Hawaii 1999

Whispy's Vacation

Music playing is "America".

When one thinks of Hawaii the first thing that came to our minds was Pearl Harbor. So that is the first place we visited after arriving on Oahu.

The Arizona Memorial is pictured above. When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor the USS Arizona was struck with a 1,760 pound armor-piercing bomb that slammed thru her deck and ignited her forward ammuniation magazine. In less than nine minutes she sank with 1,177 of her crew. She was a total loss. The USS Oklahoma was struck and rolled over trapping over 400 men inside. The USS Utah capsized with more than 50 of her crew. The California and West Virginia sank at their mourings. The Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee all suffered significant damage. The Nevada tried to make a run for the sea but took several hits and had to be beached to avoid sinking and blocking the harbor entrance. There were no aircraft carriers in port at the time of the attack. The 184 foot long memorial spans the mid portion of the sunken USS Arizona. It's architect, Alfred Preis, said the design of the memorial, "wherein the structure sags in the center but stands strong at both ends, express the initial defeat and ultimate victory..... The overall effect is one of serenity. Overtones of sadness have been omitted to permit the individual to contemplate his own personal responses.... his innermost feelings."

At the far end of the memorial is a wall filled with the thousands of names of the men who died at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 The only ships that were not able to be salvaged was the Arizona, Utah and Oklahoma. The attack was great but not a total success. The shipyards, fuel storage areas, and submarine base suffered no more than slight damage.

Above is the Punch Bowl. A cone from a long dormant valcano that was turned into a Military Burial Ground.

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