WAR AND PEACE AT PEARL HARBOUR -THE HAWAII JOURNEY

After Dole plantation it was now time to visit the largest harbor of Hawaii in the South of Oahu which is the Pearl Harbor

The Hawaiian name for Pearl Harbor is Puʻuloa (long hill). Later it was named Pearl Harbor as pearl oysters used to be harvested from the waters, 

Pearl Harbor is a U.S. naval base and is infamous for the surprise attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy on December 7, 1941, which brought the United States into World War II.

Waves of Japanese aircraft had sneakily targeted the U.S. Pacific Fleet, resulting in not only sinking but also severe damage of numerous warships and aircraft.

The attack on Pearl Harbor had resulted in over 2,400 American deaths, including civilians, and numerous injuries. It also led to the declaration of war on Japan by the United States. 

Now Pearl Harbor is a National Memorial, with the USS Arizona Memorial marking the site where a battleship sank during the attack, it is a significant historical site and a place of remembrance of all the sacrifices done by the young men and women

We parked our car and deposited our handbags in the locker, as we are not allowed to take any bags other than a transparent bag with its contents clearly visible and it is risky to leave anything in the car, we just took our wallets & cell phones 

As we entered I noticed the Pearl Harbor visitor center where the volunteers were enthusiastically offering help and information, it is a free attraction at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, a unit of the US National Park Service (NPS) and is the gateway to the Battleship Missouri Memorial, Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum, the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, USS Arizona Memorial, USS Oklahoma Memorial, and USS Utah Memorial 

These special monuments commemorate the historic events that changed history during World War II.

The Ford Island consists of the USS Missouri, the USS Oklahoma memorial & the Aviation Museum, one has to take a shuttle bus to see all these and then return to the Submarine area and the USS Arizona area

We had already booked for USS Arizona Memorial prior to coming to Hawaii as sometimes we cannot obtain tickets and didn’t want to return disappointed

We have to book for the USS Arizona separately because it is actually a National Park. This is a timed slot ticket, so we have to leave enough time to get over to the USS Arizona boat ride line 15 minutes before our time slot

We waited in a line for the shuttle boat that took us to the USS Arizona Memorial, as we got onto the shuttle boat there was a sudden change of mood of everyone as we were about to visit a US Military cemetery

We got off the boat and went into the USS Arizona Memorial, which marks the resting place of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors and Marines killed on USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and commemorates the events of that day. 

The memorial is visited by more than two million people annually. Accessible only by boat, it straddles the sunken hull of the battleship without touching it.

Historical information about the attack, shuttle boats to and from the memorial, and general visitor services are available at the associated USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center, which opened in 1980 and is operated by the National Park Service. 

Robert Ripley of Ripley Believe it or not fame was instrumental in sowing the seeds of thoughts to start a memorial at that site when he visited Pearl Harbor in 1942. 

The Pacific War Memorial Commission was created in 1949 to build a permanent memorial in Hawaii and the Navy placed the first permanent memorial, a 10-foot tall basalt stone and plaque, over the mid-ship deckhouse on December 7, 1955

Arizona is being maintained in honor and commemoration of the members of the Armed Forces of the United States who gave their lives to their country during the attack on Pearl Harbor

The USS Arizona Memorial was formally dedicated on May 30, 1962 and the battleship's sunken remains were declared a National Historic Landmark on May 5, 1989

Since then, every U.S. President made a pilgrimage to the memorial, presenting a wreath and scattering flowers over Arizona in honor of the Americans who perished there. On December 27, 2016, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe visited the memorial with President Barack Obama and paid respects to fallen service members there. 

Abe is the first Prime Minister of Japan to visit the USS Arizona Memorial, 75 years after the Japanese attack. It was a reciprocal visit to Obama's visit of Hiroshima Peace Memorial on May 27, 2016 as the first visit by a sitting U.S. President.

Every United States Navy, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine vessel entering Pearl Harbor participates in the tradition of "manning the rails." Personnel serving on these ships stand at attention at the ship's guard rails and salute the USS Arizona Memorial in solemn fashion as their ship slowly glides into port.

The national memorial was designed by Honolulu architect Alfred Preis an Austrian by birth. The United States Navy specified that the memorial has to be in the form of a bridge floating above the ship and accommodate 200 people. 

The 184-foot-long structure has two peaks at each end connected by a sag in the center of the structure. Critics initially called the design a "squashed milk carton". Looking at it from the shuttle boat it was difficult for us to imagine that it was floating on top of the huge sunken ship

The national memorial has three main parts: entry, assembly room, and shrine, we entered the central assembly room which had seven large open windows on both walls and ceiling too, to commemorate the date of the attack, it is known as the Tree of Life design which allows natural light to illuminate the names of the fallen sailors and marines whose names were displayed on the large marble wall in the shrine, protected behind velvet ropes

The marble wall is vulnerable to the presence of salt water vapor which causes stains and erosion damage to gradually appear. The original wall was replaced in 1984 and again in 2014

National Park Services shred the old marble into little pieces and dump them far out in the ocean so no one can use them as souvenirs

The memorial also had an opening in the floor overlooking the sunken decks. It is from this opening that visitors can pay their respects by tossing single flowers in honor of the fallen sailors. In the past, Leis (a Polynesian garland of flowers) were tossed in the water, but because string from leis poses a hazard to sea life, they are now are placed on guardrails in front of the names of the fallen.

To the left of the main wall we saw a small plaque which bears the names of thirty or so crew members who survived the 1941 sinking. 

Any surviving crew members of Arizona (or their families on their behalf) could have their ashes interred within the wreck by U.S. Navy divers. 

We could see an oily sheen on the clear water as each day the USS Arizona’s oil tanks continue to release droplets of oil into the Pearl Harbor. This oil is sometimes referred to as "the tears of the Arizona" or "black tears. 

Before Sept 11 2001, tourist boats from Waikiki and private yachts were allowed to enter Pearl Harbor. After Sept 11, only military ships and officers’ sailboats can cruise Pearl Harbor.

While visiting the USS Arizona I recollected my visit to the Peace Memorial Park Hiroshima in Japan where anguish ,pain and sympathy for the victims engulfed everyone of us

Looking at the puzzled faces of my grandson and other kids who were going around not fully realizing the gravity, I truly wished that we humans created so lovingly by God for a noble cause and good of the Earth stop resorting to wars and violence, the agony of the people who survived and faced the aftermaths of the wars is indescribable, how I fervently wish that utmost peace prevails all over the world

We returned to the shuttle boat solemnly, there was a movie which runs every 30 min, so we watched that with heavy hearts

The USS Oklahoma Memorial tells the incredible story of rescue and survival against all odds and acknowledges the sacrifice of 429 men. On the opposite side of Ford Island, the USS Utah Memorial commemorates the only other remaining ship from the attack. Partially visible above the waterline the USS Utah is the final resting place for 58 men.

Pacific Historic Parks operates the popular museum store on the grounds of the Pearl Harbor National Memorial.

There are self-guided audio tours narrated by renowned actress Jamie Lee Curtis who will walk us through 29 stops, including 2 museums, the USS Arizona Memorial and walk of remembrance, total cost being 7.99 dollars

I came across the bronze Lone Sailor statue depicting a sailor standing on a bollard, looking out at the harbor. It's a symbol of the U.S. Navy and its personnel, both past and present, it was dedicated on October 13th, 2017 at the WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument Visitor Center 

A plaque next to the Lone Sailor read: “The Base of This Statue Contains Steel from the USS Arizona.”

We also saw on display at the visitor’s center the USS Arizona’s anchor. The anchor weighs 19,585 lbs. and was one of three anchors carried by the battleship of USS Arizona. Two were used to anchor the ship, depending upon the weather. A third was used as a spare. When the Battleship blew up, one of the Anchors was ejected into the harbor and this is kept as a display at the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center.

On the deck of the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, the Japanese surrendered  ending World War II. In 1999, Missouri was moved to Pearl Harbor and placed perpendicular to the USS Arizona Memorial. The pairing of the two ships became an evocative symbol of the beginning and end of the United States' participation in the war.

One can explore the "Pearl Harbor Avenger" USS Bowfin submarine, which completed nine war patrols during World War II along with Submarine Museum & Park

We can discover the history of aviation at Pearl Harbor, including the attack on December 7, 1941, and the planes involved at the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum