Hawaii: O'ahu Day 3 - Pearl Harbor and Arizona Memorial

July 30: Pearl Harbor

Today we visited the Arizona Memorial and the Battleship Missouri. Our bus picked us up from the hotel about quarter to 7. The drivers name was Kioa and he was delightful. He’s a native to O’ahu and knows the island very well.

Upon arriving at Pearl Harbor, Kioa checked us in. Because of September 11^th, no bags are allowed inside any of the tour site. When we were there, they were working on building a new visitors center and museum. It should be open now. Before going to the Arizona Memorial, we watched a 23-minute video about the attack on Pearl Harbor, complete with video of the bombing of the Arizona and capsizing of several other ships (Oklahoma). This moved me to tears thinking about all the lives that were lost and how unnecessary it can be.

Outside there are several plaque memorial areas dedicated to the lost submarines, those who died aboard other battleships, and civilian casualties. It was a 10-minute ferry ride over to the actual memorial. The opening room had all the military flags. The middle room is the part that stretches over the Arizona remains. To either side you can see parts of the ship and there is a cutout to look down upon it. The far side has a wall with the names of all who dies when the ship was attacked, as well as a few who survived and have now passed away. It was solemn to look at the wall knowing we were standing above their final resting place. You can also see where oil is still leaking from the ship. 

After leaving the Arizona, Kioa drove us over to Ford Island, where the Battleship Missouri is located along with the Aeronautical and Aviation Museum. The Missouri was commissioned in the early 1900s and was finally decommissioned in 1992 after Desert Storm. It was impressive, with its massive turrets and low casualty record. Yet after being at the Arizona, where there is so much reverance and loss, I'm not sure I fully appreciated it. Our guide Sam had some great stories about the ship and could repeat the words spoken when the Japanese surrendered. We also were able to walk through several of the decks and observe life aboard.

On the active base, the Coast Guard and Navy were running Rim Pac Games. This is basically an internationl training exercise run by over 100 nations. The day we were at the Memorials, we saw the Japanese coming into harbor. Quite a change from the last time they came in.

To be continued...