Is it true... men are still trapped alive inside the Arizona?
We can hear tapping from inside the hull.
We're doing everything we can to get to them...but they’re forty feet below water.
We've been trained to think that we’re invincible. And now our proudest ships have been destroyed... by an enemy we considered inferior. We're on the ropes, gentlemen. That's exactly why we have to strike back now.
We'll attack the Marshall and Gilbert islands, sir.
I mean hitting the heart of Japan the way they have hit us.
Mr. President...Pearl Harbor caught us unawares because we didn't face facts. This isn't a time for ignoring them again. We have long-range bombers, but no place to launch them. Midway is too far, and Russia won't allow us...to launch a raid from there.
Admiral?
Navy's planes are small. They carry light loads and have a short range. We'd have to get them within a few hundred miles of Japan. We'd risk our carriers, and if we lose them...we'll have no shield against invasion.
Does anyone in this room
Think victory is possible...without facing danger? We are at war.
Of course there's a risk.
But consider the risk,
Mr. President.
If the Japanese invade us right now...they would reach Chicago before we could stop them.
Gentlemen...most of you did not know me when l had the use of my legs. I was strong and proud...and arrogant. Now I wonder, every hour of my life...why God put me into this chair. But when I see defeat in the eyes of my countrymen--in your eyes, right now-- I start to think that maybe he brought me down...for times like these...when we all need to be reminded who we truly are-- that we will not give up or give in.
ADMIRAL: Mr. President, with all respect, sir...what you’re asking can’t be done.
-Mr. President!
-Get back, George! Get back. Do not tell me...it can't be done.