RT USS Arizona Memorial

Floating white monument built above the sunken battleship USS Arizona, honoring the lives lost during the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

General Information

Hours:

Daily: 7:00am – 5:00pm
Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day

Fees:

Admission is free
Reservations for boat ride to the memorial recommended via recreation.gov

Pet Policy:

Pets are not allowed

Closest cities with hotels:

Honolulu (10 mi)

Seasons:

All year; busiest during summer, winter holidays, and spring break

Location:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/6Zp6qzvZ5Zqz9v5A9

Website:

nps.gov/valr

How to Get There

From Honolulu, HI (10 mi): Take H-1 W to exit 15A, follow signs to the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center, and check in for the boat shuttle to the memorial.

Overview

USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor marks the resting place of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors and Marines killed on the battleship during the December 7, 1941 attack that brought the United States into World War II. Built in 1962 and visited by more than two million people each year, it is accessible only by boat and straddles the sunken hull without touching it. It is part of Pearl Harbor National Memorial, and the sunken remains are a National Historic Landmark (1989).

Visiting

Visitor center: operated by the National Park Service and free, with a museum of exhibits on the attack, including Arizona’s ship’s bell.
Boat access: a U.S. Navy boat takes visitors to the memorial. A numbered ticket for a designated departure time is required, available at the visitor center.
USS Missouri and Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum: also worth visiting, but they require a bus ride to Ford Island.

The Memorial

Designed by Honolulu architect Alfred Preis as a 184-foot bridge floating above the ship, with two peaks at the ends and a sag in the middle. It holds 200 people.
Three parts: entry, assembly room and shrine. The assembly room has seven large open windows on each wall and ceiling, recalling the date of the attack.
An opening in the floor overlooks the sunken decks, where visitors pay respects. Leis are now placed on the guardrails rather than in the water to protect sea life.
The shrine wall bears the names of all who died on Arizona, with a small plaque naming about thirty survivors.

USS Missouri

The Japanese surrendered aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, ending World War II. Since 1999 the battleship has been docked at Pearl Harbor behind Arizona, and the pairing symbolizes the beginning and end of America’s war.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Pearl Harbor National Memorial", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0