Off Topic -- Inside the USS Arizona

[David Spanovich]

It's hard to believe that it was 70 years ago, today, that Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese forces, prompting the US entry into World War II.

About 15 years ago, my partner and I were in Hawaii working on a story about Matson Navigation Company. Our visit to the USS Arizona Memorial, made during the time we toured the big island, was an overwhelming experience; reading the names of the dead inscribed on the walls of the memorial, and then looking down at the remains of the ship, itself, we realized that all of those young men were entombed directly below us inside the rusting hulk, still spewing out droplets of its bunker oil.

Nearly a decade ago, the wreck was entered via a remote controlled camera, in a effort to survey its integrity. The images from inside the wreck are both fascinating, and haunting, since they provide a glimpse of the crew's final moments.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0TpsfxGDdo[/youtube]

[Nat]

Thanks for that; I found it very moving.

[estott]

When the memorial was constructed the remains of the superstructure were removed down to just below the waterline. What most visitors don't know is that the remains were just dumped in the weeds on shore:

http://ussarizonafacts.org/remnant1.htm