I have taken so many photographs on this trip, that there was no way I could post the photographs as fast as I took them. So I am starting over, and posting images from the trip, starting at the beginning. This is the Arizona Memorial, in honor of the USS Arizona which was sunk by a Japanese bomb on December 7, 1941. The bomb set off the power magazine, and the ship exploded suddenly. It happened so quickly and the explosion was so powerful that the ship sank suddenly, and 1,177 Officers and crewmen died. Many are still entombed in the hull.
So these are photographs of the outside and the inside of the memorial, which was constructed so that it spanned the sunken hull, without touching it.
This wall has inscribed on it the names of all those lost in the attack.
This is one of the supports for a huge gun turret on the ship, mounted on one of the decks of the battleship. There were four of these turrets mounted on the ship. After the sinking, parts of the Arizona were saved to use on other ships, and the gun turret with three huge guns was removed from this mount.
There is an opening in the floor of the memorial structure spanning the ship, and it gives a view of the hull. Depending on the sea condition, sometimes you can see the sunken hull more easily.
It was a very sober and moving experience to visit the ship and the memorial.
1 comment:
I am glad that you posted so many photos of the Arizona. I was not able to view it when I tried 7 years ago because it was closed. I was disappointed. However, viewing through your eyes and camera makes the tragedy so real. betsey
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