2021 Hike 2: Pearl Harbor Memorial and Base

This next hike is from Oahu! I am counting this as a hike, because the total we walked between the U.S.S. Arizona memorial, the Raytheon Aerospace Museum, and the U.S.S. Missouri was about 3 miles, and the Missouri was so large, we actually did about 100 feet in elevation, going from the mess hall to the bridge.

The first part of our hike was to the U.S.S. Arizona itself. This was one of the battleships that was sunk beyond repair in the attack on Pearl Harbor. On the walk of remembrance, the first-hand accounts of the Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, Coast Guardsmen, and civilian workers described a bloody, hellish event that the best moviemaker in the world couldn’t possibly represent sufficiently. I include all members and contractors of the armed services, because this was actually a coordinated attack on all military installations on Oahu…Pearl Harbor is just the most famous because of the sheer volume of destruction and loss of life.

This plaque was particularly meaningful to me. Survivors of traumatic experiences often ask this, and wrestle with this question, wondering why they were spared. After Dad, Keith, and Mike passed away, I admit to having asked this myself.

We all learned about Pearl Harbor in school, but this was something different. Something visceral. The ship itself is still there, and it is both haunting and oddly peaceful. It is difficult to see in the picture, but there is a flurry of activity; schools of colorful fish dance around the structure, and coral and seaweed grow on the ship itself, waving in the current. It is comforting in a way; what was once a place of death and pain, is now an environment teeming with life.

After all this time, oil blooms are still seeping out of this massive ship. The U.S.S. Missouri holds vigil in the distance.

After paying homage to this vessel, we went to the Raytheon Aerospace Museum, which used to be an Army Air Corps hangar (the U.S. Air Force was not yet created). I will attempt not to geek out too much…those that know me may be aware that I love aircraft and spacecraft. This was like Disneyland for me. Two entire hangars of aircraft, one with props and one with jets, with an outdoor tarmac in between them, filled with rotary-wing aircraft. So cool! In the background of the picture below, you can see some bright white spots in the blue-tinted windows…these are actually the original bullet holes from when the Japanese fighters attacked this airbase.

Our last stop was a self-tour of the U.S.S. Missouri. This was the ship that accepted the official unconditional surrender from Japan at the end of World War 2. The crazy thing about battleships and aircraft carriers, is that in a lot of ways are like entire cities. Belowdecks, there are several galleys, workspaces, sleeping quarters, offices, gyms, and even a dentist. This ship was deployed as late as the Gulf War, so it has had many retrofits, upgrades, and even a Tomahawk missile launcher grafted onto it’s side. An interesting thing about this ship, is that it was the last Navy vessel to include an official Marine detachment as part of the crew, representing a time when Marines were used as security at sea, and as boarding parties to enemy vessels, because before the advent of the coal and Diesel engines the sailors were literally occupied with sailing the ship itself.

On the lower bridge of the Missouri looking out at the memorial of the Arizona.

Here is a big gun. Because it is awesome.

In closing, I want to thank you for indulging my fascination with military history and technology…the next hikes will be more traditional, I promise!