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.

Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole Piʻikoi, Honolulu Hawaii

This is a statue of Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole Piʻikoi on Wakiki Beach in Honolulu Hawaii.  He was a prince of the Hawaiian royalty at the time of the royalty's overthrow and went on to become an elected representative for the Hawaiian Territory to the U.S. Congress.as a member of the Republican Party, which he switched to after being a significant figure in the Hawaiian Home Rule Party.

Victoria Kaʻiulani Kalaninuiahilapalapa Kawekiu i Lunalilo Cleghorn, Honolulu Hawaii

This is a monument to Victoria Kaʻiulani Kalaninuiahilapalapa Kawekiu i Lunalilo Cleghorn, Crown Princess of Hawaii, who notably tried to preserve the Hawaiin monarchy and preserve Hawaiian independence.  Her health declined in the effort and she ultimately died after coming down with pneumonia following being caught in a rain storm while out riding a horse.  Educated in England, and weakened by her efforts, she was never able to regain a physical accommodation to her native land.

She was universally regarded as presenting a lovely appearnace, and this poor photograph does not do her justice.

Sun Yat Sen Monument, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii

This is a private monument to Sun Yat Sen in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii.  This is one of at least three monuments to Sun Yat Sen in Hawaii, and at least one of two on Maui, the other being in a park on the island.

Sun Yat Sen is regarded as the father of the Chinese republic and remains revered by the Chinese, including both the dispossessed Nationalist Chinese and the Communist Chinese.  Nonetheless, upon at least first blush monuments to him in Hawaii are surprising.  However, Maui had a fair sized Chinese population at one time, and, moreover, Sun Yat Sen was sent to Hawaii in his early school days to study while living in his brother's household.  So the islands have a legitimate claim to providing the foundation for his republican ideals.  A birth certificate even exists claiming Hawaiian birth for Sun Yat Sen, which was erroneous, but perhaps an understandable error at the time of its issuance.

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World War Two Memorial, Natrona County High School, Casper Wyoming.

We've been wanting to get this, and the Vietnam War memorial, from NCHS up for sometime, but, as can be seen, we've been frustrated by the glare present in the NCHS lobby.  My son recently took this photo with his cell phone camera, and it'll have to do until we can somehow get a photo without glare.  These types of monuments are hard to photograph in general, as the lighting conditions are always poor in one way or another.

This plaque lists NCHS's dead from World War Two, quite a number if you consider that the overall number of students in the 1940-45 time frame would have been considerably smaller than now.  Of course, it was also the only high school in the county at the time, so everyone of the bottom end of military age was attending the school.  

Also notable is that this is one of several monuments in Casper Wyoming commemorating the dead of World War Two, which says something both as to the impact of the war upon the town, and the number of people who were in the service.

The Fort McPherson National Cemetery | Nebraska History Blog

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Vietnam War Memorial, Natrona County High School, Casper Wyoming

The memorial inside the lobby of Natrona County High School in Casper Wyoming to graduates who died in the Vietnam War.

Ships Wheel, USS Natrona

 

The USS Natrona (APA-214) was a Haskell class attack transport that served in World War Two.  Named after Natrona County Wyoming, the ship's wheel and some memorabilia from the ship is displayed in the old Natrona County Courthouse in Casper Wyoming.

Salt Creek/Teapot Dome Historical Marker

These two markers, near Teapot Dome and the Naval Petroleum Oil Reserve, clearly fall outside the scope of the blog.  However, as I recently stopped and took photos of these markers, put up by the State of Wyoming, I thought I'd at least post them.

Teapot Dome is, of course, not associated with any sort of personal sacrifice, but unfortunately with scandal.  The scandal was real, but perhaps a more fitting consideration is that this Natrona County Wyoming oilfield was a long serving Naval Petroleum Reserve, and only recently has that status been altered.

Part of these memorials also commemorates the Salt Creek Oil Field. An incredibly long-lasting Wyoming oil field.

Grand Army of the Republic Cannons, Basin Wyoming

These are two Civil War era cannons provided, by Act of Congress, to the Grand Army of the Republic's post in Basin Wyoming.  These cannons are interesting in a variety of ways.  For one thing, they remain in fine shape.  Secondly, however, it's amazing to think that Basin, a very small town, had a GAR post.  The population of the town was probably larger in 1909 than it is now, but nonetheless, the fact that there were enough Civil War veterans in Basin, in 1909, shows how many veterans there were.

These two cannons, which managed to escape the great melt down of cannons that occurred due to World War Two scrap drives, are located outside of the library in Basin, which is located next to the Basin County Courthouse.

The Company of Military Historians

For those who may not be familiar with it, the Company of Military Historians is the premier organization dedicated to the study of military history.  At one time its membership was by invitation, but now invitation is open to those interested in the subject.  It's journal is excellent.

The flyer depicted above is available at http://military-historians.org/join/Revisedshowflyerw-QRC130201.pdf

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