Day 3

On Sunday Kara and I went to the Arizona Memorial- which most people call Pearl Harbor. I have been there once before but it was just as emotional this time as the last.

At the memorial you are given a ticket and a group number. Depending on what time you arrive, you may have quite a bit of time to pass before actually going out to the memorial. We woke up early to go, so we only had an hour to wait before the tour.

Once our turn came we filed into the autotourium with 100+ others. The guide who spoke to us had been raised in Hawaii. He was living in the area at the time of the attacks and spoke to us about how it was a sight that stays with you forever.

In the interest of history and being informative, there is a short video that you watch before going out on the boat. It made me cry. There is a large difference between learning about the attack on Pearl Harbor in school and being at the site that is the grave for so many men.

After the video you are taken out on the boat to the memorial and given time to spend out there.

The memorial has a very interesting shape.

The names on the wall are of all the men who went down with the ship.
It's very powerful knowing that you are on the gravesite of these men who gave their lives so we could be free.
These are the names of survivors of the Arizona who asked that after their deaths, they be buried with their shipmates. And so they rest here also.
The ship in the background is the USS Missouri, the place where the peace treaty of WWII was signed. In the water you see parts of the Arizona, where WWII started for the U.S.A.
Another part of the Arizona.

This is oil on the water. Known as the "tears of the Arizona" everyday drops of oil still rise to the surface from the ship.
Another part of the Arizona.
A memorial plaque.