What Is Pearl Harbor National Memorial?
This park preserves the wreckage of three battleships destroyed in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor: the Arizona, the Oklahoma, and the Utah!
What Makes It Historical?
In 1875, the United States signed a Reciprocity Treaty with the Merrie Monarch, King Kalākaua of Hawaiʻi! This treaty gave the US exclusive rights to use Pearl Harbor for coal and ship repair, while making trade between the two nations duty-free! At first, it wasn’t considered that strategically important a place, even after the US annexed Hawaiʻi in 1893. It wasn’t until the US also annexed Guam and the Philippines in 1898 that Pearl Harbor seemed like a good midway point to keep an eye on these Pacific landgrabs!
As one might expect, Congress argued for years over funding a naval base at Pearl Harbor, until Japan beat Russia in the Russo-Japanese War of 1905 and became a major player in the Pacific! So, the Navy dredged out the coral blocking the harbor and built a drydock, making Pearl Harbor an active US Naval Base by 1919! There weren’t a ton of ships here until 1940 though, when FDR ordered the Pacific Fleet to leave San Diego for Pearl Harbor to keep eyes on the Empire of Japan!
It was that move which drew Japanese attention to Pearl Harbor. They’d had their eyes on the resources of European colonies in Southeast Asia, left largely undefended during the war with Germany, so keeping the US out of their business became a big priority. Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto sent six fleet carriers over 3,000 miles to Hawaiʻi, and on the morning of December 7, 1941, launched two waves of bombers over the north of Oʻahu down to Pearl Harbor! The assault damaged 19 warships and 300 planes, killing over 2,400 servicemen!
It was a brutal attack, and the US was completely unprepared for it! Well, not completely unprepared. They’d taken the time to build repair stations around Pearl Harbor, which the bombers largely ignored. That meant all but three battleships were repaired and returned to war. The unlucky three still lie at the bottom of Pearl Harbor, entombing the bodies of those who died in them on that infamous day.
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Volunteer at Pearl Harbor National Memorial!
- Donate to Pearl Harbor National Memorial!
- Be a responsible visitor! Remember the old adages: Pack out what you pack in! Take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints!
How Do I Get There?
1 Arizona Memorial Pl
Honolulu, HI 96818
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit the Park?
The memorial is open daily from 7:00 AM until 5:00 PM, except on major holidays!
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