Monday, February 17, 2020

Pearl Harbor



Sunday, February 16, 2020

Pearl Harbor is a small harbour nestled up against Pearl City (population 48,000) on Oahu. It took us one hour to get there by bus.  Day pass:  $5.50 each.

Image result for map of pearl harbor today

It's famous as the focus of the surprise attack by the Japanese Imperial Navy against the then neutral American Naval fleet that was stationed there. The Japanese hoped to cripple the American fleet enough to stop them from interfering with other Japanese activity in the Pacific and demoralize the Americans enough to prevent further actions against the Japanese.


The attack happened on December 7, 1941, and was successful in sinking or damaging 8 battleships along with a host of smaller ships and hundreds of aircraft. Aproximately 3,600 people were killed or wounded, including about 100 civilians.

A U.S. battleship sinks during the Pearl Harbor attack.

While the damage to the American fleet was heavy, the biggest targets – America's three aircraft carriers - were not in the harbour at the time. And instead of incapacitating and demoralizing the Americans, it galvanized them into action, with President Roosevelt calling for a declaration of war on the Japanese the next day.


Today Pearl Harbor is a historical sited visited by over a million people each year. There are four main attractions: the USS Bowfin attack submarine, the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, the USS Missouri, and the remains of the sunken battleship, USS Arizona.

USS Arizona Memorial: This memorial straddles the sunken hull of the battleship Arizona. The battleship was hit 4 times and then sank. Robert Ripley, of Ripley's Believe It or Not! fame visited the site in 1942 and began petitioning for a memorial in 1948. The current structure was built in 1961, after a benefit by Elvis Presley raised $50,000 towards the cause.

Image result for uss arizona memorial

The sunken Arizona hull is an active US Military cemetery: of the 1177 sailors who were killed, more than 900 could not be recovered. Survivors of the Arizona attack have been given the option of being laid to rest with their crewmates. Over 30 survivors have chosen to do this. In fact, the last interment occurred just this past December, on the anniversary of the attack. Lauren Bruner was the second-last sailor to escape the ship, and lived to be 98 years old. He chose to be buried with the ship because more people visit the Arizona than visit cemeteries. 

Lauren Bruner
After Lauren Bruner, there are still 3 survivors, but they have already decided they will be laid to rest with family members.  And in fact, make it only 2 survivors, because Donald Stratton, 97, just passed away yesterday, leaving only 2 more survivors left.

The day before the attacks, the Arizona took on a full load of fuel, 1.5 milion gallons. Much of that fed the explosion and fires that followed the attack. However, over 500,000 gallons of fuel are still leaking out of the wreckage, at a rate of 9 quarts of oil each day. Government agencies are loathe to do anything about the leak because of the historical significance of the site. Can you say “environmental disaster”???

Image result for uss arizona fuel leak
imagecredit:https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/7i8fh2/uss_arizona/

USS Missouri: Also called “Big Mo,” it was the last battleship commissioned by the US. It was commissioned in 1944 and was active until 1991. Japanese representatives signed the peace treaty on its deck.



Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum: The museum contains aircraft and artifacts mostly relating to the attack, including hangar damage from the attack and Japanese aircraft that crashed.



USS Bowfin: The Bowfin submarine was launched December 7, 1942, exactly one year to the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. It went on 9 patrols during the war and sank 44 vessels totaling almost 180,000 tons. It came to Pearl Harbor in 1981 for public display.



We had never seen one of these before, or even heard of them, but this is called a Kaiten - a one man Japanese suicide torpedo.



Since the Aloha Stadium was just a short stop away by bus, we took a break from history and checked out the Aloha Swap Meet.  It is a giant market that winds its way all the way around the stadium.



We took a crowded bus back to Waikiki and walked through some of the "hotels" here that are the size of resorts.




Supper at the Cheesecake Factory again, oh so yummy!


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