Pearl Harbor - July 20

On our last full day in Hawaii we made our way to the iconic body of water known as Pearl Harbor. This was a trip that we had booked well in advance and was very costly as compared to our budgets. We had gone back and forth over what level of tour to choose, but ended up going with an all inclusive tour that incorporated travel as well as admission to the USS Bowfin submarine, the USS Arizona memorial, the USS Missouri (Iowa Class Battleship) and the aviation museum (as well as the various museums and monuments along the shoreline). This turned out to be an excellent choice as all up this was my personal favourite day of our time on Oahu. We went with the 'Discover Hawaii' tour group and were led by a Polynesian tour guide (complete with map of Oahu tattooed on his palm) who was absolutely fantastic.

I warn that I am going to state a lot of detailed history in this post - I admit that my knowledge before our visit was not great and I found the day fascinating!
After a short drive across from Waikiki (backstory laid down by our guide), we arrived at Pearl Harbor, survived the queue, (at 6:50am!) and were ready to commence our day.

                       

                            The USS Bowfin

At the helm of the Bowfin

The USS Bowfin was up first and I have to say that I was surprised at both how large the vessel actually was while simultaneously marvelling at the confined space that a crew of 14 would share for their long missions at sea. This submarine also came with a fair slice of history. It is nicknamed the 'Avenger' due to the key role it played at the battle of Midway in 1942 where 3 of the Japanese aircraft carriers responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor were sunk.

              

                 Oil spilling from the wreck of the Arizona 

Remains of the Arizona

Next was the USS Arizona memorial which was preceded by the presentation of a short film detailing the history behind the attack. The memorial was a white building strategically built as to straddle the sunken remains of the Arizona which was so badly damaged as to never have been able to recovered. We were to learn that a Japanese bomber scored a hit from 10,000 feet that penetrated 5 decks before exploding in the ammunition chamber.

             

          The location the Arizona during the attack

Remembering the fallen soldiers of the Arizona

                                                                          Two things stand out to me as I think about the Arizona a day later…
First of all, it amazes me to see large amounts of oil glazing the surface of the water - even after nearly 75 years have passed. Later we were to be told that the Arizona was struck with a huge amount of oil on board - experts estimate that there is still nearly 550 000 gallons still there today. Apparently there is no safe way to recover this oil and to attempt would a desecration of the resting place for over 1000 members of the U.S. Navy. The Arizona is responsible for the vast majority of US lives lost at Pearl Harbour and a huge amount are still on board - essentially buried at sea.

Also when viewing the huge plaque listing the names and tanks of all the lost soldiers, I was very interested to see names of the survivors who had since passed away (as recently as 2015), but had chosen for their final resting place to be alongside their former crew mates. This did make think about the burden these few would have carried as the few survivors of the original tragedy and the emotions they must have taken with them for the rest of their lives.

The tour group then met back on the bus (the tour guide was amusingly abused by an older lady from Arkansas who accused him of causing her to miss the Arizona memorial - she had apparently been waiting to see it for 30 years. Turns out she had seen everything like the rest of us and was of the opinion that the memory was 'bigger and better'. Oops!) and were driven through the military checkpoints to Ford Island. Along the way our guide serenaded us with a verse from a poem written by a young local Hawaiian dockhand who had observed the whole attack and survived.
Next we visited the USS Missouri - a sister ship to the sunken USS Oklahoma and serving as a monument to her. The Missouri was fascinating - a huge ship (600 feet long and 10 stories tall) which allowed access to vast majority for us tourists.  We were supplied with a special guide (who was fantastic) and given a talk about the boat before some free time to explore.

A certain highlight was standing on the 'surrender deck' - the exact location where the unconditional surrender by Japan to the US was formalised and signed by both parties in the bay of Tokyo in 1945.

Lastly we headed to the Pacific Aviation Museum - also located on Ford island. Again we were given a tour by a specialist guide (Bob - a former U.S. Airforce colonel) who was also absolutely fantastic. Bob gave us more insight into elements of the Pearl Harbour attack and the Pacific war as a whole as well as first hand stories from his own experiences as a pilot in the Vietnam war (Including crashing into a friendly helicopter and landing safely during a mission in Laos)

Damge sustained by the hanger during the 1941 attack

The Pacific Aviation Museum 

We were informed that this aviation museum had recently been listed as one of the top 10 in the US and it was easy to see why - I certainly would recommend for any potential visitors.

One thing that I picked up from the Tour was how many small moments actually made up the outcome of WWII. A particular moment that stands out is the decision of the Japanese admiral who was in charge of the fleet that attacked Pearl Harbor; deciding not to send the planned 3rd wave of bombers. He made this decision based on trying to conserve equipment and personnel losses due to the US forces now being more prepared to defend.

It turns out that had this third wave of fighters been launched successfully and had destroyed their planned targets (infrastructure and warehouses at the harbour), then it realistically would have put the US forces 2 years behind where they stood and theoretically added at least 2 years to the Pacific War. A real case of what if!

Overall I was very impressed with the entire presentation - there was no bitterness towards the Japanese, nor was there any glossing over some of the actions  taken towards the American-Japanese population on Hawaii by the US government. Also, even though I did see the fierce pride and patriotism of the American citizens throughout the day, but to me it was all displayed and appreciated in the right manner with good intent.

One thing I certainly appreciated about the day was that there was a marked decline in tourists (maybe only because the swarms of Asian tourists seen everywhere else on the island were not apparent here).
We all thoroughly enjoyed the day and I would have to say for anyone considering visiting Hawaii then skip a day at the beach and make sure pearl harbour is on your to do list!

Adrian.