USS Arizona Memorial Pearl Harbor Hawaii

The USS Arizona Memorial is built over the remains of the sunken battleship USS Arizona, the final resting place for many of the 1,177 crewmen killed on December 7, 1941, when their ship was bombed by Japanese Naval Forces. This loss of life represents over half of the Americans killed during the worst naval disaster in American history.
There is a reason that Pearl Harbor is the number one visitor destination in Hawaii and the USS Arizona Memorial is where your Pearl Harbor experience begins.

On 7 December 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and Arizona was hit by several air-dropped armor-piercing bombs. One detonated an explosive-filled magazine, sinking the battleship and killing 1,177 of its officers and crewmen. Unlike many of the other ships attacked that day, Arizona was so irreparably damaged that it was not repaired for service in World War II. The shipwreck still lies at the bottom of Pearl Harbor beneath the USS Arizona Memorial. Dedicated to all those who died during the attack, the memorial is built across the ship's remains.

Millions of people from all over the world come to this majestic setting to see for themselves where World War II began for the United States on December 7, 1941.

The USS Arizona Memorial is a must-see destination for all individuals coming to Hawaii, drawing more than 1.7 million visitors each year from all over the world. Visitors are free to explore the grounds of the $65 million Pearl Harbor Visitor Center, which was expanded from the original 3 to 17 acres, in December of 2011.
Called Pu'uloa, meaning "long hill," or Wai Momi, literally, "water of pearl," by early Hawaiians, Pearl Harbor, so named because of the abundance of pearls once found within its protected waters, is the largest natural harbor in the State of Hawaii and the number one visitor destination on Oahu.

Today, Pearl Harbor remains an active military base, Headquarters of the Pacific Fleet, and a National Historic Landmark that's home to four unique attractions: from the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor that started it all, to the surrender of the Japanese on the deck of the mighty Battleship Missouri, these four historic sites together tell the story of the War in the Pacific, commemorating the accomplishments of a previous generation.

Located on the island of Oahu, "The Gathering Place," halfway between Japan and the mainland United States, Pearl Harbor will always be a welcoming place where survivors of the attack can reflect on the events which led to the war and which had such a profound impact on the lives of an entire generation.

To those who fought in the war, to those whose lives were affected by the war, their children, grandchildren, and each succeeding generation, Pearl Harbor is a place where people from far-flung corners of the world can come together in peace to honor the memory of the fallen and to celebrate the ultimate triumph of the human spirit.

The National Memorial has three main parts: entry, assembly room, and shrine. The central assembly room features seven large open windows on either wall and ceiling, to commemorate the date of the attack. There are rumors that the 21 windows symbolically represent a 21-gun salute or 21 Marines standing at eternal parade rest over the tomb of the fallen, but guides at the site have confirmed that this was not the architect's intention. The memorial also has an opening in the floor overlooking the sunken decks. It is from this opening that visitors can pay their respects by tossing flowers in honor of the fallen sailors. In the past, leis were tossed in the water, but because string from leis poses a hazard to sea life, leis now are placed on guardrails in front of the names of the fallen.

One of Arizona's three 19,585-pound (8,884 kg) anchors is displayed at the visitor center's entrance. (One of the other two is at the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix.) One of the two ship's bells is in the visitor center.

The shrine at the far end is a marble wall that bears the names of all those killed on Arizona, protected behind velvet ropes. To the left of the main wall is a small plaque which bears the names of thirty or so crew members who survived the 1941 sinking. Any surviving crew members of Arizona (or their families on their behalf) can have their ashes interred within the wreck by U.S. Navy divers


TOUR INFORMATION
USS Arizona Memorial: Program length is 45 minutes and programs run from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum: Allow 1 to 1.5 hours.
USS Oklahoma Memorial: Allow 15 minutes.
Battleship Missouri Memorial: Allow 1.5 to 2 hours.
Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum: Allow 1.5 to 2 hours.

TICKETS & ADMISSION
USS Arizona Memorial: Reservations for the boat tour are available at recreation.gov. At 3:00 p.m. HST 56 days prior and 3:00 p.m the day prior to visit at recreation.gov.



SECURITY REQUIREMENTS
No bags allowed in any of the sites. Bags may be checked into baggage storage at the Visitor Center.