The USS Nevada Memorial

The only battleship able to get underway and make a break for the open water during the attack, the USS Nevada (BB 36) made it as far as the mouth of the harbor channel before it was overcome by multiple bomb hits and a torpedo. As it became clear that the ship could not stay afloat, the decision was made to run the Nevada aground and keep the channel clear for other ships to make their way out of Pearl Harbor, if possible. Before the ship struck the shore, its crew managed to down three Japanese aircraft.

As the crew fought its numerous fires, the Nevada drifted until it was facing back up the harbor. Within a day it had settled on the bottom, though still upright and in fairly shallow water. It remained there for more than two months before being refloated and modernized. Nevada served with distinction throughout the remainder of World War II – including fire support for the capture of Attu in the Aleutian Island chain; attacks on German shore defenses during the Normandy invasion; and service with the Third Fleet off Okinawa during the closing days of the war. The Nevada returned to Pearl Harbor and was decommissioned in 1946.

The only battleship able to get under way and make a break for the open water during the attack, the USS Nevada made it as far as the mouth of the harbor channel before it was overcome by multiple bomb hits and strafing fire.

Sixty of the Nevada’s officers and men were killed in action during the Pearl Harbor raid. Their names are inscribed on a plaque that stands on the shoreline near Hospital Point, where the Nevada ran aground. The memorial was dedicated on Dec. 7, 1983.

 

The USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park

Adjacent to the USS Arizona Memorial Visitors Center on the shore of Pearl Harbor, the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park is a complex that includes a museum, mini-theater, gift shop, outdoor exhibits, and the Waterfront Memorial for the submarines and crew who served and died during World War II.

One of the more popular attractions at the complex is the Bowfin itself. Launched on the first anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, the submarine served admirably enough to be nicknamed “The Pearl Harbor Avenger,” sinking more than 16 Japanese merchant and military vessels. Decommissioned in 1971, Bowfin is now back at Pearl Harbor, berthed at the park and available for tours. In 1986, Bowfin was designated a National Historic Landmark.

An admission ($12 adults, $5 for children, and $8 for military and seniors) is charged to see the Bowfin and museum exhibits, but the public is free to roam the park grounds, where the Waterfront Memorial, officially dedicated in May 1992, stands in tribute to the U.S. submarines and more than 3,500 submariners lost during World War II. The 52 individual monuments chronicle the wartime career of each of the sunken submarines and list the names of their officers and enlisted men. A separate monument lists the names of additional submariners who died in the line of duty.

The museum and park are open daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., except for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.

The Pacific Aviation Museum

On 16 acres near the Missouri and Oklahoma memorials on Ford Island, the Pacific Aviation Museum chronicles the nation’s aviation history, with special attention given to naval warfare in the Pacific. The grounds include three historic naval aircraft hangars and a control tower. Veteran docents lead tours among aircraft housed in Hangar 37 and Hangar 79, a battlefield survivor that still bears the scars of the Pearl Harbor attack.

General admission to the museum, which is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (except for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day), is $25 for adults and $12 for children; additional charges apply for use of a combat flight simulator and docent-guided tours.

The Pacific Aviation Museum can be accessed by car, or by shuttle buses that depart the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center every 15 minutes, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Tickets to the museum may be purchased at the Visitor Center, the museum itself, or online.

 

National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl National Cemetery)

The extinct volcanic Punchbowl Crater was known to ancient Hawaiians as Puwowaina (“Hill of Sacrifice”), and was the sacred site of many royal burials, as well as the place where breakers of certain kapus (taboos) were sacrificed. Now the site of the 115-acre National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Punchbowl is the final resting place of more than 38,000 soldiers, more than half of whom died in the Pacific during World War II. The soldiers’ graves are marked by individual plaques in the ground. 776 casualties from the Pearl Harbor attack were among the first to be buried at the cemetery, which was dedicated in September 1949. While many of the ships that suffered losses at Pearl Harbor – including the Oklahoma, California, Pennsylvania, and the West Virginia – don’t have individual memorials at the harbor, the men who served on them are honored here.

The centerpiece of the cemetery, atop a marble flight of stairs, is the Court of Honor, anchored by the 30-foot statue of a female figure holding a laurel branch. The area includes a nondenominational chapel and several engraved galleries of maps, which depict important Pacific engagements of World War II. On either side of the stairway are 10 marble “Courts of the Missing,” monuments to the 28,788 Americans listed as missing in action in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

A place of serenity and natural beauty, Punchbowl offers visitors a chance for quiet contemplation and reflection.

A place of serenity and natural beauty, Punchbowl offers visitors a chance for quiet contemplation and reflection. A paved road leads up from the cemetery to a lookout point, which offers a spectacular view from Diamond Head and Waikiki to downtown Honolulu. The cemetery is open to the public, free of charge, from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily (it closes at 5:30 p.m. from Sept. 30 to March 1 and is closed on federal holidays other than Memorial Day). The American Legion (808-946-6383) offers walking tours Monday through Friday. Punchbowl is easily accessible from downtown Honolulu or the Pali Highway.

 

The Battleship Missouri Memorial and Museum

Three hundred yards away from the Arizona, the USS Missouri (BB 63) – whose career spanned a half-century and service in three wars – is berthed, its 16-inch guns pointing symbolically toward the Arizona in a protective posture. While the Arizona is the tragic emblem of the war’s beginning, the Missouri stands as a powerful symbol of the war’s end. It was aboard the Missouri, docked at Tokyo Bay on Sept. 2, 1945, that the Japanese signed the formal surrender ending World War II.

Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) man the rails as the ship passes the USS Missouri Memorial. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ben A. Gonzales

Part of the last and biggest class of U.S. Navy battleships ever built – it didn’t even exist at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack – Missouri entered service in 1944 and was involved in the invasions of Okinawa and Iwo Jima, as well as attacks on the Japanese mainland. At the beginning of the Korean War, it was involved in the invasion of Inchon. Missouri was decommissioned in 1955 and docked at Bremerton, Washington, where it served as a tourist attraction until 1986, when it was recommissioned at San Francisco. In 1990, after Iraq invaded Kuwait, Missouri was sent to the Persian Gulf, and in 1991 fired its big 16-inch guns – capable of flinging a 2-ton shell more than 20 miles – for the first time since Korea.

Finally decommissioned in 1992, the Missouri was donated to the USS Missouri Memorial Association in Honolulu, and was opened as a memorial in January 1999. Despite its location, the “Mighty Mo” is not part of the national monument, but like the Bowfin is maintained and operated by a private non-profit organization. Tour tickets ($27-65 adults, $13-35 children) can be purchased at the Bowfin Memorial Museum, or booked online. The memorial is open daily (except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m June-August, and 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. September-May.

The decision to berth the Missouri within a ship’s length of the Arizona was not without some controversy. There were some who felt – and still feel – that the big battleship overshadows the solemn memorial to those who died at Pearl Harbor. Others believe that the Missouri and Arizona, side by side, serve as fitting bookends to mark the start and finish of the bloodiest conflict in world history.

Visitors can view the wardroom, officers’ quarters, and the spot on the ship’s fantail where a Japanese attack plane crashed onto the deck, setting the ship on fire. Six of the decks are accessible to visitors; one of the most popular spots is the main deck, where visitors stand in awe of the Missouri’s massive guns. The exact spot of the Japanese surrender on Deck 01 (the “Surrender Deck”) is marked by an inset plaque, and highlighted by the recorded voice of Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

The decision to berth the Missouri within a ship’s length of the Arizona was not without some controversy. There were some who felt – and still feel – that the big battleship overshadows the solemn memorial to those who died at Pearl Harbor. Others believe that the Missouri and Arizona, side by side, serve as fitting bookends to mark the start and finish of the bloodiest conflict in world history.