Never knew this about Pearl Harbor

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I did not know that, either. Very very touching. ANYBODY who thinks a person can "get over" war is sadly mistaken. I've known quite a few WWII vets who took a lot of trouble to their deaths, and if living, still hold some of it to this day.
 
This is one of the things the government is doing that few could find fault with. If you can find a WWII Vet, thank them for their service. They are dieing at the rate of about 1100 a day. Then find any other Vet and thank them.
 
Its a very solemn deal, the Nat. Park workers are so respectful. We went to see the Missouri and the Pac. Air Museum a couple months back and were very impressed by the professionalism of the park workers.

I've heard stories of tourists, both japanese and american, having a little too much fun while on the Arizona tour and being politely but firmly put in their place by the park staff.
Some people seem to forget that it's a memorial and not just another tourist destination.
 
Yup. Somewhere on youtube are videos of the guards lecturing the abusive crowd at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, of all places.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsdHxUXf2CE"]Tomb of the unknown - soldier yelling at laughing crowd - YouTube[/ame]

You would think people would "intuitively know" when to shut the 'ell up, but I guess not!!!
 
This is very touching. I too was unaware o this detail. Thank you for sharing it
 
Touching and not known. Why does not the rest of the world know about this? But thanks for sharing this video!
 
Been to Pearl Harbor twice. Visited both the Arizona Memorial and went on the U.S.S. Missouri. Pretty fascinating that one ship is about the beginning of WWII (Arizona) and the other is about the end ( Missouri). That is the ship that the Japanese signed the surrender documents on. There is a plaque on the deck right where the signing took place.


Awesome video, thanks for sharing!
 
Sad that todays American young men probably dont have the same dedication these young men had. Country first.
 
I also knew of this, but thank you so much for posting the link to the video. Fuel oil is still seeping from the Arizona. The legend is the oil droplets are "tears" for the crew and the ship will continue "crying" as long as a former crewmember is still alive.

My uncle was aboard the U.S.S. West Virginia on December 7, 1941, ahead of and outboard of the Arizona. The West Virginia took seven torpedo hits and two bomb hits during the attack. My uncle was blown into the water and had to swim under burning oil on the waters surface in order to get away from the ship.
In later life he and my aunt owned a beautiful home here in SoCal complete with a swimming pool. The pool was for my aunt because my uncle could not go in any water above his knees without having flashbacks to swimming under the burning oil so many years before.
 
Very moving memorial. The day we visited we were fortunate to have a WWII MOH recipient in our group. Not sure if he had any connection to Pearl Harbor.

Another bit of information unknown to a lot of people is that the Arizona is under the control of the National Park Service, but the U.S. Navy still retains the title. Arizona retains the right, in perpetuity to fly the United States flag as if she were an active, commissioned naval vessel. They actually have sailors assigned to the Arizona much like the soldiers of the 3rd infantry Regiment (Old Guard). They don't perform any ceremonies however they take positions at the memorial when a group of tourists are on board. We had a young sailor that was piloting the boat who told us that they had hand picked from the fleet.
 
ocdart said:
I also knew of this, but thank you so much for posting the link to the video. Fuel oil is still seeping from the Arizona. The legend is the oil droplets are "tears" for the crew and the ship will continue "crying" as long as a former crewmember is still alive.

My uncle was aboard the U.S.S. West Virginia on December 7, 1941, ahead of and outboard of the Arizona. The West Virginia took seven torpedo hits and two bomb hits during the attack. My uncle was blown into the water and had to swim under burning oil on the waters surface in order to get away from the ship.
In later life he and my aunt owned a beautiful home here in SoCal complete with a swimming pool. The pool was for my aunt because my uncle could not go in any water above his knees without having flashbacks to swimming under the burning oil so many years before.
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Your uncle was a great man!

Thank you for that information!! it must have bee horrible for him and all that were there.
 
WOW, that's awesome ! Thanks for posting .. I've been there a few times when the carrier I was on made port before and after deployment.
 
Hell I was stationed there, and I did not know that,... Tre cool,..

.Lest We Forget, Thank a Vet...
 
Visited the Arizona Memorial many years ago.It's a very solemn feeling a lot like I felt at the Vietnam Memorial. A fitting final resting place for these hero's.
 
chryslerfat said:
Sad that todays American young men probably dont have the same dedication these young men had. Country first.
Click to expand...

This is patently untrue. I'll be one of the first to say, as a supervisor of approx 30 Airmen, although they've been taught/raised somewhat differently than folks were in that day and age, and I along with many fellow NCOs and SNCOs opine of their differences, greatness exists within our young Americans. They just need a good leader and mentor that cultures their strength fortitude integrity courage and will. A leader that enables them to face and conquer their weaknesses, that empowers them to know they hold within their grasp the frail thread that weaves the tapestry of what it means to be an American--which by the way is different for every one. That leader NEEDS to be a parent, if not a parent, then a teacher; if not a teacher then an NCO.

JMO...
 
Thanks for the link. I didn't know that was happening. I was at the site and it is a emotional place. You can still see a small rainbow colored trail of oil coming up from the hulk. RIP all those that perished for our freedom! tmm
 
My grandfather was a WWII vet (crewed 3 naval destroyers, all of which were sunk). For years and years family members asked him about his experiences during the war. He would not speak a word. War time shook him that badly.
 
The first time I visited the Arizona was 2003; we evac'd from Guam for typhoon warning. Naturally, we came to Hawaii...you wanna talk about sobering. The Mighty Mo also a sight to see...she's currently undergoing some freshening for the teak wood decks and paint...just visited that again last weekend.

Now I'm stationed here and the hangar I work in still has bullet holes in the structure from the attack and the HQ building up the street (which was barracks at the time) still bears the scars of the strafing...albeit painted over.
 
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