10 November 1984
“A date which will live in infamy …”
I don’t think there’s an English-speaking person anywhere in the world that does not know these first few words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidential address, delivered on 8 December 1941, the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. A chill runs down my spine every time I hear the words.
[scanned from the US National Park Service (USNPS) brochure]
When the opportunity to visit Honolulu presented itself (click here for the story of the trip), there was no doubt in our minds where we would spend at least a part of our limited time on the island — the USS Arizona Memorial.
The sheen of oil on the water is from the sunken USS Arizona, clearly visible below the surface.
The oil that seeps out of the ship is known as the “tears of the Arizona.”
[scanned from postcard]
A mere minute after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor commenced, the USS Arizona was shattered by torpedo and bomb explosions. One armor-piercing bomb penetrated Arizona’s forward powder magazine. The resulting explosion wrecked half the battleship and killed her commanding officer and a rear admiral, both on the bridge at the time. This tremendous blast caused Arizona to sink in nine minutes, so fast that hundreds of men were trapped below. Of the 1177 officers and enlisted men killed, 75 bodies were recovered and the remaining 1102 are still entombed in the sunken battleship.
This painting is inside the memorial bridge that spans the sunken USS Arizona.
I’m not going to turn this post into a thesis, but a few words about the Memorial are in order (from the USNPS brochure):
The Arizona Memorial is the final resting place for about 1000 Navy men and Marines who lost their lives defending the USS Arizona on December 7, 1941. The Memorial spans the sunken battleship Arizona and consists of a gleaming white, 184-foot (56 m) long concrete structure with several main areas: a large entryway; an expansive, airy, light-filled, semi-open central assembly space for ceremonies and general observation; and a shrine chamber where the names of 1177 sailors and marines killed aboard the battleship on December 7, 1941 are engraved into a white marble wall.
The USS Arizona anchor; raised from the sunken battleship.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved the construction of the Memorial during his second term as president in 1958. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed the bill appropriating $150,000 for the construction. The Pacific War Memorial Commission spearheaded a fundraising drive for the completion of the Memorial, and in 1962 the Memorial was dedicated.
Contrary to popular belief, the USS Arizona is no longer in commission. The Navy Department, as a special tribute to the ship and her lost crew, permits the United States flag to fly daily from the flagpost which is attached to the severed mainmast of the sunken battleship.
Behind Mui are the moorings to which the USS Arizona and some of the other
battleships were tied up on that fateful day.
The barbette to gun turret number three.
(Barbette = protective circular armor around a cannon or heavy artillery gun.)
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The flagpost (R) is attached to the mainmast of the sunken battleship.
Here are some additional scans from the USNPS brochure … click for larger, legible versions:
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Our visit to the USS Arizona was a moving experience that has stayed with us to this day. We hope to repeat this visit someday in the future.
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