USS Arizona Memorial

The USS Arizona Memorial is located in Pearl Harbor, Honolulu. It is built to commemorate the site where 1177 people died on 7 December 1941 during the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The memorial attracts a huge amount of tourists from all over the world every year. It is in the form of a huge warship submerged in this place and has a place where official ceremonies are held. There is also a room where the names of all who died in this place are engraved on a marble wall. The windows in the central part of the Memorial are 21. The same number of salutes in honor of the killed American soldiers.

During the battle, the Arizona ship suffered the most from the attacks of the enemies, who dropped eight hundred kilos of bombs. The last of the 4 bombs split the ship into two. This led to his immersion and the deaths of so many American soldiers. The memorial was created to remind the feats of those who died during this attack.

Building the memorial

 

The ideas for building the memorial appeared in 1943. It was only seven years later that decisive measures had been taken to create it. At that time, at the place where the Arizona ship was sunk, a flag was erected to wander to remind everyone of the feats of the fighters. In 1958 President Dwight Eisenhower ordered the memorial to be created. And in 1961, the final finalization of the construction took place.

The Arizona Memorial is designed by architect Alfred Preis. His creation was made to inspire a sense of victory and sadness of the untimely death of the dead men who have given their lives for this battle, that has become an important part of American history. However, In order to build, the USS Arizona Memorial needed money. The money was collected from donations from private individuals and from the Congress.

Visited by over a million tourists

Each year the Arizona Memorial is visited by over a million tourists. They are attracted to the opportunity to feel the spirit of this historic place. The memorial can only be reached in one way – by boat. Through the floor of the building you can see the remains of the submerged ship, which are just below it. To express their tribute to those who died for the victory, tourists have the custom of throwing flowers in the water.

Tourists visiting the Arizona Memorial can see one of the three huge anchors that once held the historic ship in one place. Tourists can also see one of the two ship bells.

In the building you can also see a small plaque with the names of more than thirty crew members of the Arizona crew who survived the attack.

American military cemetery

In fact, the USS Arizona Memorial is actually an American military cemetery. And even nowadays, at the scene where the tragedy took place, you can see spots of fuel, remaining from the fuel of the submerged ship. These spots, which can be seen on the surface of the water, are known as the tears of Arizona.