Where We Be
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| The USS Arizona Memorial is a moving tribute to the lives lost in World War II |
| Oahu, Hawaii -- USS Arizona Memorial |
| Here's a view of downtown Honolulu. Those twin towers (known as One Waterfront Towers) are condos offering spectacular views. |
Our visit to the USS Arizona Memorial began
with a thought-provoking twenty-minute
documentary on the attack on Pearl Harbor on
December 7, 1942. Then a boat took our group
to the memorial itself. We had thirty minutes to
take in this moving memorial, where 1,177
crewmen still lay at rest in their watery grave.
We could see a slick of oil on the surface which
still bubbles up from the ship below. A list of
names of the sailors who died takes up one
wall of the memorial. The white structure spans
the mid-portion of the sunken battleship. In the
words of architect Alfred Preis, "The structure
sags in the center but stands strong and
vigorous at the ends, expressing initial defeat
and ultimate victory." The flagpole is attached
to the severed mainmast of the sunken battle-
ship. The memorial's official name is the World
War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument.
with a thought-provoking twenty-minute
documentary on the attack on Pearl Harbor on
December 7, 1942. Then a boat took our group
to the memorial itself. We had thirty minutes to
take in this moving memorial, where 1,177
crewmen still lay at rest in their watery grave.
We could see a slick of oil on the surface which
still bubbles up from the ship below. A list of
names of the sailors who died takes up one
wall of the memorial. The white structure spans
the mid-portion of the sunken battleship. In the
words of architect Alfred Preis, "The structure
sags in the center but stands strong and
vigorous at the ends, expressing initial defeat
and ultimate victory." The flagpole is attached
to the severed mainmast of the sunken battle-
ship. The memorial's official name is the World
War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument.
| You reach the memorial by boat |
| In the words of the architect, "The overall effect is one of serenity" |
| The Shrine Room lists the names of the 1,177 crewmen who died |
| This diagram shows how the white structure spans the mid-portion of the sunken battleship |
| A slick of oil on the surface still bubbles up from the ship below |
| Looking up through the structure at the US flag |
| This is the Honolulu waterfront as seen from the top deck of our cruise ship. The white Aloha Tower stands at the end of the pier. It was the first thing steamship passengers saw when they entered Honolulu harbor. Back then all of Honolulu would come to a standstill to greet the new visitors. |
| Zoomed-in view of downtown Honolulu with Diamond Head and Waikiki in the distance |
| Downtown Honolulu |
| This "Tree of Life" design also appears in the Shrine Room of the memorial |
