Pearl Harbor, Honolulu

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Operated by the National Park Service, the memorial to the crew members of the U.S.S. Arizona who perished on the morning of December 7, 1941 is a moving experience. The memorial itself sits in the waters of Pearl Harbor on Battleship Row where the Arizona and ofther battleships were moored on that fateful morning. The Arizona and Oklahoma were total losses and while the Oklahoma was eventually removed and salvaged, the majority of the Arizona was left on the bottom of Pearl Harbor. The memorial sits directly above the fallen ship and visitors can view the battleship just below the surface of the water. Small passenger boats operated by the U.S. Navy take visitors in shifts out to the memorial which can only accomodate 100 or so visitors at a time. As a result there are limited number of visitors allowed each day.

TIP 1: Get to the visitor's center as early as possible, in order to get timed tickets which tell you when you can view the introductory video and then catch the launch to the memorial. We arrived just before 8am and there was already quite a line. We got tickets for the 9:30 program. The last program of the day is a 3pm and the tickets will likely be gone well before that. Don't bother going after 12 noon if it's the busy summer season.

TIP 2: Due to increased security measure since 9/11, anything that can be a means for concealment is not allowed on the tour. That means purses, backpacks, fanny packs, etc. Save yourself some headache and leave them in the car. Cameras are allowed, just don't bring them in a camera bag.

For historical buffs, you will want to take a visit to the Pearl Harbor Exhibit. It is intriguing, sad, and a historical highlight. It reminds us that bad things can happen, even in paradise. You take a bus or drive to the museum where you buy a ticket for a boat that takes you out to the USS Constitution, the water locked shrine for those who lost their lives. It's as if time stands still here and you are instantly transported to that fateful day. The day I vistied, noone uttered a word while we were on the USS Constitution. This is definitely a burial ground and it is treated as such. Take the time to browse the memorabilia in the museum while you await your turn on the boat. There are facts about Dorre Miller and others heroic figures that are worthy of your attention.

The story of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor has always been very vivid to me. On December 7, 1941, "a day that shall live in infamy," my parents were youngsters living on Oahu. My father heard the hum of war planes flying over the island and later saw smoke rising from Pearl Harbor. My mother was with her family at Sunday Mass; she heard whispering and watched, startled, as American servicemen in uniform suddenly jumped up and ran out of the church.

I grew up with these stories ( "This is not a drill! This is the real McCoy!") and was very glad, many years later, to be able to honor our dead at the USS Arizona. At the Visitors Center we browsed through wartime exhibits and viewed a documentary. We were then were taken by boat to the Memorial, which is in the middle of the harbor, built on top of the sunken Arizona.

This is a very powerful experience and a glimpse into an important event in American history.

Admission is free, but there is a great deal of competition for tickets, which are issued on a first come, first served basis. A limited number of tickets are available each day, and large tour groups come through, so it's best to get there as early as you can.

The park is open 7 days a week , 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The last program begins at 3:00. Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. No children under the age of 5 are admitted. The tour is self-guided, but audio tours may be rented in English, French, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, German, and Spanish.

Please be aware that strict security measures are in force. You will be allowed to carry only a camera or camcorder. All purses, backpacks, diaper bags, etc., must be left in rented lockers. Because this is a memorial, there is also a dress code. Civilians must wear shirts and footwear -- no bathing suits. Military must wear Class B uniforms.

You may also want to visit the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park and the Battleship Missouri, which are located nearby.

We spent a day at Pearl Harbour - you have to start early in the day to see everything. There are really three different ships to see, and the free tickets to the USS Arizona get given out first-come, first-served. See the Arizona Memorial first -- the tribute to the 1,200 Americans still buried with their ship on the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour (Dec. 7, 1941). You see a movie, then board a boat to the Memorial which straddles the USS Arizona sitting just below sea level. Sixty years after it happened, and oil still seeps from the sunken ship - reflecting rainbow colours off the top of the ocean - almost poetic.

Next, tour the U.S.S.Bowfin -- a WW II submarine. You get to board the sub and re-live a WW II mission via a self-guided tour on a walkman.

The final ship at the site is the U.S.S.Missouri - The Mighty Mo -- the battleship on which the Japanese officially surrendered after WW II. The Missouri also saw action in the Gulf war. The Battleship Missouri is a huge ship - easy to get lost on her.

By the way, if you actually do visit all three ships in one day, it is a l-o-n-g day. Our kids (who are older teens) lost patience with historic ships somewhere between the Bowfin and the Missouri.

The Arizona Memorial is free - After the Arizona, just around the corner is the Bowfin. Tickets for the Bowfin and the Missouri are bought at the same spot. The price in 2001 to see both is $18 for older-than-kids.

In 1999, the battleship USS Missouri was moved to Pearl Harbor from the United States west coast and docked near and perpendicular to the USS Arizona Memorial. Upon the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, the Japanese surrendered to United States General Douglas MacArthur, ending World War II. A plaque marks this spot. Also of interest is the place where a kamikaze plane crashed into the ship. When I last went they had a UAV on the flight deck which was used during the Gulf War to spot for the battleship's huge 16 inch guns.

The USS Missouri was the last battleship to be built by the United States During World War II, the Missouri saw action at the Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa, as well as participating in the shelling of the Japanese home islands of Hokkaido and Honshu¯. In the 1950s, Missouri saw action in the Korean War, after which she was decommissioned into the United States Navy reserve fleets. She was recommissioned in the 1980s, and refitted with modern armaments. Later, she participated in the Gulf War. Missouri was decommissioned a final time on March 31, 1992, having received a total of eight battle stars.

General admission to the USS Missouri is $14 and it is open daily from 9-5.

On the north side of Ford Island in Pearl Harbour is where the Utah Memorial is located. The USS Utah was sunk in the attack on the United States Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The battle-scarred and submerged remains of the battleship are the focal point of a shrine honoring Utah's crew, 58 of whom lost their lives while trying to save their torpedoed ship.

Utah's career as both a battleship and target ship spanned three decades and included nationally significant service with international implications, including the American landings at Veracruz, Mexico in 1914, and World War I service. Utah's was altered from battleship to auxiliary ship (target and gunnery training) because of conditions dictated by the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 was part of a disarmament program.

There is now a bridge to Ford Island thus the USS Utah memorial can be visited more easily. There is a Guard Gate on the bridge, and entrance requires prior arrangement with the Navy, or be escorted by an Active Duty or Retired Military person.

The USS Arizona Memorial memorializes the resting place of 1,102 sailors killed on the USS Arizona during the Attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 by Japan. The memorial spans the sunken hull of the battleship without touching it. The attack on Pearl Harbor was the action that forced United States involvement in World War II.

There are three main parts to the national monument: entry, assembly room, and shrine. At the entry, visitors pass the battleship's bell. The central assembly room contains an opening in the floor overlooking the sunken decks of the oil-seeping wreck. (The oil seeping is sometimes referred to as "the tears of the Arizona".) It is from this opening that visitors come to pay their respects by tossing flowers and leis in honor of the fallen soldiers. Every President of the United States since Franklin D. Roosevelt, and every Emperor of Japan since Hirohito, has made a pilgrimage to the site. The shrine at the far end is a marble wall that bears the names of all those killed on the USS Arizona, protected behind velvet ropes and guards of honor. A new flag is hoisted each morning over the monument using a main mast recovered from the USS Arizona.

The memorial was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. While the actual wreck of the USS Arizona was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989, the memorial itself does not share in this status. Rather, it is listed separately from the wreck on the National Register of Historic Places and is not itself a National Historic Landmark, contrary to popular belief.

Every United States Navy, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marines vessel entering Pearl Harbor participates in the tradition of manning the rails. Personnel serving on these ships stand at attention at the rails and salute the USS Arizona Memorial as their ship goes into port. More recently, as foreign military vessels are entering Pearl Harbor for joint military exercises, foreign troops have participated in the traditional "manning the rails".

The MEMORIAL is a white 184-foot structure that spans the sunken hull of the USS ARIZONA. The deck of the ship lies 6 feet below the surface of pearl Harbour. Alfred Pries, an Austrian architect, designed the memorial, which is broken into three sections --- entry room --- assembly room --- shrine room. The shrine room contains the names of the USS ARIZONA sailors and marines who lost their lives on that fateful day of December 7, 1941.