Located in Pearl Harbor, two miles west of the Honolulu Airport, the USS Arizona Memorial is managed by the National Park Service (NPS). There are actually two separate facilities to be seen here: the coastal visitor center adjacent to Kamehameha Highway and the actual sunken ship memorial just offshore from Ford Island. Access to the latter is possible only on NPS tours starting shore-side.
The USS Arizona (BB-39) was constructed as a 22-gun battleship of the Pennsylvania class. It was commissioned in 1916 and served in World War I. In the following years, the Arizona became the flagship for several battleship divisions. It was retained by the U.S. Pacific Fleet and moored at Pearl Harbor when Japanese bombers attacked the naval base here on December 7, 1941.
The story of the USS Arizona's last battle, along with the fate of its crew, is the primary subject of the memorial. The visitor center is open from 7:30am till 5pm daily, except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day. Tours here are conducted free of charge, and they begin every 15 minutes between 8am and 3pm.
Each tour starts with a short introduction given by a park ranger, a survivor of the attack, or a volunteer. A 23-minute viewing of a film follows, showing the history of the "Day of Infamy'' and America's worst naval disaster.
When the film ends, visitors are ushered on to launch operated by the U.S. Navy. It ferries them across the harbor to the memorial proper, a 184-foot-long white building erected in directly over the sunken remains of the battleship.
This elongated structure was approved for construction by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1958, completed in 1961, and opened to the public in 1962. It replaced the original 1950 memorial, which was a commemorative plaque and simple flagpole attached to the battleship's broken main mast.
Although the USS Arizona Memorial honors all 2,390 people who died in the attack, special tribute is given to the 1,177 Arizona crewmen who gave their lives as the warship sank. Many of them are still entombed in the waters below.
The memorial building is comprised of three sections. First is the entry and assembly room where visitors gather. The second is the central area used for general observation and special ceremonies. The third section is the shrine room with its marble wall bearing the engraved names of those killed on the Arizona. The remains of the ship itself are visible through the clear surrounding waters.
Exploration of the memorial is self-guided, and the entire tour takes about 75 minutes. However, visitors are advised that wait times can exceed two hours during peak holiday periods. Some 1.4 million visitors come to the memorial each year.
For those who must wait to be shuttled to the memorial, an audio tour is available, providing information about the visitor center, museum displays and exhibits in the surrounding park area. Oscar-winning actor Ernest Borgnine is the voice of the narration. There is also a small bookstore located at the visitor center, offering various items related to the Pearl Harbor attack.
Although admission is free, each guest must obtain a ticket at the visitor center, available only on a first-come, first-served basis. Adults must accompany children under five years of age, and appropriate dress is required for entry; no bear feet or swimwear allowed.
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