A Day That Will Live In Infamy

Alas, to wrap up our Hawaii trip (yes, that was almost 3 months ago by now) we spent a very fabulous and LONG day at Pearl Harbor. This was one of the highlights of our trip since John and I are very much into WWII. We got an early start and headed first to the Arizona Memorial. Luckily we forked over the extra few bucks for the headsets and never regretted it. Since we had a few minutes before our "ferry" took off, we decided to wander around the grounds and listen to a bit of history while standing and looking at exact spots that it all occurred. It was such a humbling, saddening experience just imagining what that day on December 7, 1941 must have been like. Then we headed off for our tour which first took us to a small theater to play some historical footage from that day before we boarded our ferry to cross the harbor and visit the actual USS Arizona Memorial sight.

USS Arizona Memorial:

I guess I was clueless before, but I didn't realize that you could actually SEE the sunken Arizona just below the water's surface. I think I was picturing just open water. However, the actual harbor wasn't that deep thus after the boat sank, it was still visible from the top of the water. Walking through the memorial was a very spiritual experience and everyone stayed very quiet as to not ruin the silence and memories. We took lots of pictures and looked at the wall where all the names were engraved that had died on the boat. It's the actual resting place where most of the 1,177 crew members still remain to this day. I just can't imagine what it would be like to be trapped inside a ship while it sinks. To this day, they still leave the hoisted flag on the bow of the ship in remembrance of those who died.

Us on the ferry riding over to the USS Arizona Memorial

At the memorial. The USS Arizona under water. And a few of the oil remnants that still surface to this day.

A view of the memorial as we arrive on our ferry.

USS Bowfin:

Next we toured the USS Bowfin, a submarine that was named the "Pearl Harbor Avenger" and was launched a year (to the day) after Pearl Harbor. It sank 44 enemy ships during her 9 war patrols. It remains docked in Pearl Harbor to represent all the submarines and lives lost during WWII. While touring it, with our nifty headsets, we learned just what life would have been like on a submarine. Extremely cramped living quarters, restrooms, and kitchen space. It was amazing how compact everything was and how close such huge missiles were in relation to sleeping navy men. Before we started our tour of the Bowfin, they managed to pull John and I aside for a photo op. However, no one mentioned what it was for exactly. I just figured it was their chance to make an extra buck or two. After both giving our cheesing grins, we headed off for our self-guided tour. After the tour, we stopped by the stand to check out our picture. There on a mocked-up version of the WWII front page newspaper were our cheesy smiles with a mocked up headline stating: "WAR! Oahu Under Attack!" Niiiiccceee! I figured they could have at least conveyed the final product before telling us to SMILE!! Maybe we could have mustered up our acting skills and put on a sad face instead of a happy one!

USS Missouri:

This was an exciting part of the day for me. Mostly because of the fact Missouri is my home-state. Needless to say, I was clueless as to how exactly the battleship itself played a role in WWII. We spent the majority of the day on this battleship and literally stopped at every "listening station" along our way. It became a game of which one of us could find the hidden marker first. Then we would hit play and sit and enjoy the automated tour guide talk to us on a freakishly huge audio phone. It was an amazingly HUGE battleship (similar to the ones that sank on Pearl Harbor) but this one wasn't launched until 1944. However, it's notorious for being the exact ship that the peace treaty was signed on to end the war in 1945. It was chosen, simply because at the time Truman was President and he elected it as the vessel since he too grew up in Missouri. We got to stand at the exact spot the treaty was signed. It was amazing to visualize that day way back then. We learned that as they were guiding the boat to Japan for the signing, they still had to have all their missiles ready to fire upon the target (Japan) and prepare for anything to happen. Even up to the very last minute, they did not know if Japan was luring them there with a false promise of a peace treaty or not. It was also interesting to sit in the captain's chair, wander through the kitchen, and check out the cramped living quarters the soldiers had to endure. Even the dining room area was made so they could perform surgeries on the actual tables if need be. Can you imagine the thought of sitting down to eat and wondering who/what was operated on that table just moments before?

A view from the top deck of the USS Missouri

Me, kicking back in the Captain's chair on the USS Missouri

The actual spot where the peace treaty was signed.

All in all, our day trip to Pearl Harbor was exhausting but very interesting. We learned lots of stories about actual experiences. How the Japanese bombers were suspected from the beginning, even before the attack, and radioed in only to be told that they were likely a return of a US Fleet and not to shoot them down. And of course, how perfectly (and ironically) the ships were all docked like waiting ducks to be fired upon by the Japanese. Even more frightening is how perfectly the planes were lined up, sitting and waiting, on the tarmac...making a perfect and easy target for the Japanese. It was a VERY interesting day and easily one of the biggest highlights of our trip. After we were done we toured the gift shop and bought a few souvenirs. John was anxious to meet two WWII Veterans sitting outside the gift shop and giving autographs. We got a few signatures and pictures with them. Here is John between them both. As I told everyone to say "Cheese" one of the old men said...."Cheese??! What about Sex??!" Hilarious eh? I guess no matter the historical moments, old men can still be old perverted men!