USS Arizona

[DallasMVeneto]

(sorry if the picture is not good i did not have a good camera at the time)
USS Arizona was a Pennsylvania class- battleship. She was commissioned in 1916 but stayed along the shorelines of the USA. She was modernized in the following years of 1929- 1931 and was stationed in Pearl Harbor 1940 from California. Of course we either do or do not know that Arizona was sank by IJN (Imperial Japanase Navy) Dive bombers. Her memorial was finished in the 1960's.

She was armed with the main armament of 4 turrets and in each turret was 3- 14 IN cannons.

[jtracks]

I've been to the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. It was a very somber experience. If you ever get to the island of Oahu, the entire Pearl Harbor area is a must see.

Joe

[mutt71]

I have been to Pearl Harbor and visited the USS Arizona Memorial. As said, it is a very somber place. When I saw the oil surfacing, I cried. I was thinking of all of those brave sous lost inside her and those that also died on that fateful day. I was fortunate in that my 2 sons,being active duty, drove on to Ford Island and went to the USS Utah Memorial. Most people do not know of the Utah,as it is not an area that is open to visits from the General public. This is a real shame, as one of the crew interned, is a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, for his actions in saving many of the crew, while sacrificing himself.

[sassgrunt]

I'm going to chime in on this thread, because I live nearby and have some news to share for anyone contemplating a visit here to see USS Arizona. Around March of last year, workers noticed that the floating concrete "dock" (that allows visitors to transit from the launch onto the memorial itself) had suffered damage. Visitors were immediately prohibited from using it until repairs could be made, and could only view the USS Arizona from the launch. The initial assessment was that repairs would take "a couple of weeks." That turned into "a couple of months" and then that prediction became "the Fall." Then, it "was hoped" that repairs could be made in time for the December 7th anniversary, but that didn't happen either, and became "the Spring" (of 2019). That became "May" and then has most recently been revised to "the Fall."

Officials claim that the biggest hold-up has been designing and fabricating the custom-made metal anchors that screw into the harbor bottom and hold the dock into position.

What this means to anyone who wants to visit here is that: you can still go into the Visitor's Center, and you can still ride the launches out to the Memorial; you just can't walk onto the Memorial to read the names of those interred there and look down upon the ship itself. It is STILL a very moving experience, and this limitation should not deter you from visiting at all; it is just that people are not expecting to be denied access to the Memorial itself.

This is one of the (if not THE) largest tourist attractions here on Oahu, and I consider the ongoing delays to repairs both frustrating and disrespectful. It is mind-numbing to be here and see the inability of the people in charge to get their act together on behalf of the Memorial and the visiting public. When (and IF) they ever get the thing repaired, I will make another post to let you folks know. -Mike

[mutt71]

Mike, I for one, thank you for this information. I hope that thus is taken care of real soon. When visited, I was very upset when I visited the USS Utah Memorial, as it was very obvious that it is largely ignored. I found a large floral wreath that was all dried out and had been placed there quite a while (a month) before we visited. I went to the office of the "powers that be", to report this and my "disappointment", that this had happened.

[sassgrunt]

Yes, the USS Utah Memorial is one of those "hidden gems" you hear about. It's on the other side of Ford Island, and it's not on the route of the tourist bus that transits between the USS Arizona, USS Missouri, and the Pacific Air Museum; so I think maintenance there is slack because people just don't know about it. When my brother and his family were visiting, I took them there while we were killing time waiting for our turn to get on the launch for USS Arizona. They were shocked that they'd never heard of it, and they found it to be a very moving experience as well.

For anyone planning a trip here, please let me know in advance, and I'll try and steer you to places to see that'll make the trip more worthwhile than just what the tourist guidebooks try and steer you to. Two of them that come to mind are the Battery Randolf museum of the US Army at Fort DeRussy - (it's worth paying admission to, but it's free); and the Hospital Point memorial where they ran the USS Nevada aground after it was damaged, so that it wouldn't block the channel entrance to Pearl Harbor. -Mike

[HERMAN BIX]

Its quite sad to hear these reports of what is the most significant U.S. memorial site.
I have visited a LOT of nations graveyards across the European theatre across both wars & the U.S. sites are without exception the most well kept & squared away places of them all.
Its strange that the very place where the entire WW2 storm actually began for the United States & went on to spawn the other sites of such tragedy is left to disgrace the sacrifice & memory of those men.

[sassgrunt]

FINALLY!!! They have finally managed to repair the boarding deck for USS Arizona! Starting Sunday, 1 September, visitors will again be able to access the memorial from the launches that folks ride out to it. So, if any of you were thinking about a visit there; you'll once again be able to get the whole moving experience. WELL worth your time. -Mike

[mutt71]

Mike, I thank you very much for this welcome news! This is so good to hear.

[Ragnar]

Found these pictures showing her after her major refit.