Pearl Harbor is a place everyone should visit during a trip to Hawaii, in my opinion.
You can rent a car and drive there,and take public transportation or an Uber, or hire a tour company to take you. We lucked out and a tour of the site was included in our Hawaii package deal.
Since the tour was included, I didn’t expect it to be much. I assumed it would basically be a ride to and from our hotel to Pearl Harbor.
I am so happy I was wrong! The tour was through Roberts Hawaii. The company also has tours on Maui, The Big Island, and Kauai. We ended up with a wonderful driver named Matt. Matt loves Hawaii and he loves history. He told us his father was actually at Pearl Harbor during the attack and was injured, but survived. Matt still volunteers at Pearl Harbor on his days off each week.
As we drove from Waikiki to Pearl Harbor, Matt pointed out landmarks in Honolulu. They included the actual Hawaii “5-O” police station as well as the “Westminster Abbey” of Hawaii and Iolani Palace.
When we arrived at Pearl Harbor, Matt took us inside and made sure we each had a ticket. Then we all stood still as the National Anthem played at 8 a.m. It was amazing to experience!
We walked the grounds and checked out the Pearl Harbor Museum. When it was time, we filed into the theater and watched the short documentary about Pearl Harbor, narrated by Allison Janney.
The documentary explains what happened on December 7, 1941. It was a Sunday morning. Just before 8 a.m., hundreds of fighter planes from Japan bombed the naval base. The attack killed more than 2,400 Americans and injured another 1,000 people. The bombers also destroyed or damaged the USS Arizona, and seven other U.S battleships, nearly a dozen other ships, and hundreds of airplanes.
A day later, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. That’s how the U.S. became involved in WWII.
While Pearl Harbor was relatively unprotected making it an easy for Japan, the Japanese didn’t count on the fact that all of the Pacific Fleet’s aircraft carriers happened to be away from the naval base on the day of the attack. The attack also didn’t destroy much of the base’s onshore facilities and infrastructure. Because of this, America was not crippled during the attack.
Obviously, WWII continued for years after the attack on Pearl Harbor. In May of 1945, Germany surrendered. It ended the war in Europe. The battle continued against Japan, however.
Then, on August 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan. It exploded over Hiroshima, killing 80,000 people. Three days later, the U.S. dropped a second atomic bomb, killing 75,000 people in Nagasaki, Japan.
Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945. The documentary uses footage of the attacks on Pearl Harbor as well as footage shot at different locations during the war. It’s an amazing tribute to the men and women who fought and defended the U.S. during the war.
Following the movie we walked out and boarded the boats that would take us closer to the USS Arizona Memorial. It’s dock was damaged at one point, so visitors are not allowed to get out onto the memorial. They’d just restarted the boat tours a week or two before we arrived, so we lucked out with that!
You will learn more about the memorial on the short trip over the water. The memorial itself is striking. On the day we visited, the white of the memorial gleamed out over the vivid blue of the water and the sky.
The USS Arizona Memorial was built in 1962. It is the resting place of more than 1100 sailors and Marines killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor. In areal pictures you can actually see the sunken battleship under the memorial. Elvis Presley actually held a benefit concert to raise more than $60,000 to build the memorial.
After learning more about the USS Arizona and the USS Missouri, we found ourselves back on shore. History buffs could spend hours at the site. There are all kinds of things to see and a visitors center to explore. There’s also an aviation museum and the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park.
After spending the majority of the morning at Pearl Harbor, we loaded back onto the bus. Matt drove us up the island to Punchbowl, the cemetery where many Pearl Harbor victims are buried. It’s also the final resting place for President Obama’s grandparents.
As we drove, we learned more about the internment ceremonies for WWII veterans who want to be buried along with the brothers they lost on the USS Arizona. His stories were incredibly moving.
He also told great stories about some of the people who survived the Pearl Harbor attack that I’d never heard of. Matt was a great guide for the day. His experience made our visit to Pearl Harbor even more memorable. I hope your guide is just as knowledgeable and invested in keeping the Memory of Pearl Harbor alive.