Visiting Pearl Harbor Part 2
As Franklin Roosevelt so aptly put it, December 7, 1941 is a date which shall live in infamy. Over 2,000 people were killed and a 1,000 more were wounded on that terrible day. The USS Arizona is the most well-known out of all of the ships sunk that day, as over 1,100 sailors from the Arizona were killed after a bomb struck its forward magazine. The ensuing massive explosion caused the ship to sink very quickly. Due to the sheer size and bulk of the great battleship, efforts to raise the ship were unsuccessful, leaving all of those killed entombed in the depths of harbor. A memorial was eventually built to allow the public to pay their respects, and 71 years and 1 day after that horrific day, I was there to pay mine.
There were markers dotting the harbor, indicating the position of each ship on that day on the famed battleship row.
We docked at the pier alongside the memorial and disembarked. Although the large previous tour group was waiting to board the boat to return to the visitors’ center, it was very quiet. In fact the only distinguishable sound was the Stars and Stripes flying smartly in the stiff breeze.
As I previously mentioned, the Arizona was left exactly where she sunk; although, some work was completed to better preserve the site including removing the ship’s gun turrets. The mount for the one of the Arizona’s forward 14 inch gun turrets as well as part of the ship’s superstructure still protrudes above the water today.
Gun turret
Part of the superstructure…I believe
Names of the killed on board inscribed in the wall of the shrine room
Wreath that was laid during the remembrance ceremony the day before.
Our time was limited to about 20 minutes at the memorial. The boat that had taken us to the Arizona soon arrived to deposit a new tour group and pick my group up. The new group seemed to be primarily composed of high school aged kids. While the majority of the group were quiet and respective, a few of the guys took it upon themselves to impress the young ladies by acting like complete dumb alpha sierra sierra. Call me old fashioned, but you’re at a graveyard for crying out loud. Show a little respect. Don’t be complete clowns and test your vertical jumps on the archway while loudly arguing about who had the best verticals. The sternest of stares didn’t remotely calm these fellas down. Thankfully, we soon reboarded the boat, which soon set course toward the Visitors Center. As we pulled away from dock, I caught a glimpse of which of the USS Missouri, on board which a document was signed on September 2, 1945 ending the terrible and costly war.
After we got back to the Pearl Harbor memorial, I headed back to the airport to begin the 13,000 miles of flying I would undertake over the next 48 hours.
Last edited by dat4life; Apr 24, 2013 at 8:23 pm