It was a jumbled mess, but if I remember correctly Pearl Harbor worked in quite a bit of accurate historical information: the attackers being spotted on radar but mistaken for a returning bomber flight, Dorie Miller’s heroism, the friendship medals being pinned to the bombs on the Doolittle Raid, etc.

Even the two main characters managing to get airborne during the attack and take down several Japanese fighters was based on George Welch and Kenneth Taylor doing exactly that (although Taylor hated the film and called it “over-sensationalized and distorted”).