USS Arizona Memorial
You must not leave Hawaii without visiting the USS Arizona
Memorial.
Oil droplets bubble to the surface of Pearl Harbor above
the USS Arizona, creating a vivid link to the past. On a
quiet Sunday morning December 7, 1941 a Japanese surprise
air attack left the Pacific Fleet in smoldering heaps of
broken, twisted steel. Here, peace was interrupted and paradise
lost. In just hours, 2,390 futures were stolen - 1,177 of
these casualties from the battleship Arizona.
Today, visitors come from around the world to see the USS
Arizona Memorial, which spans the mid-portion of the sunken
battleship. The national memorial is designed to encourage
quiet contemplation, and to appeal to our memory and sense
of sacrifice.
The USS Arizona Memorial is a must-see...
We were really taken back the first time we saw the sunkin
USS Arizona.
If you have never been to the USS Arizona Memorial, this
is something you must visit on your Hawaii vacation.
Not only does it give you a sense of the sacrafices that
were made, it is amazing thing to see this huge ship sunk
only a few feet beneath the surface of the water in Pearl
Harbor.
I think that the most incredible thing about the sunkin
ship is the oil that is still bubbling to the top of the
water. It almost gives you a sense that the ship was recently
sunk - which is obviously not the case (unless you consider
1941 recent!). It's crazy... the oil rises to the top of
the water in little droplets, just a couple every minute
or two, and the oil hits the top of the water, spreads out
and slowly drifts away just in time for the next drops to
hit the surface to continue the pattern.
One of the things that they like visitors to do - because
it is a memorial - is to be very quiet while walking
around the memorial. It really gives you a chance to think
about what was going on during that fateful day that Pearl
Harbor was attacked.
This is one of those attractions that pictures simply do
not do it justice.
So, go visit the USS Arizona Memorial and remember to bring
your camera!
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