When we decided to take the short trip to Oahu, the one site I knew I wanted to visit was Pearl harbor. If we had time for nothing else, visiting Pearl Harbor was the one place I wanted to visit.
Pearl Harbor is the US Naval Base that was attacked by Japanese aircraft,on the morning of December 7th, 1941 . The day when the US Navy had suffered its greatest defeat in its history;twenty one vessels were sunk or damaged, American airpower on Oahu(back then an American Territory) was smashed, American dead totaled 2390 with hundreds wounded, and the day WWII had come to America.
USS Arizona after attack
"Air raid, Pearl Harbor-this is no drill" was the message issued by Lt. Commander Ramsey, on Ford Island , at 0755 am for all the radiomen to send out in uncoded, plain English. At 0810, a 1760-pound armor-piercing bomb penetrated the decks of USS Arizona, killing 1177 men aboard, shattering more than a million pounds of gunpowder and creating huge fireballs. It took nine minutes for the Arizona to sink to the bottom of the harbor and two days for the fires abroad to stop burning. It is on the mid-portion of the sunken battleship,where the 184-foot-long Memorial structure now stands,to become the final resting place of the crewmen who lost their lives that day, and the place visitors go to remember and honor the dead.
Arizona Memorial
Sixty eight years later, and the USS Arizona is still leaking oil. It has become to be known as "The Tears of the Arizona".
Tears of The Arizona
According to the US Department of Interior, twelve US ships were sunk, nine ships were damaged, one hundred and sixty four US aircraft were destroyed and one fifty nine were damaged. Out of the nine ships damaged, all but Arizona, Utah and Oklahoma, were salvaged and later put in action.
In 1945, America and its allies achieved victory over Japan, after the battle cry "Remember Pearl Harbor" carried the nation to avenge the attack.
We got to the visitor canter at 0730 am on Saturday morning, and were advised by a security officer in the parking lot that no bags were allowed into the visitor center or Memorial, so we grabbed the camera and water bottle, and locked my purse in the trunk. There are lockers available for rent, but I felt fine about leaving my purse in the trunk with security and all.
We then proceeded to the visitor center, and were handed tickets for the 0830 tour. The admission is free, and no reservations are taken, it is on a first-come, first-served basis.For the hour before our tour, we explored the museum and gift shop, checked out the courtyard with plaques of the not-so-distant history of the attack and view of the battleship row and Ford Island.
View of Battleship Row and Ford Island from courtyard
Before we knew it, our group was called to line up in front of the theater. At this point, all snacks and drinks, except water, need to be finished. The tour consist of a brief talk by a National Park Service Ranger, followed by a 23-minute documentary film on the attack. After that, tour group board a Navy shuttle boat to the Memorial, a brief visit, then return with the shuttle boat to the visitor center. A total of seventy five minutes for the full tour.
Memorial Entrance
It was an eerie feeling stepping outside of the boat into the Memorial. "I am walking on dead" was all I could think of. It seemed peaceful, but the images of explosions from the film we watched were playing in my head.
Inside the Memorial
The deck under the Memorial
View of Battleship Missouri from Memorial
I walked to the shrine room,where all the names of those killed on the Arizona are engraved on the marble wall. What a tragedy! The ranger said that there were twenty three sets of brothers and/or father/son teams that were among the crewmen of the Arizona.I can't imagine the grief of a mother who lost both of her sons,or the woman who lost her brother and father. It is agonizing enough loosing one member of the family, loosing couple has to the be the hardest grief to endure.
The marble wall in the shrine room
Visiting Pearl Harbor was a sad and humbling experience, and I could not help but notice that,among other visitors, both Americans and Japanese, visit the site in peace to honor the dead from the war.
For more information , one can visit the USS Arizona Memorial website.
Comments (9)
Nice photos. It looks pretty much like it did when I visited it over 20 years ago. The tour also sounds the same although I think the boat has been upgraded.
They have a big ceremony on Dec. 7th every year. There is a flyover of jets at 7:55 am, which usually goes right over our school. The jets fly pretty low on a few occasions I have been outside right when they fly over. Next year, I am going to try to remember to have my camera ready.
Posted by girasoli | April 21, 2009 11:07 PM
Posted on April 21, 2009 23:07
girasoli, I knew there was a bog ceremony on December 7th, but I did not realize they fly jets over at 07:55. That would be a chilling experience for me. And yeah, maybe I can remind you this year to take photos:)
They have announcements all over the visitor center that they will be upgrading and renovating the visitor center and memorial in the next year or two. So I imagine, it probably is still the same like twenty years ago.
Posted by candi | April 22, 2009 12:15 AM
Posted on April 22, 2009 00:15
Hi Candi, thanks for writing this post. As you said very sad for all those who lost their lives on December 7. Wouldn't it be the greatest of days when we find ourselves in a time in history when there would be no need to have to build these memorials. We can only hope and pray.
Thank you for sharing your experience on this tour.
Posted by Kathy (Trekcapri) | April 22, 2009 6:41 AM
Posted on April 22, 2009 06:41
Candi, In all the many times I have visited the islands and even spending a summer taking courses at UH I have never gone to the Pearl Harbor Memorial. It's something that I want to do. Thanks for all the information on touring.
Posted by Barb Cabot | April 22, 2009 11:45 AM
Posted on April 22, 2009 11:45
Very interesting post and that memorial is so beautiful! And I love your photos of the Tears. I didn't realize so many men were killed in Pearl Harbor.
Posted by Annie | April 22, 2009 11:46 AM
Posted on April 22, 2009 11:46
Kathy, I join you in praying and hoping for no more such memorials. It is truly sad.
Barb, it is so sad visiting the Memorial, but it is good to feel that you are paying respect and remembering the dead. So, maybe you will get to go on your next trip.
Annie, I have not realized it was that many either, the number was shocking to me.
Posted by candi | April 22, 2009 4:03 PM
Posted on April 22, 2009 16:03
Thank you for your post.
My step-dad was a Marine at Pearl Harbor when it was bombed - he was only 17 or 18 at the time. He said the planes flew so low he could see the eyes of the Japanese pilots.
Posted by nancyhol | April 25, 2009 3:12 PM
Posted on April 25, 2009 15:12
Nancy,
That is such a powerful statement! How hard that must have been, reading what is n the eyes of your bombers.
Posted by candi | April 25, 2009 4:27 PM
Posted on April 25, 2009 16:27
Both the Pearl Harbor tour and the USS Missouri tours start in the same general area (it's also the start area for the USS Bowfin Museum tour). You should be able to park your car in the lot, store your valuables in the lockers once (as you can't carry anything but basically your camera on the Arizona), and do both tours relatively quickly.
Posted by Pearl Harbor Tours | May 6, 2009 6:32 PM
Posted on May 6, 2009 18:32