Dec. 7, 2023 marks the 82nd anniversary of the Japanese aerial assault on Pearl Harbor.

Why visit Pearl Harbor?

Pearl Harbor is an active military base. It’s also home to two memorials that mark the beginning of America’s fighting World War II and the place of Japan’s unconditional surrender 1,336 days — three and a half years — later. I visited the Pearl Harbor Memorial as every American ought to tour these historic sites. They are important to experience and remember.

Ford Island on Oahu, Hawaii, is also known as Pearl Harbor. During the attack, several ships were badly damaged or destroyed and sunk in the military base’s waters. The three most notable losses are the USS Utah, USS Oklahoma and the USS Arizona. The Utah and Oklahoma were capsized. Fifty-eight sailors died on the USS Utah. Four hundred twenty-nine were killed on the Oklahoma.

USS Arizona BB-39

Four 1,757-pound bombs struck the Arizona dropped by Nakajima B5N airplanes. The last bomb struck the Arizona at 8:08 a.m. Seven seconds later, the ammunition magazine near turret II exploded. The cataclysm took the Arizona to the bottom of the harbor, where it rests today.

The Japanese single engine Nakajima B5N like this one dropped a 1,757 pound bomb on the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor
A Nakajima B5N bomber

USS Arizona Memorial

Unlike the USS Constitution, Arizona is not perpetually commissioned but is maintained and run by the National Park Service. The U.S. Navy owns the title to the ship. The USS Arizona can fly the U.S. flag forever as it could were it still a commissioned naval vessel.

A short ride on a tour boat captained by Navy officers carries visitors from the Pearl Harbor National Memorial to the USS Arizona site.

Our Captian waves to visitors entering the memorial
The captain waves to visitors as they debark the tour boat and go into the memorial

Photographs of the Navy personnel are allowed if they give their permission. The captain of the boat I was on was very gracious.

The memorial is built across the sunken battleship. The illustration shows where the USS Arizona Memorial site sits over the ship’s remains. The areas outlined in color are above the water. The tiny circle on the middle left of the diagram is where the flagpole is welded to the ship.

Diagram of the USS Arizona showing the position of the Memorial
Diagram: National Park Service It is located on the USS Arizona Memorial

My experience was solemn as I walked among the many people in the memorial. The small buoy beyond the rusted barbette in the foreground marks the stern of the Arizona.

A woman and a small boy look toward the stern of the Arizona.
A woman and a small boy look toward the buoy marking the stern of the Arizona.

The flag waved vigorously. It was visible through the open roof of the site.

The US flag seen though openings in the roof of the USS Arizona Memorial
The U.S. flag waving above the USS Arizona Memorial

The Viewing Well

An open section in the floor of the memorial is the Viewing Well. Visitors see some of the ship. Other parts of the Arizona is visible above the moving waters of Pearl Harbor’s bay.

Visitors to the USS Arizona Memorial peering into the Viewing Well.
Visitors to the USS Arizona Memorial peering into the Viewing Well.

The Arizona is seen in the moving water of the viewing well. I thought about the 1,177 members of the U.S. Navy and Marines entombed on board. The other visitors there were also mostly silent. While the memorial is a tourist attraction, it is one of solemn contemplation.

The view leaning over the railing of the Viewing Well.
The view leaning over the railing of the Viewing Well.

The Shrine Room

The Shrine Room is behind the Viewing Well. Visitors are quiet and respectful. Some bow their heads. Others salute the fallen servicemen. Some take pictures with their phones.

I stood at the center of the space, thinking about the horrors of wars past and those raging now. Slowly, people made their way back toward the entry to get on the boat to return to the Visitors Center. Soon, I was alone with my thoughts and my camera.

The Shrine Room where the names of those who died on the USS Arizona December 7, 1941
The Shrine Room displays the names of those entombed on the USS Arizona on Dec. 7, 1941

USS Missouri BB-63

I looked across where the bow of the Arizona lay underwater and saw the USS Missouri — the “Mighty Mo” — commissioned in 1944. She served in the Pacific through the rest of World War II and in Korea and the Gulf War.

The "Mighty Mo," the USS Missouri is the last American battleship.
The “Mighty Mo,” the USS Missouri is the last American battleship.

The deck of the USS Missouri was the site of the unconditional surrender of the Empire of Japan on Sept. 2, 1945. This ended World War II.

The commemorative marker on the deck of the USS Missouri.
The commemorative marker on the deck of the USS Missouri
USS Missouri and the USS Arizona Memorial taken from the Pearl Harbor Visitors Center
The end and the beginning of America’s war with Imperial Japan: The USS Missouri bow to bow with The USS Arizona.

The Pearl Harbor Memorial also includes the air museum a tour of the submarine USS Bowfish and the Utah.

I left the memorials and the base on Ford Island on a bus to the main visitors center. From there I walked to the bus stop that would take me back to my hotel. As I rode, I was reminded of the words of the philosopher George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

I firmly believe that’s why it’s important to see these sights and experience what occurred at them.