USS Arizona Memorial, Honolulu

So hard to put in words. Seeing the Arizona under my feet and knowing the number of lives lost that day was very moving. I snapped pictures while wiping tears. My father was in Pearl Harbor, but his ship was on the other side of the island the day of the attack. It was something he never talked about. I guess some survivors have different ways to deal with the total impact of all that occurred. As tear-jerking as it was, I can see myself going back again and again.

Very moving and emotional experience to visit the memorial. A must see attraction. Very educational.

A lot of people visit this memorial, and for good reason. Its beautiful and full of history. I went 4 times in the last year (with family & friends visiting me) and I never got tired of the beauty and importance of this area. I work in the travel field and I find most people dont know its free! Yes, you only pay IF you want the headsets (if you cant read in English). Donations are encouraged though!

I was station in Hawaii for three years with the Army and i just kept going back to the Arizona Memorial. You walked around and see all the WW2 Vets( not many left) and all the history of the brave Saliors and Marines who lost their lives it was alot to take in. anyone who comes to Hawaii should make this a must stop on your trip. I can't believe anyone that's knows the history of that day could leave here with out a tear in your eyes. God bless the Arizona Memorial. CW4 Johnson

My husband and I visited December 6 & December 7 2007 to honor my husband's father who was a Pearl Harbor survivor. We had made arrangements prior to arriving with the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors, Chapter 4. My husband had been there 4 other times, one in which his father received an award by then President Bush (eldest). I wasn't quite sure what to expect of our visit. We went on the regular tour the day before we were to go for the 66th memorial. We arrived for the last tour of the day. We had minutes to spare. We feel that someone above was ensuring we had no difficulties for this trip. I have heard stories from so many people which were moved by the oil, the misty rain, etc. When we stepped aboard the Arizona I let my husband have time by himself. I took some very moving pictures of him in deep thought. Another right when it started to rain through the opening of the USS Arizona everyone moved under the covered area except for my husband and two others. He tells me that this is when he was saying a prayer. I later recounted this story to a very dear gentelman who had assisted my husband and I purchase a wreath and arrange for us our day at the memorial. This gentelman whose father was also a survivor said that several people have told him stories such as this. When we had our pictures developed there were images which appeared on the pictures which were not visible when I took the pictures. One striking was what appeared to be a puff of smoke coming out of the USS Utah. One of the last pictures I took this day was my husband with a rainbow over his head. Words can not express our day on December 7, 2007. This gentelman arranged for us to attend the memorial at the USS Arizona, the dedication of the USS Oklahoma and the scattering of ashes of another PH Survivor at the USS Utah. I thank that family for allowing us to attend this service. "What an honor" is all I can say. In this way I too was honoring two of my uncles who were killed in action durig WWII. May God see to it that there are no more wars, no more needless killing.

Spent three days in Honolulu en route from Australia to Indianapolis and the only place that I wanted to visit during this short stay was the USS Arizona Memorial. I was not dissapointed (apart from the long lines, and the fact that despite what some travel books may tell you, you can NOT take a handbag of ANY size with you. I suggest you leave them at the bag storage area at the Bowfin for safety). Arrived at 10am on a Sunday and the lines were already long. Waited 2 hours for my tour, but the wait was well worth it. I stepped back in time to that dreaded day in December 1941 and said a silent prayer for all those that lost their lives.

I loved it there, I have been there three times. It is a beautiful historical site, that is very educational. I would love to go back, seems everytime I go I see something I missed the other times.

We got there early in the morning around 7:15. Line was long already but we waited patiently and honestly it wasn't that bad the wait. Beautiful and very touching experience. Definitley a most!

This was high on my list of priorities during our visit in July 2007. We drove our rental car and arrived at 7:30. The line was already long. Once the doors opened at 8:00, the line moved fairly quickly. We received our ticket and were in the 4th group to enter. While we were waiting, we visited the gift shop and took many pictures. When our ticket number was called, we entered the theater--the movie was very informative and overwhelming. We then exited and went to the boat. We arrived at the memorial and were told not to take pictures on the ramp. I did sneak a quick picture of the outside of the memorial and it is one of the best pictures from the whole trip. One thing that struck us was the respect that everyone showed when in the room where the names are carved onto the wall. Though the ropes separating people from the wall were only a couple feet from the wall, no one went anywhere near the wall out of respect. They all stood back in reverence. We were able to get several pictures on the memorial and spent about 15 minutes on it. It was an absolutely awesome experience. If I ever get to go back to Hawaii, I will surely visit again. The only negative comment I can make is when I made a purchase at the gift shop, I was asked for an I.D. when I presented my credit card. Since we are not allowed to take bags in, I had only stuck my credit card in my pocket for the gift shop. The cashier looked annoyed, but allowed me to make the purchase anyway. I am not usually asked for an I.D. when I use a credit card, so I was not prepared for this.

We were on our way home to Melbourne Australia after attending our sons wedding at Yosemite National Pk. All of us wanted to visit Pearl Harbour during our stopover in Hawaii and allowed a full day to do just that. My hubby did his homework and we made sure we were there early in the morning. UNFORTUNATELY the security guards walking the lines leave a lot to be desired in the way they interacted with visitors. They could have just quietly told us to leave our bags in the car instead of SHOUTING at us. They also omitted to tell us that there was bag storage at the Bowfin and I was not happy about putting our bags in the boot of the car (hubby was dropping us at the queue) in front of all and sundry. Strike one for the day. THANKFULLY that was my only complaint. We enjoyed the movie, felt overwhelmed on the visit to the Arizona, had a wonderful talk with a spitfire pilot who was actually at Pearl Harbour during the attack (he is now 93 and just a delight) My daughter who did her History thesis on Pearl Harbour as part of her teaching degree couldn't have been happier, spent ages in the Museum, took heaps of time on the Audio tour and topped it off with the visit to the 'Mighty Mo'. Would I recommend this tour to other Australians. Have already done so and I must say that this was definitely a huge highlight to our visit to the U.S Just make sure to allow a full day to really take the whole experience in. As an Australian I was very proud to share the memories. My late father fought during WW2 with the New Zealanders in Eygypt and Italy and I believe memorials such as Pearl Harbour can only strengthen our countries ties. My name is Judy C. and our trip will be remembered for ever and a day. Just try for more people training with the security guards. The Naval staff were most approachable and a credit to their chosen field.