Jake and I visited Hawaii for the first time in 2009 and we made it a priority to spend a few days on Oahu, primarily to visit an important location in America’s history, Pearl Harbor. It was very emotional, touching, and moving to be there, hear the stories, watch footage, and see many American Veterans themselves visiting the memorial – some that were there on that December 7th day so many years ago. If you are ever visiting Oahu, this is a must do experience; plan on spending much of the day taking in all of the history and different areas and also expect for it to be a very heavy day.
While watching news coverage this evening I decided to share some of the photos we took during our visit to honor all of the lives lost and changed forever on December 7, 1941.
The National Memorial was built over the submerged hull of the USS Arizona. The battleship sunk 9 minutes after being attacked and was the final resting place for 1,102 sailors and crewmen. While visiting the Memorial was an emotional and sad experience, it was also very peaceful and is such a beautiful and symbolic memorial.
Memorial with names of each of the 1,177 lives lost from the attack on the USS Arizona.
Part of the sunken USS Arizona.
Oil in the water that is still, 70 years later, leaking from the hull of the USS Arizona. It is estimated that about a quart of oil still leaks from the battleship each day. The movement of the oil in the water brought a life-like characteristic to the memorial and was a very emotional sight for me.
United States Flag flying above USS Arizona.
Visitors reading a few of the countless memorials with the USS Arizona Memorial in the distance.
USS Missouri was the location where Japan signed the surrender documents that ended World War II. USS Missouri is now a museum at Pearl Harbor where you can explore many areas of the battleship and learn about life aboard the last U.S. battleship.
Torpedo controls.
Wreckage in Pearl Harbor.
Looking through the gun sights at one of the displays.
