Shortly after dawn on Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, was attacked by the Japanese Imperial Navy. Commander Mitsuo Fuchida led the 353 Japanese aircraft in their surprise attack on the approximately 100 U.S. Navy ships in the harbor. Nearby Hickam Field was also attacked, and 18 Army Air Corps aircraft were damaged or destroyed. U.S. ground troops shot down 29 Japanese aircraft.
The best known ship involved in the attack is the USS Arizona. Of the ship's 1,177 crewmen who lost their lives on Dec. 7th, 1,102 were never recovered. They are entombed within the ship herself. This sunken battleship is commemorated by a memorial structure comprised of three sections. The first section is the entry and assembly room, and the middle section is where visitors may observe the ship and drop leis into the water to honor the dead. The third section is the shrine room, where the names of all of the crewmen who lost their lives are engraved upon a marble wall. The flag of the United States, attached to a severed mainmast of the USS Arizona, flies above the sunken ship.
Today Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial are top tourist destinations in Hawaii, attracting 1.5 million visitors annually. In 1999, the Battleship Missouri and the USS Missouri Memorial were added, further enhancing the memorial area. The release of the film "Pearl Harbor" in the spring of 2001 increased interest in the harbor as well.
The Arizona Memorial is open 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week. Early morning is the best time to visit the memorial. Standing over the spot where 1,177 men lost their lives is an overwhelming experience. Over time, the USS Arizona has become a memorial not only for these men, but also for all of the people who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor.
For a list of all the crewmen who died on the USS Arizona, click here.
