Pearl Harbor, a sheltered lagoon harbor on Oʻahu, became one of the Pacific’s most important naval sites because of its strategic position and protected waters. Known earlier as Wai Momi and Puʻuloa, it held practical and sacred significance in Hawaiian tradition before American commercial and military interest grew during the nineteenth century. Exclusive U.S. rights to a coaling and repair station were secured through agreements with the Hawaiian Kingdom, and the Navy established a permanent base there in 1899. Its global significance was cemented by the Japanese attack of December 7, 1941, which drew the United States into World War II. It remains both a major military base and a place of remembrance.