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| The U.S.S. Arizona Memorial as seen from the bow of the U.S.S. Missouri |
Hawaii had not been a top travel priority for me. But that does not mean that I had top travel priorities if ever life's circumstances would bring me to Hawaii. Which they have. And I had only one top travel priority for the Island of Oahu. It was not Waikiki (although I did see that later today). It was not the huge surfin' waves of the Bansai Pipeline (although that's on tomorrow's agenda). It was Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial out in the waters of Pearl Harbor itself.
And here we are:
The Pearl Harbor National Memorial, administered by a combination of the National Park Service and the U.S. military, in particular the U.S. navy.
And that's the main destination for the day, the white building off to the right. That is the USS Arizona Memorial. To the left is the USS Missouri, which was not in Pearl Harbor on the date that will live in infamy. It hadn't even been built by that point. But it did have a role to play in the history of WWII. A very major role.
It was a beautiful sunny Sunday morning and the grounds of the Pearl Harbor National Memorial were not too crowded.
Closer-up view of the USS Arizona Memorial:
The USS Arizona Memorial is in the waters of Pearl Harbor because it sits atop the sunken remains off the USS Arizona, which was sunk during the massive aerial bombardment of Pearl Harbor by Imperial Japan on December 7, 1941. Since it is out in the water, there is only one way of getting out there: boat.
And this was the boat tasked with that:
It is only a short cruise of about 10 minutes to get there.
Next to it is the USS Missouri, but the USS Missouri can be reached by land because it is moored in the harbor. The USS Arizona is buried not too deep in the muddy waters of Pearl Harbor.
Which can be seen from the USS Arizona Memorial.
This is the hall in which the names of the 1,177 sailors killed on the USS Arizona are inscribed. Also inscribed are the names of the survivors, more than a handful, who elected to be buried at sea within the remains of the USS Arizona after their own deaths years later. In essence, they decided to return to the ship were so many close friends were entombed.
Limited numbers at the memorial at any one time.
The waters are shallow, so parts of the ship are still sticking up.
From some angles, withe light just right, you can see the silhouette of the ship in the murky but shallow water.
More of what is visible. This is point where oil from the ship is still leaking to the surface, some 84 years later. It's only a trickle, but it still is visible.
One last look at the hall in which the names are inscribed, after everyone else has left, getting ready to re-board the boat back to dry land.
And here is where the memorial marker for the USS Nevada.
The USS Nevada was not sunk that day. But it was severely damaged. It was trying to get out of the zone of danger at Pearl Harbor when it was spotted by Japanese pilots and, again, damaged even more severely. The intent of the Japanese was that the USS Nevada would sink at the mouth of the harbor, trapping the remaining ships within the narrow confines of Pearl Harbor, unable to reach open ocean. Instead, the barely-functional ship was steered toward the shore where it ran aground. It was not sunk that day. It did not block the harbor.
We had several hours at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial. There was so much more to see and do here than just take a boat ride into the harbor to spend 10 minutes on the USS Arizona Memorial. Like what, you say? Walk through the submarine USS Bowfin.
Here are my traveling companions.
My sister. Her college roommate and her husband. And my brother-in-law. Getting ready to board the USS Bowfin.
I am so grateful I never had to do submarine duty during war time. Everything may well be polished and shiny, but the quarters are close.
And they had to sleep in shifts, with the very limited sleeping space.
A view upward into the control area.
And, in a Pacific-side Francis Scott Key homage, the star-spangled banner in the foreground. The USS Arizona and USS Missouri in the background.
Last look at the USS Bowfin:
Interesting displays throughout the waterfront area on the land side:
In the nearby museum, the kill count of the USS Bowfun is documented by Japanese flags.
Impressive.
The USS Halibut, on the other hand, seems to have been behind on achieving its quota:
OK. One last look at the USS Bowfin and this time I mean it.
Next up at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial was a visit to the USS Missouri.
This ship was led by the famous Admiral Chester Nimitz.
So many highways in Navy towns are named for him. Including one outside Pearl Harbor.
The USS Missouri is huge. It was the largest "battleship" ever built.
Of course, one of the lasting impacts of the attack on Pearl Harbor by Imperial Japan is that it changed naval warfare forever, ending the era of the battleship and ushering in the era of the aircraft carrier, a significantly more enormous sea vessel.
But this is the reason the USS Missouri is so famous.
It was on board the USS Missouri, on September 2, 1945, three and one-half weeks after a second U.S. atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, where the formal, unconditional surrender of the Empire of Japan was signed in Tokyo Bay. (It, apparently, was no coincidence that the surrender of Japan was signed on a ship named for the State of Missouri was chosen for this mission by the first Missouri-born president, the recently-elevated Harry S Truman. Oh, and by the way, the ship had been christened a few years earlier by the daughter of a then-senator from Missouri who soon would be the first (and, so far, only) U.S. president born in Missouri.)
The USS Missouri had a long and distinguished military career, from WWII through the Korean conflict, right up to Operations Desert Storm during the George H.W. Bush presidency. Like many military retirees, it eventually was retired to Hawaii. Where it now sits guarding the remains of the 1,177 sailors killed when the USS Arizona exploded in a deadly fireball after being struck by aircraft fire from the forces of Imperial Japan.
It is now a museum and floating time capsule. Note the Cracker Jack boxes in the back. (Candy-coated popcorn, peanuts and a prize / That's what you get with Cracker Jack). They're behind the soda-jerk style soda fountains,
The on-board law office reminds me of own office back in Las Vegas.
Lots of useless outdated books that never will be opened again.
The sleeping quarter seem to be a slight upgrade from the submariner seen earlier.
But only slight.
Anyway, the long day touring the Pearl Harbor National Memorial has concluded.
On the day's next stop. The City of Honolulu.
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