Tour the Arizona Memorial in Hawaii
December 7th, 1941, Hawaii erupted into America’s history because of Japan’s decision to target the area for a surprise attack. This was almost two decades before Hawaii was even an official U.S. state. Japan assaulted the Pacific fleet in Pearl Harbor, killing 2,388 civilian and military personnel. 21 vessels and 170 planes were left damaged, in shambles, or destroyed that day, and the U.S. took action by entering into World War II.
Battleship Row, as it was called, included seven battleships that lined the southeastern Ford Island shore as the first wave of Japanese attacks came in. The USS Arizona was one of these ships, and around 8:10 that morning it exploded. 1,777 crew members went down with her when she sank under nine minutes after the explosion.
Now days, the Pearl Harbor Navy Base is home to the USS Arizona Memorial where more than a million people visit each year and honor the crew members who were lost that day. Part of the National Park Service, the Memorial was dedicated in 1962 on Memorial Day. A new project is set to take place to construct a $52 million museum and visitor center. This new addition to the memorial is set to be finished on the by the 69th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7th, 2010.
A documentary film begins your journey into the Arizona Memorial, leading you through the events that led to the attack. Once the 23 minute film is finished, you step onto a Navy-operated launch that will take you to the memorial. The memorial was designed to straddle the battleship’s sunken hull, where so many crew members were lost.
You don’t have to pay anything for the tour or even make a reservation. Be aware that you’ll commonly have to wait, though. The entire tour takes only an hour, but you should give yourself at least 2 ½ hours of time when you plan to visit. The tours usually start about every 15 minutes from 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. The Arizona Memorial and Visitor Center are open almost all year long. Their hours are 7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. every day of the week. However, they’re closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.
