Today, Dalis took me to see the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. What I didn’t ever fully understand is that the memorial is constructed above the wreckage of the battleship, which is clearly visible in the shallow waters of the harbor. It is haunting to look at the massive wall of names of those aboard the Arizona who died on Dec. 7, 1941. To conceive of that many people either dying instantly in the massive explosion — or, worse, being trapped inside the vessel after she sank — is mind-numbing and terribly emotional.
Where appropriate, I snapped a few pictures. Here they are. More, as always, at the Yahoo album, under “day 5 hawaii.”
Here’s the Arizona memorial from the boat you ride over to the memorial.
This is the view of the memorial from Ford Island, which is where the battleships were docked.
The roof of the memorial is open and offers a clear view to the sky.
Dalis took this picture of me in front of a huge Navy anchor at the entrance to the visitors center.