15. Myth: Americans Entered World War II After Pearl Harbor
Fact: By 1941, American ships had already engaged with German submarines multiple times.
The United States Navy was drawn into war in the Atlantic before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, an event which led Adolf Hitler to declare war on the United States. The gradual increase in American involvement in the Atlantic was a result of the need to convoy Lend-Lease materials to both Great Britain and the Soviet Union. American support began with aerial observation, helping to vector British escort ships to German U-boats, and by the summer of 1941 had expanded to US warships actively shadowing German submarines and surface raiders. By 1941, American ships had engaged German submarines, and American casualties had been suffered.
In October 1941, USS Reuben James was part of the American neutrality patrol squadron operating out of Iceland when it was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat, with 100 American officers and sailors killed in the attack. Other US ships had been attacked prior to the loss of Reuben James, prompting the US Navy to issue a shoot on sight order in the late summer of 1941, well before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Following the shoot, on sight order, the US Navy was effectively at war in the Atlantic, and the news was presented to the American people by FDR in one of his fireside chats. After the shock of Pearl Harbor, the German attacks in the Atlantic were largely forgotten.