Pearl Harbor Sites
USS Arizona Memorial, USS Bowfin and USS Missouri are sites at Pearl Harbor.
Pacific National Cemetery is located at the Pouwaina Punchbowl Crater several miles
away. I believe, it was created to bury the dead as a result of Japan's attack
on Pearl Harbor. Entrance to the Pearl Harbor sites:
USS Arizona Memorial as seen from the visitor's center. USS Arizona was sunk
during the attack. All personnel on board were killed, no bodies were ever
recovered. The ship remains sunken and the memorial was erected over it.
Every 20 minutes are so, a group of visitors are shown a short film and then board
a boat to be ferried to the memorial for a few minutes. This is one of the
two boats.
Entrance to memorial from boat dock.
A plaque just inside the memorial.
A view of the inside and the crowd.
At the far end of the memorial a wall of names listing the personnel entombed in
the USS Arizona.
An opening in the floor allows one to look down on the sunken ship.
A portion of the ship extending above the water.
While on the return ferry, I noticed the pilot's drink:
Anchor outside the visitor's center.
USS Missouri
The USS Arizona was one of a class of ships that were named after states.
The USS Missouri was also one of these ships and was the last of the class to be
decommissioned. I thought about touring it but the USS Alabama is another
ship of this class. It was decommissioned years ago and is located in Mobile, Al;
I've toured it a few times. I skipped the USS Missouri tour.
USS Bowfin
The entrance for the tour through the submarine and museum.
The USS Bowfin is one of a class of submarines that were in used during and
after World War II. External view of submarine.
Its deck.
Inside, if I remember correctly, these were the controls used to make the submarine to dive.
The diesel engines. There were four, each sixteen cylinders. They were used
for cruising when on surface. Electric motors provided the power when submerged.
The main bunk room on the submarine. The crew worked and slept in shifts.
The bunks were shared.
Items from the USS Bowfin in the museum.
Mark 14 Steam Driven Torpedo
Polaris A-3 and Polaris A-1 Submarine launched ballistic missles.
Tomahawk Cruise Missle
National Cemetery of the Pacific
The first interment was of an unsoldier killed during the Pearl Harbor Attack. Entrance:
Center piece of the memorial. Preparations for Memorial Day ceremonies were underway.
Main figure of the center piece.
Chapel, located behind the figure.
Numerous walls around the outer edges of the cemetery. They contain memorials
from various organizations commemorating soldiers.
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