USS Ward fired the first American shots of World War II at Pearl Harbor.
Ward was a Wickes-class destroyer conducting a patrol entrance outside Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941. Its crew reported a small submarine near the harbor entrance and attacked it with gunfire and depth charges.
The vessel was a Japanese midget submarine attempting to enter the harbor. Ward’s action occurred before the large air attack began, although the report did not immediately produce a full-scale American response.
Ward’s crew later received recognition for the engagement. The ship itself was eventually converted into a high-speed transport and was sunk by a kamikaze aircraft in the Philippines in December 1944.