Pearl Harbor National Memorial

A must see for all who visit Hawaii and appreciate history. It was a very humbling experience to visit a place I had only ever heard about in text books before.

American tourists are very emotional about this place, although there are not many tourists here, but more than 80% of them are Americans, the memory of World War II is probably the most emotionally complicated is these people.

The war was so tragic that more than 2,000 American soldiers died in combat, and more than 1,000 American soldiers have slept in the undersea cabins. Nearly eight decades have passed, and oil still leaks from the water.

Traveling to Hawaii, I visited the Arizona Battleship Memorial with solemnity. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked Pearl Harbor, the base of the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet, while the U.S. Army was on no alert. In more than two hours of air strikes, Japanese bombers killed and injured 3,581 American citizens, sank six U.S. warships and destroyed 347 U.S. aircraft. The Arizona battleship, moored at Pearl Harbor at that time, was hit and sunk, the ammunition depot exploded, and 1177 soldiers were killed. Pearl Harbor incident directly led to the outbreak of the Pacific War, which made the United States officially join the Second World War. In May 1962, President Kennedy designated the sinking site of the battleship Arizona as a national cemetery and established the Arizona Memorial in the waters of the sinking site of the Arizona. The memorial was completed in 1980. The historical warships moored in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, present the history of World War II to the people. The Arizona's hull is still 12 metres underwater. Its superstructure and artillery are dismantled. The wreckage is visible on the water. Only the circular base of the main turret behind the hull is visible. On the white marble wall of the memorial hall, the names of 1177 naval officers killed on the warship on December 7, 1941 are inscribed. Every morning, naval soldiers still hoist the Star-Spangled Flag for the battleship Arizona, which is no longer navigable. The memorial was built on a submarine filler and arched over the underwater hull of the Arizona battleship. It seems to be a monument built on the sea, so that today's people will never forget that war, never forget those who fought for peace.

The museum is soon accessible by boat from the harbor. In fact, this is where the original Arizona wrecked. The Memorial looks like a boat, and the list of all the soldiers who died gloriously is on the wall of the museum. After entering, the atmosphere was very serious. No Japanese tourists were seen. This can be said to be the patriotic education base of the American people.

The U.S. Navy's Arizona Battleship Memorial in Pearl Harbor, built in 1980, commemorates the sinking of the Arizona Battleship in the Pearl Harbor attack. The wreckage of the main ship is not here, but part of the dismantled artillery shells, machine guns and other parts are displayed here.

📍 This is the first time I came, but fortunately I have the patience of the staff to explain and have very good memories.