Tomorrow we get to Pepeete, Tahiti. But today, I want to talk about Honolulu which was our last port in Hawaii. The only ultimate tour we could take was to the Arizona Memorial. In reviewing the various tours, we found a Pearl Harbor VIP, Military Bases, & WWII Battlefield tour.  This was a small tour with only 14 persons on the bus with a Pearl Harbor historian.

Because of the magnitude of the tour, today I will only talk about Pearl Harbor. As we drive to the Visitor Center, our guide is talking all the way and providing information about the December 7, 1941.

As we walk to the visitor’s center, we get our first glimpse of the Arizona Memorial in the distance.

As we wait for our time to visit the memorial, our guide takes us around the grounds and into the two museums, explaining everything as we go. Here is the original bell from the Arizona.

Inside of one of the museums, our guide talks about the bulkhead in front of us that was removed several years ago when some charting dives were made.

In the museums, each large item has a replica in bronze so that the blind can feel what we are looking at. Here is the actual memorial and the Arizona if we could see everything as it is. These models were amazing.

One of the items from the 30’s and 40’s is a sign that shows various distances to military bases, continents, etc. This was one of those items that anyone serving in the service in Hawaii always had their picture taken with. I immediately saw that we had 4,500 miles to get to Australia when we leave Hawaii.

Finally, it was time to go into the Theater. Here we saw an extremely interesting film about December 7, 1941. 

When the film was done, it was time to head to the boats that will take us to the Memorial.

As we go across the water, we see these large white markers.

As we get closer, we find that these markers indicate the location the various ships that were anchored on December 7, 1941. These markers were everywhere as we get our first glimpse of battleship row. We find out that all the ships in the Pacific fleet were in Pearl Harbor except for the aircraft carriers. They were going to have the annual fleet inspection on December 8 and were required to be in port 24 hours early to get ready for the Admiral’s inspection. This annual inspection was the only reason all these ships would be in Pearl Harbor and so close together.

Do you think the Japanese knew about this inspection? Absolutely!

Then we see the Memorial as it appears to rise out of the water. Actually, it is resting on the Arizona.

As we walk into the memorial, it is like no other memorial we have visited. While there are a number of people here, all talking is in whispers. No one is yelling. No one is laughing.

At the end of the memorial is the names of all the men who are still entombed below our feet.

Then we look over the side and can see pieces of the Arizona sticking up out of the water.

Then we realize we can see the outline of the ship below the water.

We then see the oil slick where the fuel oil is leaking from the Arizona ever so slowly. Because of the location of the fuel, it has been determined to not try and pump it out. A metallurgist did a survey several years ago and found that the integrity of the ship is good and that there is no chance of a major spill for years to come. So, the oil continues to leak out ever so slowly.

As I look out one side, I see the USS Missouri in the distance. If you notice the white buoy on the water, that is the aft end of the USS Arizona. There is a marker in the front also. This is a big ship that is under water.

As I look up, I see the American Flag waving at the top of the Memorial. I just watched it for a few minutes and then made my way to the boat to take us back to shore.

For one of the few times in my life, I am speechless…