Finally, Pearl Harbor Day! When we booked this trip there were a few things we knew we absolutely wanted to do and visiting Pearl Harbor and the Arizona were on that list. I booked an early 8am reservation for the Arizona so we knew we would be up early since we were now used to this crazy time change. We were up early and heading in the direction of Pearl Harbor. Having learned that a matter of 10 or 15 minutes in either direction could drastically change the travel time. We left with plenty of time so we we arrived with time to walk through part of the exhibits before it was time to load the boat to the Arizona.
I did not know what to expect. I am not the history buff that Dale is but I definitely wanted to go here. The emotions from the very first room we entered, the very first display that I stopped to read it HIT ME! These weren’t ‘men’ these were boys so many young men who lost their lives. It moves you to tears. Just thinking about it while typing this out and looking at the photos again, it is still so raw. We walked through this first exhibit before our time for the Arizona.
The boat ride to the Arizona was brief but as we arrived we were instructed to not stop to take photos but to walk right into and all the way to the back of the Arizona. They do a good job of keeping everyone moving but it is not a lot of time spent there in total. You are taken to the stone wall with all the names of those who lost their lives that day, those that were entombed, to never be returned to their families. There are also names of those who have died since but have been ‘buried’ with their shipmates.
Seeing that oil is still leaking from the Arizona to this day, it is said up to nine quarts a day. Seeing the oil slick in the water, just blows your mind that this has been leaking since 1941.
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