My Hawaiian Vacay Pearl Harbor

The bus ride from our hotel to Pearl Harbor is about an hour and a half, so I got an early start. Traffic through downtown is not bad at 630a.

I've been looking forward to touring Pearl Harbor since I found out I would be able to accompany Paul on this trip. The area around the military base -Pearl City - is tacky. Homeless have established a squatters camp along a dreary looking canal. A raggedy assemblage of tents, tarpaulins, and shopping carts.

Lots of tourists were already moving towards the security checkpoint when the bus dropped me off at 745. Precisely at 755a each day, the Star Spangled Banner is played, all activity stops as we stand quietly, hands over hearts, hats in hand. 755am is the time the attack began on Pearl Harbor, December 7th, 1941. I stood at the ticket counter trying to decipher the different prices and tours, choose to see the Arizona (free), the Missouri and the newer Pacific Aviation Museum...ticket in hand I board the shuttle bus that takes us to Ford Island. The Island used to be an active air strip, now home to the museum, military housing ( very nice military housing) and a huge leviathan of a radar platform.

The Missouri - Mighty Mo- is the fourth battleship I've toured over the years. On the deck of the Missouri is where Japan surrenders to the U.S.

After a quick tour of the Missouri, I hopped back on the bus to visit the Pacific Aviation Museum, a fairly recent edition to the Pearl Harbor Memorial. Most impressive was the exhibit on women aviators - purchased a book about Cornielia Fort -and the incredible photo exhibit on Chinese American friendship throughout the war years.

I had an 11:15 ticket for the USS Arizona tour, so I headed back to the main terminal. There is a 20 minute movie prior to the boat ride out to the memorial. It is well done and I appreciate the fact it gives viewers background on why we went to war w Japan. Too many people just don't understand the history of pre-WW2. There is a wonderful museum exhibit as well. Visitors are well,coached on the somber nature of the tour and then we are loaded onto the boat for the short trip to the memorial

The USS Arizona and the 900+ men who perished is entombed in the water in Pearl Harbor. The memorial is built over the hull of the ship. Two things I learned: most of the dead were incinerated since the Japanese bombed a boat fully loaded with ammo, therefore no bodies were found...only several body parts (these were buried in a common grave at Punchbowl Cemetary - the Arlington of the Pacific - in a common grave), the men who survived the attack are also interred on the ship if they so choose.

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