Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii

"The things that happened that day are significant for our country, ... It's like Pearl Harbor Day.  It should be a reminder to us all about what a great country we live in."
Bill Metcalf

On the 77^th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 2018, I felt it was a good time to write about our visit to Pearl Harbor. We went there back in 2013 and feel blessed we were able to go and pay tribute to all the men and women who lost their lives on that horrific day. God bless them all.

Today we knew was going to be a solemn visit as we were heading to Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii. It was one of those perfect days when the sky was a beautiful blue and it was sunny and warm. Our tour bus dropped us off at the entry to this most historic site. Our group filed off the bus and went into the visitors center. There is so much to be learned here and so much information to take in.

Pearl Harbor was once just a quiet lagoon in Hawaii that no one ever heard of except for the military. This harbor has been used by the US Navy Fleet since the US government first got the rights to use this inlet in 1887. It was used as a maintenance site where our ships could be maintained and repaired. Before that in the early 19^th century, this harbor was not used for large ships due to the shallow entrance. Many American warships visited this area as early as in the 1820’s and 1830’s. It wasn’t until 1869 when Hawaii got 50,000 dollars to deepen the approach of this harbor that it became a usable port for large ships.  Since 1899, there  has been a Navy presence here.

We walked around and went to the theater where we watched an outstanding documentary.   It showed the days leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor,  the attack on Pearl Harbor, and World War II. This documentary was done very well with great film footage from December 7^th and many testimonials from men and women who had survived the attack. Many left the theater with tears in their eyes including myself.

All changed here on Sunday morning, December 7, 1941 when the Japanese did a surprise attack on this US Naval Base. The first wave of aircraft was 200 strong which included torpedo planes, bombers, and fighters and was first seen at 7:55 a.m. They attacked the airfields at the Naval Air Station, Ford Island, and Wheeler and Hickam Field's and severely damaged them all. On Wheeler Field the damage was extremely bad since there were 126 planes on the ground,. Out of the 126 planes, 42 got destroyed, 41 damaged, and only 43 could still be used. During the first assault, only six planes were able to get in the air. In total 180 aircraft were completely destroyed.

Most of the damage happened in Pearl Harbor where the ships were mostly unmanned since this attack happened on a Sunday morning. The Battleship, USS Arizona blew up with a tremendous explosion, the USS West Virginia was torpedoed and settled on the bottom of the harbor, USS Oklahoma was hit by four torpedoes and rolled over in five minutes, USS California was torpedoed and ordered to be abandoned as it sank, and the USS Utah was sunk.

At 8:50, the second wave came which was not as successful. USS Nevada was hit by a torpedo in the first wave and later ended up getting struck by seven or eight bombs and got grounded at the end of channel. The USS Pennsylvania was set on fire. Two other destroyers were wrecks now. USS Shaw was split in two by a huge explosion. Just after 9 am, the Japanese left as quick as they came in. There was a great loss of life and it crippled the US Naval and air strength.

At the end of this day, 2403 people died. The total military personnel killed was 2,335 including 2,008 Navy, 109 Marines, 218 Army, and 68 civilians. On the USS Arizona 1,777 men perished. This was a sad day in American history. President Roosevelt gave a speech the next day saying, “December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy.” This attack by the Empire of Japan was the immediate reason for the US entering WWII. On December 8^th, the Congress declared war on Japan and 97 % of American people approved of declaring this war.

We walked around this still active military base and saw the beauty of  Pearl Harbor and it was hard to imagine something so horrific happened here so many years ago. So many families lost loved ones and their pain must have been unbearable.I just read the unknown remains from the USS Oklahoma have been exhumed and they now have the means to identify the men.  As of December 2017,  100 shipmates have been able to be identified.   That must be such a wonderful thing for the families to  have finality to be able to put their loved ones to rest.

We lined up to get on the boat shuttle to go see the USS Arizona. The memorial is over some of the broken remains of the ship not right over it as not to damage it. This ship holds the remains of the 1,777 souls lost that tragic day. Veterans who served on that ship and survived  that day, can elect to be placed in the ship with their formal shipmates after their more recent deaths. This ship is still leaking oil after all these years.

We looked at the remembrance wall listing all the names of the men who perished with the ship that day and also a list of survivors. As we stood on that memorial remembering those who were lost that day, tears ran down our faces.  We stood there with other Americans and Japanese and we all felt their loss.  You could feel the presence of these souls. We thanked them for their service and sent up a prayer. This memorial is down for repairs till March of 2019. More than two million people visit this memorial that was built in 1962 each year. 

You can visit the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and part which is one of 15 remaining US combat vessels. This was launched a year after the attack on Pearl Harbor and completed nine patrols before being retired. You can go in and take a tour if you like. I do not like closed spaces so I opted out.

The USS Battleship Missouri, the sister ship of the USS Arizona is there and has been made into a museum.  This was the last battleship commissioned by the US and known by the sailors as "Mighty Mo."  This ship is best known for as the site where the Japanese surrendered and the end of WWII. This ship was decommissioned in 1992.

We walked the Walk of Remembrance  which has "The Road to War" that tell stories that led to war, and "Attack" which listed testimony of what happened that day.  This was very interesting and moving to read.

Pearl Harbor gives away 1,300 free tickets a day to walk in.   You can get these tickets two months in advance at: recreation.gov.   If you got to The Go Oahu Card, you can a a headset for tours with your choice of multiple different languages on to get an audio tour for free.

There is a nice restaurant to grab a bite to eat and grab a drink while you are there.   The views are spectacular there and it is a nice place to rest before continuing to look around.

This is a must to go see if you are ever on Oahu, Hawaii.  It will make for an emotional day but go anyway and give your prayers and thanks to all those who gave all.  I hope you take a moment out of your day today to do a silent prayer for them all.  God bless.