USS Arizona Memorial

I felt like I had come full-circle for WWII history during 2006. During my vacation to Europe in June, I visited the beaches of Normandy in France, and now it is September and I was standing over the sunken USS Arizona. If you've never been to this memorial, it's a must-visit on any trip to Oahu. There's a movie and lots of historical photos, stories, and memorabilla in the museum.

While waiting for the ferry to take us out to the memorial, a WWII Pearl Harbor survivor who was a volunteer there was hanging out and telling stories about how life was on Oahu back then. He was a pharmacist in the Navy and still lives on Oahu. It's so sad to think that in another 5-10 years, there won't be any survivors to tell their stories there.

As you can see from the pic, there is still oil leaking out from the hull of the USS Arizona. I can't imagine how, after more than 6o years there can still be any oil left, but there it is. The memorial straddles the hull of the USS Arizona and you can still see some of the structures under the water. There's also lots of fish since it's a kind of artificial reef now.

The hull of the USS Arizona is the final resting place for most of the 1,177 who died on the ship that fateful Sunday morning. It was staggering to see all those names etched into stone on the memorial's back wall. As we drove around the island during the week, it was easy, and eerie, to picture those planes coming over the mountains and what it must've been like to see them approaching the harbor and air bases.

I like to ground myself during my travels by visiting historical sites, especially military ones. I'm always awed by the fact that it is luck of fate that puts us in certain places at certain times and time periods.

Stay tuned. . . I still have posts on Waikiki and food to do!