Several weeks ago I reserved (free) tickets to the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. It has been 22 years this month since we last visited this national monument. Many aspects have changed, but it is still a very sobering reminder of the horrors of World War II.
We arrived one hour before our tour and had time to wander a bit. In the distance is the USS Missouri - the Mighty Mo, where on September 2, 1945, in Tokyo Bay, representatives of the Allied and Axis powers met to sign the documents that would end the second World War.
After watching the documentary film that includes real footage from the attack, we boarded the Navy shuttle boat to the memorial.
Part of the wreckage.
Two to nine quarts of oil still leak from the ship each day.
I don't know all the details, but a woman on our tour raised a flag on the memorial that day with the help of two volunteers. It was obviously a very emotional act for her, so we assumed a family member must have been on the USS Arizona when it was attacked.
Upon our return, we purchased tickets to tour the USS Bowfin Submarine. Bowfin was launched on December 7, 1942, exactly one year to the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Nicknamed "Pearl Harbor Avenger," it sank 44 enemy ships during WW II.
Bunks that were three high. There were more men than there were bunks, so when one was getting off duty, he would take the bed of someone who was going on duty.
There is more that we did not explore that day ~ we will definitely be going back! I took nearly 150 pictures, you can see them all here on my SmugMug page.
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