Sobering

Heather and I arose bright and early this morning. So early it wasn’t even bright yet. The plan was to walk down to Denny’s for breakfast and return to the hotel in time to pick up the car and be on the road at 5:30 a.m. Well, we didn’t quite meet our deadline, but we were still on our way before 6:00.

We knew that we wanted to arrive at the USS Arizona Memorial well before the opening time of 7:30 a.m. We had also heard from another member of Heather’s program that she had arrived at 6:30 a.m. and been assigned to the ninth tour group. But we decided that arriving at 6:00 a.m. was about all the sacrifice we were willing to make during our vacation. Luckily, even with our actual arrival time of about 6:15 a.m., we were still the first people to arrive. Literally, the very first. As in, people who work there arrived after us.

So, we sat in the car for a few minutes, playing games on our iPods, applying sunscreen, and calling people back home to tell them where we were (it wasn’t rude, it was afternoon there). Within about 15 minutes other cars started to arrive, and when we saw the first tour bus arrive, we knew it was time to get in line.

The early rising paid off. When the park ranger started handing out tickets 45 minutes later, we were in group one. We entered the visitor center and had time for a quick bathroom break before entering the theatre where a 23 minute film about the attack on Pearl Harbor and the memorial is shown. From there it was directly onto the shuttle boat, run by the Navy, which would take us to the memorial.

The boat ride was a somber eight minutes. It is deliberately that long because it took the same length of time for the Arizona to sink following the torpedo hit. Every person aboard the shuttle sat in quiet reverence for the sacrifice made all those years ago by the thousands who died during the attack on Pearl Harbor. And to think that I was, at that moment, gliding through calm waters that were once so memorably disturbed by torpedoes and machine guns was unimaginable.

Our time on the memorial was limited, as we would leave when the next group arrived, so mixed in with the somber mood was an urgency to see as much as we possibly could. A few highlights: The bases of gun turrets still visible above and just below the water.
The flagpole erected so that the USS Arizona would forever fly her country’s colors.

And, of course, the shrine room, where the name of every man killed on the Arizona is listed, in alphabetical order instead of by rank, because no man’s life is worth more than any other.

And when it was time to leave the memorial, I was struck by the feeling that many of us on the shuttle left a piece of our hearts behind with the men still entombed there.

A sobering way to begin the day, but luckily, things cheered quickly with a visit to the USS Bowfin (the Pearl Harbor Avenger she was called as she was launched one year to the day after the attack), a submarine docked nearby. Both Heather and I noted that we could never work on a submarine! I don't think I could rest well knowing that there was a torpedo right below me!

Then it was time for the shuttle bus to the battleship USS Missouri, on the deck of which the formal surrender documents ending World War II were signed.

I felt I would do better on board a battleship than a submarine, but then, we never got further below decks than one level. If I had to go further down than that, I don’t think I’d do well. I was impressed, though, that the crew did have a library on board! (I'm such a nerd.)

We arrived back at our hotel about 3:00, but it felt much later (probably due to the fact that we had been up since about 4:00 a.m.). Heather went to do some shopping while I visited the pool. We met back up later for dinner at the Yardhouse, quite the happening restaurant/bar that played great music.

And now we’re back in the room. Another excursion is planned for tomorrow, but luckily, the alarm won’t be going off quite as early!