Pearl Harbor

TO HONOR OUR DEAD The USS Arizona is the final resting place for many of the ship's 1,177 crewmen who lost their lives on December 7,1941. The 184-foot-long Memorial structure spanning the mid-portion of the sunken battleship consists of three main sections: the entry and assembly rooms; a central area designed for ceremonies and general observation; and the shrine room, where the names of those killed on the Arizona are engraved on the marble wall. The USS Arizona Memorial grew out of a wartime desire to establish some sort of memorial at Pearl Harbor to honor those who died in the attack. Suggestions for such a memorial began in 1943, but it wasn't until 1949, when the Territory of Hawaii established the Pacific War Memorial Commission, that the first real steps were taken to bring it about. • •••1 o E Initial recognition came in 1950 when Adm. Arthur Radford, Commander in Chief, Pacific (CINCPAC), ordered that a flagpole be erected over the sunken battleship. On the ninth anniversary of the attack, a commemorative plaque was placed at the base of the flagpole. O TJ d) c •^ o 4-. c o E (0 c E (0 a a> D CO President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who helped achieve Allied victory in Europe during World War II, approved the creation of the Memorial in 1958. Its construction was completed in 1961 with public funds appropriated by Congress and private donations. The Memorial was dedicated in 1962. Contrary to popular belief, the USS Arizona is no longer in commission. As a special tribute to the ship and her lost crew, the United States flag flies from the flagpole, which is attached to the severed mainmast of the sunken battleship. The USS Arizona Memorial has come to commemorate all military personnel killed in the Pearl Harbor attack. VISITOR CENTER The visitor center and the USS Arizona are located on the Pearl Harbor Navy Base and a use agreement with the U.S. Navy allows the National Park Service to operate and maintain these facilities. The visitor center is the required first stop for everyone intending to tour the Memorial. It is located on the shoreline overlooking Pearl Harbor directly off State Highway 99 (Kamehameha Highway) about a 45-minute drive west of Waikiki. The visitor center was completed in 1980, using a combination of government funds and private contributions raised by Branch 46 of the Fleet Reserve Association. Free parking for about 250cars is provided. The interpretive program, for which visitors are given free tickets at the visitor center, consists of a brief talk by a National Park Service ranger, followed by a 20minute documentary film on the Pearl Harbor attack. Immediately after the film, the ranger conducts the visitors to the boat landing, where they board a Navy shuttle boat to the Memorial. All visitors disembark on the Memorial and return with their shuttle boat. According to its architect, Alfred Preis, the design of the Memorial, "wherein the structure sags in the center but stands strong and vigorous at the ends, expresses initial defeat and ultimate victory The overall effect is one 9 O December 7,1941, losses* N I • •••1 a) o > 4) CO CO of serenity. Overtones of sadness have been omitted to permit the individual to contemplate his own personal responses... his innermost feelings." (0 0- w c g M (0 Z I United States 2,390 Japan Navy 1,999 Marine Corps 109 Army and Army Air Corps 233 Civilian 49 Personnel Wounded 1,178 Navy 710 Marine Corps 69 Army and Army Air Corps 364 Civilian 35 Ships 64 Personnel Killed | GENERAL INFORMATION • The visitor center is open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The last program begins at 3 p.m. The visitor center and Memorial are closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's days. • No reservations are taken; all tours are free of charge and on a "first-come, first-served" basis. • Smoking, eating, and drinking are not permitted in the visitor center's twin theaters, on the boat, or on the Memorial structure. • Valuables, such as cameras and handbags, should be closely guarded or safely secured. • For further information, please call (808) 422-0561 or (808)422-2771, or write the Superintendent, USS Arizona Memorial, 1 Arizona Memorial Place, Honolulu, HI 96818-3145. unknown TRANSPORTATION TO T H E M E M O R I A L Sunk or beached** 12 5 Damaged** • • Aircraft 164 ** All U.S. ships, except the Arizona,29 * Destroyed Figures are subject to further review. Utah, and Oklahoma, were salvaged159 and later saw action. Damaged 74 OV££ Visitors are free to explore the museum and browse through the bookstore operated by the Arizona Memorial M useum Association. Other facilities in the center include a small snack area, central courtyard, restrooms, and administrative areas. The 16-foot by 50-foot oil painting of the USS Arizona behind the information desk is by John Charles Roach. The lawn behind the visitor center provides an excellent view of Ford Island and Battleship Row. | luSS Arizona Memorial iittd For those without cars, several alternatives by bus are available: Honolulu public transit buses stop regularly at the visitor center and can be boarded in Waikiki. The #20 bus is the most direct line. A commercial transportation company in Waikiki runs round-trip bus trips to the visitor center, and various commercial tour bus operators include the Arizona Memorial on their sightseeing itineraries. For information call 422-0561. Kgamama 7 DECEMBER 1941 The attack on Pearl Harbor was the culmination of a decade of deteriorating relations between Japan and the United States over the status of China and the security of Southeast Asia. The breakdown began in 1931 when Japanese army extremists, in defiance of government policy, invaded and overran the northernmost Chinese province of Manchuria. Japan ignored American protests, and in the summer of 1937 launched a full-scale attack on the rest of China. Although alarmed by this action, neither the United States nor any other nation with interests in the Far East was willing to use military force to halt Japanese expansion Airmen from Ford I s M j Station stare in d i s b e f f p l B B ^ H the USS Shaw has just btowrtjjj Inset above: B5N2 atta command aircraft of CmjJ^^H Fuchida, December 7, v. Illustration by John Batajfl^^H E (0 c Q Over the next three years, war broke out in Europe and Japan joined Nazi Germany in the Axis Alliance. The United States applied both diplomatic and economic pressures to try to resolve the Sino-Japanese conflict. The Japanese government viewed these measures, especially an embargo on oil, as threats to their nation's security. By the summer of 1941, both countries had taken positions from which they could not retreat without a serious loss of national prestige. Although both governments continued to negotiate their differences, Japan had already decided on war. The attack on Pearl Harbor was part of a grand strategy of conquest in the Western Pacific. The objective was to immobilize the Pacific Fleet so that the United States could not interfere with these invasion plans. The principal architect of the attack was Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet. Though personally opposed to war with America, Yamamoto knew that Japan's only hope of success in such a war was to achieve quick and decisive victory. America's superior economic and industrial might would tip the scales in her favor during a prolonged conflict. On November 26, the Japanese attack fleet of 33 warships and auxiliary craft, including six aircraft carriers, sailed from northern Japan for the Hawaiian Islands. It followed a route that took it far to the north of the normal shipping lanes. By early morning, December 7, 1941, the ships had reached their launch position, 230 miles north of Oahu. At 6 a.m., the first wave of fighters, bombers, and torpedo planes took off. The night before, some 10 miles outside the entrance to Pearl Harbor, five midget submarines carrying two crewmen and two torpedoes each were launched from larger "mother'' subs. Their mission: enter Pearl Harbor before the air strike, remain submerged until the attack got underway, then cause as much damage as possible. Meanwhile at Pearl Harbor, the 130 vessels of the U.S. Pacific Fleet lay calm and serene. Seven of the fleet's nine battleships were tied up along "Battleship Row'' on the southeast shore of Ford Island. Naval aircraft were lined up at Ford Island and Kaneohe Bay naval air stations, and at Ewa Marine Corps Air Station. The aircraft belonging to the U.S. Army Air Corps were parked in groups as defense against possible saboteurs at Hickam, Wheeler, and Bellows airfields. At 6:40 a.m., the crew of the destroyer USS Ward spotted the conning tower of one of the midget subs headed for the entrance to Pearl Harbor. The Ward sank the sub with depth charges and gunfire, then radioed the information to headquarters. Before 7 a.m., the radar station at Opana Point picked up a signal indicating a large flight of planes approaching from the north. These were thought to be either aircraft flying in from the carrier Enterprise or an anticipated flight of B-17s from the mainland, so no action was taken. The first wave of Japanese aircraft arrived over their target areas shortly before 7:55 a.m. Their leader, Cmdr. Mitsuo Fuchida, sent the coded messages "To, To, To" and Tora, Tora, Tora, telling the fleet that the attack had begun and that complete surprise had been achieved. USS Arizona as she appeared before destruction, December 7, 1941. | Ford Island and Battleship Row as seen from a Japanese attack plane. At approximately 8:10, the USS Arizona exploded, having been hit by a 1,760-pound armor-piercing bomb that slammed through her deck and ignited her forward ammunition magazine. In less than nine minutes, she sank with 1,177 of her crew, a total loss. The USS Oklahoma, hit by several torpedoes, rolled completely over, trapping over 400 men inside. The California and West Virginia sank at their moorings, while the Utah, converted to a training ship, capsized with more than 50 of her crew. The Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee, all suffered significant damage. The Nevada attempted to run out to sea but took several hits and had to be beached to avoid sinking and blocking the harbor entrance. of planes destroyed on the ground and hundreds of men killed or wounded. While the attack on Pearl Harbor intensified, other military installations on Oahu were hit. Hickam, Wheeler, and Bellows airfields, Ewa Marine Corps Air Station, Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Station, and Schofield Barracks suffered varying degrees of damage, with hundreds Army Air Corps pilots managed to take off in a few fighters and may have shot down 12 enemy planes. At 10 a.m. the second wave withdrew to the north, and the attack was over. The Japanese lost a total of 29 planes and five midget submarines, one of which was captured when it ran aground off Bellows Field. After about five minutes, American anti-aircraft fire began to register hits, although many of the shells that had been improperly fuzed fell on Honolulu, where residents assumed them to be Japanese bombs. After a lull at about 8:40 a.m., the second wave of attacking planes focused on continuing the destruction inside the harbor, destroying the USS Shaw, Sotoyomo, a dry dock, and heavily damaging the Nevada, forcing her aground. They also attacked Hickam and Kaneohe airfields, causing heavy loss of life and reducing American ability to retaliate. The attack was a great, but not total, success. Although the U.S. Pacific Fleet was shattered, its aircraft carriers (not in port at the time of the attack) were still afloat and Pearl Harbor was surprisingly intact. The shipyards, fuel storage areas, and submarine base suffered no more than slight damage. More importantly, the American people, previously divided over the issue of U.S. involvement in World War II, rallied together with a total commitment to victory over Japan and her Axis partners. 5 s