Day of Infamy: U.S.S. Arizona Memorial
Visitors to Pearl Harbor on the Hawaiian island of Oahu recall the attack that plunged the United States into war.
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| The U.S.S. Arizona is commemorated by a 184 foot-long memorial structure that spans its mid-portion. The men who died aboard the ship are still entombed below. |
President Franklin Roosevelt addressed Congress the next day. "Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan," he said. The United States was at war. Aircraft from Japanese carriers had struck ships of the U.S. Pacific fleet moored in Pearl Harbor and hit six other major military installations on the island of Oahu. By mid-morning, the Japanese had sunk or damaged 21 U.S. vessels. The dead numbered 2,388.
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| Among them are 36 sets of brothers and one father-and-son pair killed in the attack. | |
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Almost exactly half of those killed died aboard the Arizona when a Japanese bomb blew up the battleship at her anchor. Today, the USS Arizona Memorial stands as both tomb and monument, honoring those who still rest beneath the waters of Pearl Harbor and all who died in the attack. The memorial straddles the sunken battleship like a bridge, with no part touching the ship itself. "The form, wherein the structure sags in the center but stands strong and vigorous at the ends, expresses initial defeat and ultimate victory," said Alfred Prei, the memorial's designer, at the dedication ceremony on Memorial Day 1962.
More than 1.5 million people visit the memorial each year. Tours begin at the Pearl Harbor Navy Base's visitor center. There a ranger introduces a 30-minute documentary film that explores pre-war relations between the United States and Japan and explains how tensions culminated in Japan's ambitious surprise attack. After the film, a shuttle boat transports visitors to the memorial. From openings in the memorial's center portion, visitors can look out at Oahu's jagged Ko'olau mountain range and down at the Arizona itself, her ravaged hull softened by 50 years of coral and barnacles. Occasionally bubbles of oil rise to the surface, still leaking from the ship's tanks after 61 years.
From the open center of the structure, the tour continues into the Shrine Room where the names of deceased sailors are engraved on the wall. Among them are 36 sets of brothers and one father-and-son pair killed in the attack.
Tours of the memorial are free, and tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis (no advance registration). Call (808) 422-0561 or (808) 422-2771. Pearl Harbor is west of Honolulu off I-H1. The Visitor Center is open 7:30-5:00 daily. Programs are offered 8:00-3:00 September-May and 7:45-3:00 June-August. You can find the National Park Service's website at www.nps.gov/usar/indes.htm. For information on visiting Oahu, contact the Hawaii Convention and Visitors Bureau, (800) GO-HAWAII.
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