Today we visited the Pearl Harbor National Memorial. It was a beautiful day in a very somber setting.
The museum presented pictures, artifacts, and accounts of December 7, 1941. It is amazing and terrifying at the same time to see and learn about the events leading up to the day of the attack. While it is hard to understand why people would launch such an attack without provocation, it is important to learn the lesson that it happens.
The memorial for the USS Arizona is the central part of the entire Memorial site. The flag over the final resting place of about 1,100 soldiers is always at half staff.
The Navy staff that take you to the Arizona Memorial remind everyone that the tour is to see where 1100 people died and are buried. They ask that you remember what happened there back in 1941.
Once you arrive, you are immediately aware that this is a special place. There were about 80 people with us, but everyone was quiet.
It is hard to believe that after 72 years, the ship is still here and active. The oil slicks and the sound of the waves against the ship creates an eerie feeling. The small white buoy on the surface of the water marks one end of the ship.
Everywhere you look you can see the remains of the ship. It was a massive battleship.
Inside the memorial there is a list of the names of all the personnel that died during the attack on the ship.
Seeing the flag up close created a mixture of emotions that is hard to describe. Sadness because of the loss of life, anger because of the attack, astonishment and thankfulness that the attack, while successful on that day, was proven to be a mistake in the long run, confusion over why and how such a thing can happen, and more.
Here is a picture of the people on our tour. On a beautiful day, this crowd was more quiet outside than if they were in church. At the appointed time, everyone lined up to prepare to return. They waited peacefully and quietly while the next awestruck group arrived.
The sense of loss from that day was heightened as we left the memorial.
Later that day, we saw a quote from Admiral Nimitz that was a good summary of the feelings experienced during our tour.
In addition to the Arizona Memorial, we also got to see the battleship Missouri which survived Pearl Harbor and World War II. Seeing this massive twin of the Arizona only intensifies the experience of the whole memorial .
The ship is so large you cannot see it all at once.
There is a reminder that we are better prepared for a next attack very near to the Pearl Harbor Memorial. It is a tracking device for airborne objects over a very wide area.
As we left the memorial, we saw some gorgeous white flowers.
As we left, we remembered the sacrifice of the thousands of people who died in the Pearl Harbor attack. We are thankful for those who have served and are serving in the military to preserve our freedom. It is important to remember that freedom is not free. We should also remember to use our freedom wisely, and not as an excuse to do whatever we feel like at any particular time. Misusing our freedom may be the biggest threat to our continuing freedom.