Posted on 02/08/2017 1:40:38 PM PST by JOHN ADAMS
I have to travel to Hawaii on business and thought while there I should visit the Pearl Harbor memorial. I'd be grateful for any suggestions anyone may have on how to get the most out of the visit. Thanks so much
JA
Just do it, take the launch boat to the memorial, and never forget those heroic Americans. It’s sacred ground for sure.
First time?
See the Arizona Memorial and visitor center.
See the Missouri.
See the sub (Wahoo?)
Sit and watch the ships in the Harbor go by for at least 30 minutes.
You need to go to Oahu.
Have plenty of time, lots of waiting before you get on a launch to take you across the harbor.
They do not allow packs or purses or camera bags.
Be prepared to wait. Only a limit number of people can be at the memorial at anyone time.
Wife and I toured the Arizona Memorial and the BB Missouri about five years ago. The launch out to the memorial was mostly young Japanese students.
I asked one young lady why they were there. She replied that she and her mates wanted to see what their fathers and grandfathers had done. They don’t cover much of the “Great Pacific War” in Japanese schools.
She said she couldn’t believe it...
Yes visit the Memorial. Stay away from the Poi.
Go online to the USS Missouri website and prearrange the special below decks tour, be warned you will be going though hatches with knee knockers! I booked it last year but due to health issues i had to cancel. Its limited to small groups and must be reserved in advance. Well worth it i hear.
Make sure to see the movie at the visitor center first. The explosion of the USS Arizona is absolutely stunning on a theater screen - and I’ve seen it many times on large screen TV. NO COMPARISON!
Then, take the launch to the ship. You WILL be awestruck and humbled.
We went with my son who was stationed there at the time. See the Arizona, the Utah, the sub, Missouri and Visitors center. When we went my son a Sr. CPO wore his whites, four or five times foreign tourists wanted to take pictures with him.
He looked like a recruiting poster. He also re-enlisted at the Arizona, under the hall with the list of those lost, two brothers that died together who shared our last name of Heidt.
We took the tour in 2015. It was part of a package deal which included a trip to the city center.
The Arizona: very well organized — a little waiting, a nice movie, and then the boat trip to the memorial. There is an adjoining museum with a diorama and an actual Japanese torpedo that was found in the harbor.
Here is a satellite view... Make sure you turn on satellite view...
Go early it will get crowded. Be prepared for a wait on the launch to the Arizona. But definitely do it. I also thought the submarine memorial was great. If you have the time read the incredible stories of the U.S. subs lost during the war. Here’ s a link that might help. I’m sure there are many others.
http://oahuhawaii.ca/pearlharbor/submarinememorial.html
Trust me it is life altering.
Me and my family were last there visiting on 9/10/2001.
It doesn’t come out real well in the comments so far, but there are 2 separate tours to see what has been recommended.
One is to see the USS Arizona Memorial. That starts in the museum; you purchase tickets and wait your turn to get on the launch.
The second is to see the USS Missouri. You take a bus from the museum/park parking lot, go across the bridge to Ford Island, and stop at the Missouri. You’ll have time to browse the gift shop and take a guided tour of the battleship.
Look at the schedules for the tours - we did not pay close attention and almost missed the last tour of the day to the Missouri. Both tours were time well spent.
Bowfin.
-PJ
Give yourself as much time as possible. The 12/7/41 museum is fantastic on its own but there is also an aircraft museum over by the Missouri that’s pretty good in its own right.
The Missouri is HUGE and if you’ve never been on such a ship before it would benefit you to have a guide.
If you can afford two days to see the whole thing then do so.
Reserve online before you go if you don’t want to wait in line for hours. Definitely worth a wait but why do that if you don’t have to. Aloha!
When you take the Arizona Memorial tour, you will witness “the tears of the Arizona” — and you may need to bring tissues for your own tears. It’s not to be missed.
If you haven’t, read up some first. I toured the exhibits first. There isn’t much you can or should do.
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