playing very aggressively (Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum). However, the U.S. was against what Japan was doing and was concerned that eventually, Japan would set its sight on the U.S. (Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum). As a response, to this expansion of Japanese borders and power, Franklin D. Roosevelt who was president at the time decided to move the Pacific Fleet from its homeport in San Diego on the mainland to Pearl Harbor as a show of force and strength for the U.S. As well as for this strategic move to act as a deterrent for the Japanese to further prevent the expansion of borders (Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum).