Sixth Day - Tuesday, November 6th
We actually set the alarm to get up extra early but still didn't beat the crowd at the memorial, but for other reasons. We had made the decision to drive ourselves rather than take the tour bus. All it does anyway is take you from the hotel to the memorial and bring you back for $28 per person. The worst part is you are then stuck with their schedule. We intended to leave at 6:00, when the tour bus was to leave, but didn't actually get away until 6:30. Then, in spite of having found the way Saturday when looking for the flea market then seeing it again yesterday, I missed the turnoff. Once again, the street and highway markings are sorely lacking. It then took another half-hour to find the memorial after getting off H-1 a half-mile too soon. I wandered around the neighborhood for a while and finally found the Navy Base but the wrong gate. The guard gave me instructions to the site, about a mile away. It sounded easy but turned out to be not entirely so. I may have missed a turn or maybe there was one he didn't tell me about. Anyway, ten minutes or so later, we arrived.
We parked and got in line around 7:00 and the first tour buses were ahead of us. The line of
people wrapped around the grounds for a city block or more. There were a few hundred ahead of
us and the line was not moving. While waiting, we bought $5 tickets for the audio tour without
knowing for certain what it amounted to. Finally, we started to move. I think the delay was that
they didn't open until 7:30. It only took a few more minutes before we were inside after we
finally started to move. We got our tickets with a group number on them (there is no charge for
the memorial or museum) and traded the audio tickets for a player with audio keyed to the
various exhibits in the museum. It was well worth the $5.
While waiting for our group number to be called, we checked the museum. It has many artifacts
from the USS Arizona and Pearl Harbor in general as well as several from the USS Oklahoma.
These are some of those salvaged from the Oklahoma. The poster gives the build and other history
of the Oklahoma. Sorry for the glare but it was dark enough inside that flash was required and it
also took a bit of manouvering to even get a clear shot through the maze of people. There are
descriptions of Pearl Harbor, the ships moored there and the attack. Many described in the words
of actual survivors on the audio tour. These are large scale models of the Uss Arizona and one
of the Japanese aircraft carriers that participated in the attack but I don't remember which
one. The last one is a model of the memorial with the ship shown as she rests just below.
Although shown in a rather ghostly manner, it still gives a better view than what we could get
at the site. The darker rust-red round part of the ship in front of the memorial is the base
of the forward gun turret that does extend above the water. I have a little more on that later.
It was an altogether moving experience. Even as I write this two months later, it still brings
up a bit of a lump in the throat. I think I could have spent the whole day there but half-an-hour
or so later, our group number was called.
But, before going to the film, there a couple more photos to discuss. The first was taken from the
rear of the pavillion looking back into the interior. The museum is to the left and the theater is
to the right. The entrance is straight ahead. It really is a beautiful facility. The other was
taken from about the same place looking out over the back lawn toward Ford Island and the memorial.
That is the USS Missouri to the left of the memorial. We would soon be there.
The first part of the official tour is a 20 minute film. The museum has a theater that holds just as many people as fit on the shuttle boat that takes them to the memorial. The film is all original footage from the attack with "no Hollywood effects" as the usher described it. I was surprised that so much of the original military and newsreel film was available. Even Hollywood could not have done it justice. That was an incredible amount of destruction in such a short period of time. It is still hard to imagine that we were so totally unprepared.
After the film, we boarded the shuttle for the short trip across the channel to the memorial. The
Arizona lies on the bottom where she was sunk and the memorial spans her across the beam.
Inside the memorial is fairly sparse but that is appropriate. There are a couple of small display
tables with diagrams of the ship as it lies below and openings to look out at the remains. There is
one part of the ship above water. It is a fairly large round hollow extension that I guessed is the
base for a gun turret but I didn't know that for sure. Internet research has later verified that. It is
estimated that the ship still contains as much as 500,000 gallons of fuel oil and she bleeds about
one or two quarts of it into the harbor each day. The result is a constant oil slick that hides some
of the ship from view. It may not be particularly interesting just as a photograph but it is another
essential part of the story. The water was fairly murky at least the day we were there so that we
really couldn't see much but an occasional outline or hint of something a few feet below the surface.
The general feeling and mood inside the memorial was quiet and somber. The noise from visitors
was much less than one would usually expect. Respect for the site and its reason for existence
was overwhelming. At the far end from the entrance is a marble wall with engraved names of all
those who perished with the ship. Most of their remains are still entombed in it. You could feel
the ominous weight of 1000 or more spirits standing watch over that hallowed place. After the
boat trip back from the memorial, we probably examined the Visitor Center for another hour. Here
is a look at the memorial from up close and another of Judy under it from back at the Pavillion.
I really wanted to tour the USS Missouri while there but knew my knee could not bend anywhere
near enough to make it up and down all the steps that would be necessary. Maybe I can finally do
that if we ever make it back. Further research also indicates that the USS Oklahoma Memorial
will be on Ford Island, probably near the access to the Missouri. She is, after all, permanently
berthed where the Oklahoma was sunk. That's yet another reason to return, hopefully sooner rather
than later.
After that all too sobering experience, we got a couple of shot of each of us with the anchor
salvaged from the wreck of the Arizona and headed back for the hotel room and another ice pack
for the knee. While there we finished off Judy's pork from yesterday as sandwiches with Maui
potato chips. They are really good kettle style chips. We brought home part of a bag.
After lunch and a rest, we again got the car and headed up the Pali Highway to the Nu‘uanu Pali Lookout. The shots below were taken through the windshield after leaving the Pali Highway on the way to the lookout. This marks the spot of a singularly important event in Hawai‘ian history. Kamehameha I was already king of the island of Hawai‘i. In 1795, he sailed, with his army, and conquered Maui before landing on O‘ahu where a fierce war for control of the island ensued against Chief Kalanikupule and his army of O‘ahu and Maui warriors. Kamehameha had a big advantage in the cannons and western style battle techniques he had obtained from the British and drove the opposing army up into the mountains and to the edge of the Nu‘uanu Pali cliff. The defenders refused to surrender and were eventually all forced over the thousand foot cliff to their deaths. With that victory, Kamehameha I finally began the unification of all the islands under one rule.
The view of the eastern side of the island from there is nothing short of spectacular. The scenery
includes Kane‘ohe Bay and Waimanalo Bay and everything between. Nestled in the lush fields
below is the Hawai‘i Pacific University and the Kawainui Marsh. The peaks of the Ko‘olau
Ridge rise up another few hundred feet above your head there, making for an awesome drop to
the floor below. Remnants of the old Nu‘uanu Pali drive, the original highway between Honolulu
and the windward shore, can be found wandering through this high mountain pass and somehow
making its way down the face of the cliff.
We walked a short way down the old road to get a better picture of the cliff face. While there, we
met a couple from California, somewhat younger than us. In our conversation we learned that
she was raised on O‘ahu and well remembered that old road long before the Pali Highway was
built, around 1960. She particularly remembered riding in the family's Chrysler along that
narrow road, that now seems barely wide enough for a Chrysler, and that precariously picks its
way along the face of the cliff down to Kane‘ohe and the windward shore. I can imagine that
it must have been terrifying for a youngster. This photo gives a pretty good feel for what that
road must have been like. This has to be one of the most photogenic places on the island. While we
were there, the couple took a couple pictures of us with my camera. This is the only photo of the
two of us together in Hawai‘i.
Did I mention that the view of the eastern side of the island from the Pali Lookout is truly a
spectacular sight?
This is the Pali Highway Tunnel, cutting through the mountain just below the Lookout. We had
turned off just short of the entrance, at the other end, to get up to the Lookout. We will go
through the tunnel tomorrow. Judy had read of the Nu‘uanu Pali Drive that she wanted to
see on the way up to the lookout. Well, I missed the turnoff on the way up so we went through
it on the way back down. It was described as the "tropical rain forest of O‘ahu"
and that it certainly was. I tried to take a few pictures through the windshield but it was
usually too dark for photography due to the natural umbrella of overhanging trees and vines.
We did stop a couple of times for some particularly interesting scenery. This other shot is
actually on the Pali Highway, probably no more than a mile from downtown Honolulu. This drive
was so interesting and we missed so much of it the first time through that we were to come back
the next day and spend a lot more time there.
After an hour or so of rest and recuperation (read that as foot up on the hassock and an ice pack on the knee) we got dressed and went to the buffet at the Rainbow Lanai. The Lanai is a semi- outdoor restaurant in the base of the Rainbow Tower looking out onto the beach. We spent too much money but thought we should have one first class dinner before leaving. It was good food and we did have a really outstanding waiter, a little older guy named Earl who looked to be Chinese.
After dinner we walked the beach again for a little while and got laid - well that was actually "leied". They only cost me $5, ok $5 each, but she did say it was for the O‘ahu Boys and Girls Club. This would be our last night at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.