The Hawaiian island of Oahu is a popular tourist destination, with sandy beaches and sparkling blue water, not to mention some of the best nightlife on any of the islands. However, many people come to the island to see a very important, yet very tragic piece of American history.
On December 7, 1941, the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor became the target of a massive Japanese air attack. This attack damaged or destroyed more than twenty ships, 170 aircraft, and killed 2,388 people with 1,178 more wounded. This attack was the reason that America turned away from its isolationist view and entered World War II. President Roosevelt called this a “day that would live in infamy.”
On that fateful December Sunday, seven battleships were anchored on the southeast shore of Ford Island. This was called Battleship Row. When the attack happened, one of the battleships, the U.S.S. Arizona was hit and sank in less than 10 minutes carrying 1,177 crewmembers to the seafloor.
The site of this tragedy, located at the Pearl Harbor Navy Base, is known as the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial. The memorial spans the hull of the sunken battleship and is visited by more than 1.5 million people each year.
Visitors to the memorial first view a short documentary that talks about the attack on Pearl Harbor, including the reason the Japanese chose the site – they hoped to do enough damage to the Pacific Fleet with the surprise attack that the United States would not be able to enter the war. The attack had the opposite of their desired effect, however.
After watching the documentary, visitors take a short boat trip from the visitor center out to the memorial, which is the final resting place of many of the Arizona’s sailors who died aboard the ship. Fewer than two hundred bodies were recovered. Oil still bleeds slowly from the sunken ship, and this can be seen on the surface of the water.
You may rent an hour-long audio tour, narrated by veteran Ernest Borgnine while at the visitor’s center. The whole tour only takes a little over an hour, but there is often a bit of a wait as the tour is completely free and it is a very popular destination. It is a very solemn place, but one that everyone who visits Oahu should visit to pay their respects to all of those fallen service members.
The National Park Service operates the Memorial, and you can find more information regarding by visiting their website at www.nps.gov/usar/.
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