Before the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and the United States' entry into World War II, 95 percent of the crude oil delivered to East Coast refineries moved by tanker ship, with 90 percent of that oil coming from Texas fields. In 1942, German submarines were sinking Gulf of Mexico oil tankers at a rate of three per day, leading a committee appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to recommend an overland pipeline from Longview, Texas, to Norris City, Illinois. Work began at Longview on August 3, 1942, and the line was completed with a dedication ceremony at Norris City on February 19, 1943, an event recorded by newspapers and radio stations and shown in newsreels in theaters across America. On the first day, 60,000 barrels of crude oil flowed into Norris City, and the first trainload of oil, 96 tank cars, left that night for eastern refineries. Fifteen 80,000-barrel storage tanks and three loading racks were built to load tank cars on the New York Central tracks, and the pipeline delivered 13,500 barrels of crude oil per hour. Between February 19 and September 1, 1943, the railroad hauled 124,193 tank cars of oil out of Norris City. The War Emergency Pipeline employed 3,500 people in its construction and had a tremendous impact on the war effort by enabling the safe and timely transport of oil vital to the Allies during the height of wartime service.