The USS Arizona Memorial, at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, marks the resting place of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors and Marines killed on USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and commemorates the events of that day. The attack on Pearl Harbor led to the United States’ involvement in World War II. The memorial, built-in 1962, is visited by more than two million people annually. Accessible only by boat, it straddles the sunken hull of the battleship without touching it. Historical information about the attack, shuttle boats to and from the memorial, and general visitor services are available at the associated USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center, which opened in 1980 and is operated by the National Park Service. The battleship’s sunken remains were declared a National Historic Landmark on May 5, 1989.
During and following the end of World War II, Arizona’s wrecked superstructure was removed and efforts began to erect a memorial at the remaining submerged hull. Robert Ripley, of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! fame visited Pearl Harbor in 1942. Six years later, in 1948, he did a radio broadcast from Pearl Harbor. Following that broadcast, with the help of his longtime friend Doug Storer, he got in contact with the Department of the Navy. He wrote letters to Rear Admiral J.J. Manning of the Bureau of Yards and Docks regarding his desire for a permanent memorial. While Ripley’s original idea for a memorial was disregarded due to the cost, the Navy continued with the idea of creating a memorial. The Pacific War Memorial Commission was created in 1949 to build a permanent memorial in Hawaii. Admiral Arthur W. Radford, commander of the Pacific Fleet, attached a flag pole to the main mast of Arizona in 1950, and began a tradition of hoisting and lowering the flag. In that same year, a temporary memorial was built above the remaining portion of the deckhouse. Radford requested funds for a national memorial in 1951 and 1952 but was denied because of budget constraints during the Korean War. A1 Bed Bug Exterminator Honolulu
The national memorial has three main parts: entry, assembly room, and shrine. The central assembly room features seven large open windows on either wall and ceiling, to commemorate the date of the attack.
Restaurants and Pubs
- Shay’s Smash Burgers is located at 98-291 Kamehameha Hwy, Aiea, HI
- Restaurant 604 is located at 57 Arizona Memorial Dr, Honolulu, HI
- Blue Tropix Bar is located at 98-151 Pali Momi St, Aiea, HI
- Honolulu Tavern is located at 417 Nohonani St, Honolulu, HI
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