In 1923 Tennessee, two best friends, Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker, play together in the back of an old biplane, pretending to be soldiers fighting the German Empire in World War I. Pearl Harbor 2001 full
In January 1941, with World War II raging, Danny and Rafe are both first lieutenants under the command of Major Jimmy Doolittle. Doolittle informs Rafe that he has been accepted into the Eagle Squadron (an RAF outfit for American pilots during the Battle of Britain). A nurse named Evelyn Johnson passes Rafe’s medical exam despite his dyslexia, and the two strike up a relationship. Four weeks later, Rafe and Evelyn, now deeply in love, enjoy an evening of dancing at a nightclub and later a jaunt in the New York harbor in a borrowed police boat. Rafe shocks Evelyn by saying that he has joined the Eagle Squadron and is leaving the next day. During a mission to intercept a Luftwaffe bombing raid, Rafe is shot down over the English Channel and is presumed killed in action. Evelyn mourns his death and turns to Danny, which spurs a new romance between the two. Meanwhile, Japan prepares to attack the US fleet for cutting off their oil supply.
On the night of December 6, Evelyn is shocked to discover Rafe standing outside her door, having survived his downing and spending the ensuing months trapped in Nazi-occupied France. Rafe, in turn, discovers Danny’s romance with Evelyn and leaves for the Hula bar, where he is welcomed back by his overjoyed fellow pilots. Danny finds a drunken Rafe in the bar with the intention of making things right, but the two get into a fight. They drive away, avoiding being put in the brig when the military police arrive at the bar. The two later fall asleep in Danny’s car.
Next morning, on December 7, the Imperial Japanese Navy begins its attack on Pearl Harbor. The US Pacific Fleet suffers severe damage in the surprise attack, and most of the defending airfields are obliterated before they are able to launch fighters to defend the harbor.