National Park Service USS Arizona (Pearl Harbor) Memorial, Pearl Harbor Hawaii.

The National Park Service administered a park dedicated to the history of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 as the USS Arizona Memorial. The memorial dedicated specifically to the USS Arizona is featured elsewhere on this blog, so this part of that memorial, which lies across from Ford Island in site of the USS Arizona memorial, is featured here.

The Park Service site covers more than just the Arizona and is dedicated to the memory of every American, including civilians, who died in the December 7 attack. The portion of the memorial featured above lists everyone outside of those who died on the USS Arizona and USS Oklahoma, which have separate memorials, as noted elsewhere on this blog.

U.S. ships at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

The USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor Hawaii

The raised anchor of  the USS Arizona.

The memorial wall on the USS Arizona memorial listing the crew-members who lost their lives on December 7, 1941.

The crew-members who have chosen to be interred with their shipmates since December 7, 1941.

The USS Arizona.

Oil leaking from the Arizona, the "tears" of the ship.

This is a section of the memorial wall again, which I've posted due to the surprise of noting the name of one of the sailors.

This is the name I noted.  Hoelscher is an alternative spelling of my last name.  We don't spell it that way, and because it's a German and Dutch occupational name, the chances of even being distantly related are quite small. Still, it's quite surprising and a bit of a shock to see a Hoelscher listed there.

 The oil leaking from the USS Arizona is estimated at the very small amount of five quarts per day.  None the less, the oil streak is clearly visible from the USS Missouri, which is docked some distance away.

 The USS Missouri as viewed from the USS Arizona memorial.

I last saw the USS Arizona memorial in about 1975, when I went to Oahu with my mother.  We went there to visit her Great Aunt Christine, who was born and raised in Hawaii, and who was an eyewitness to the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor.

At that time, the memorial was administered by the U.S. Navy, and those going to view it entered by small vessel through the mouth of Pearl Harbor.  The boat was boarded in Honolulu Harbor.  It was very dignified, and I recall a uniformed sailor was present at all times.

The U.S. Park Service now administers the site, and they do a nice job, particularly with a related facility nearby which commemorates the entire battle.  It remains a moving and somber site.

USS Oklahoma Memorial, Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

429 crewmen of the USS Oklahoma were killed on December 7, 1941, when the ship capsized from battle damage sustained during the Japanese raid.  Next to the USS Arizona, the USS Oklahoma represents the greatest number of lost lives of the battle.  This monument to her dead is on Ford Island, and has only been open to the general public in more recent years, given that Pearl Harbor remains an active Navy installation.

Unlike the USS Arizona, the USS Oklahoma was raised, but it was not reconstructed as had been planned.  It was scrapped in 1944, and the hulk sank while being moved in the open ocean in 1947.

A note on these photos, they're admittedly not very good, as they were taken from a bus, but it was my only opportunity to photograph the monument.

Related Threads:

USS Arizona Memorial.

National Park Service Pearl Harbor Memorial.

Pearl Harbor Marine Corps Memorial, Pearl Harbor Hawaii

This monument commemorates the Marines who lost their lives in the December 7, 1941 attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor.  The monument lists each Marine killed on that fateful day.