The Island of Oahu is home of the infamous US Naval base, Pearl Harbor. On December 7, 1941, Japanese aircrafts bombed Pearl Harbor killing thousands of US Military seamen and spurring the United States to enter into WWII. It is a pivotal event in American History and a visit to this historic place, in my opinion, should not be passed by if you are already making the effort to get to the Hawaiian Islands. 

The best advice I have for planning a trip to Pearl Harbor is to get there early, before 7am when the gates open, and to purchase your tickets ahead of time. I actually had the added convenience of going with a group tour that picked me up from my beachside hotel. They handled the advance ticket purchase, driving, and parking for us and they knew an early morning visit would yield the best experience for their guests.

Upon arrival we did stand in line for 10 minutes waiting for the facility to open and, after the trumpet sounded and the gates opened, the line went extremely fast. We entered Pearl Harbor and had uninterrupted views of the harbor, submarines, battleships, and exhibits. We were also part of the second group to visit the USS Arizona, a sunken battleship that still rests at the bottom of the harbor. 

Everybody who visits Pearl Harbor should visit the memorial experience of the USS Arizona. This experience begins with taking a seat in a small movie theater where you watch a 15 minute video with real film footage of the Pearl Harbor attack. It is a powerful video that delivers excellent facts and heartbreaking footage. Emotions are high as you leave the theater and walk through to the harbor where, seconds ago, you were watching black and white footage of this very place being bombed. Hardly any remnants remain of the vast destruction that took place, except for the still sunken battleship, the USS Arizona.

After the theater you board a ferry boat, manned by a young naval recruit, and cross the harbor to a modern white structure placed directly above the sunken battleship. You disembark and walk into the white memorial where you are able to look down upon the sunken battle ship which became a tomb for the ship’s crew.

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A Japanese dive bomber dropped a bomb through her decks which exploded in the Arizona’s ammunition storage. The ship sunk in eight minutes and remains sunk to this day. Oil continues to bubble up to the surface from this despairing sight and only a few feet of metal from the top of the ship breaks the surface. The memorial is filled with whispered talk and slow moving visitors who are looking out at the harbor, the sunken ship, or at the names and rank of the fallen soldiers inscribed on the end wall inside of the memorial. 

The museum exhibits, back on the main side of Pearl Harbor, are interesting to interact with and modern in delivery. Sometimes museum exhibits are cheesy but I found these models and WWII war methods fascinating and I even snapped a few pictures. Self guided audio tours and a quick peek inside the tight quarters of the USS Bowfin Submarine are two other great tour options to take advantage of.

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Overall the Pearl Harbor experience is good, it can be adequately done in a few hours time and, like most powerful historical memorials, it made me want to educate myself more about the historical event.