Usually we do mid-morning/afternoon tours as we are on holiday and like to sleep in. However, to see Pearl Harbour, we had to leave the ship at 8:00 am. We boarded a bus and drove through the city to the harbour. The memorial site has very strict rules on purses/bags. I did not bring my camera bag but soon realized I couldn't take my purse inside either (it had to be the size of a man's wallet to be legal). So I stuffed my ID and some money into a pocket (I wore Eddie Bauer capris which had cargo pockets) along with my phone and checked my purse. We wandered around the grounds (see photo above) then entered a theatre to watch a movie about the attack on Pearl Harbour. It was gripping as they used film footage from Japanese planes.
To control the number visitors to the memorial, a boat ferries you to the site. The USS Arizona sank the moment it was hit and the memorial straddles it amidship. 1,177 men died during the attack--a torpedo hit the munitions magazine. Other ships also sank during the attack but were raised to fight in the war's Pacific Theatre.
It was a moving experience to walk over the ship and see its rusting structure alive with coral and fish. Once in a while, it belches a bubble of oil, called its black tears. The wall of the memorial lists all those who perished on the Arizona as well as those who have been buried in the ship since (if they served and survived, they can be interred on the site). Two windows light the wall and their openings represent a 21 gun salute.
After our time on the memorial, we returned to the bus and drove to the battleship, USS Missouri (Mighty Mo) which is moored close by. Despite it being Sunday, there were not many people visiting the ship. We had a tour of the top deck then explored the rest of the ship on our own.
The most impressive part of the Missouri are her guns. They are huge!! I couldn't imagine their power or the noise they made while firing. She has 9x406 mm guns, 12x127 mm guns, 32 Tomahawk cruise missiles, 16 Harpoon Anti-ship missiles and 4 20 mm Phalanx CIWS, for those who are counting.
Built in 1941, the Mighty Mo fought in World War II (Pacific Theatre of Iwo Jima and Okinawa) and the Korean war. She was initially decommissioned in 1955 and sent to the Navy's reserve fleet but was reactivated in 1984. Her final battle was during the Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm). After being decommissioned in 1991, she became a museum ship in 1998.
Missouri is most remembered as where the Japanese signed the instrument of surrender to end the war on September 2, 1945. Canada was a member of the party accepting the surrender but mistakenly signed in the wrong place. You had one job to do, Canada!
Glen and I are big fans of the movie Under Siege where a cook (Steven Seagal) on board the Missouri saves the ship from a group of terrorists (led by Tommy Lee Jones). It has lots of footage of the ship so we were anxious to go below decks to check out the kitchens where the cook worked. What amazed me were the crew's quarters (1850 people manned the ship). Not much space to move around and privacy was decidedly lacking. Although, the fake bread in the bakery looked pretty tasty and Glen was ready to consume the trays of fake doughnuts. The operation rooms had ancient computers used during the Gulf War so yes, it was a museum.
By this time we were tired and it was a fair walk to where the bus was parked. As we left, a young Navy man in a golf cart offered us a lift. I guess he felt Glen's cane meant he had walking issues. When we boarded the bus, everyone asked what had made us so special as to get a ride back. Right time, right place, I guess.
After retrieving our purses at the main entrance of the park, we headed back to the ship. It had been an amazing day!.
To see my photos of this tour, go here.
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