The USS Arizona is the final resting place for many of the ship's 1,177 crewmen who lost their lives on December 7, 1941. The 184-foot-long Memorial structure spanning the mid-portion of the sunken battleship consists of three main sections: the entry and assembly rooms; a central area designed for ceremonies and general observation; and the shrine room, where the names of those killed on the Arizona are engraved on the marble wall.

The USS Arizona Memorial grew out of wartime desire to establish some sort of memorial at Pearl Harbor to honor those who died in the attack. Suggestions for such a memorial began in 1943, but it wasn't until 1949, when the Territory of Hawaii established the Pacific War Memorial Commission, that the first real steps were taken to bring it about.

Initial recognition came in 1950 when Admiral Arthur Radford, Commander in Chief, Pacific (CINCPAC), ordered that a flagpole be erected over the sunken battleship. On the ninth anniversary of the attack, a commemorative plaque was placed at the base of the flagpole.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who helped achieve Allied victory in Europe during World War II, approved the creation of the Memorial in 1958. Its construction was completed in 1961 with public funds appropriated by Congress and private donations. The Memorial was dedicated in 1962.

According to its architect, Alfred Preis, the design of the Memorial, "Wherein the structure sags in the center but stands strong and vigorous at the ends, expresses initial defeat and ultimate victory....The overall effect is one of serenity. Overtones of sadness have been omitted to permit the individual to contemplate his own personal responses...his innermost feelings."

Contrary to popular belief, the USS Arizona is no longer in commission. As a special tribute to the ship and her lost crew, the United States flag flies from the flagpole, which is attached to the severed mainmast of the sunken battleship. The USS Arizona Memorial has come to commemorate all military personnel killed in the Pearl Harbor attack.

The attack on Pearl Harbor was the culmination of a decade of deteriorating relations between Japan and the United States over the status of China and the security of Southeast Asia. The breakdown began in 1931 when Japanese army extremists, in defiance of government policy, invaded and overran the northern-most Chinese province of Manchuria. Japan ignored American protests, and in the summer of 1937 launched a full-scale attack on the rest of China. Although alarmed by this action, neither the United States nor any other nation with interests in the Far East was willing to use military force to halt Japanese expansion.

Over the next three years, war broke out in Europe and Japan joined Nazi Germany in the Axis Alliance. The United States applied both diplomatic and economic pressures to try to resolve the Sino-Japanese conflict. The Japanese government viewed these measures, especially an embargo on oil, as threats to their nation's security. By the summer of 1941, both countries had taken positions from which they could not retreat without a serious loss of national prestige. Although both governments continued to negotiate their differences, Japan had already decided on war.

The attack on Pearl Harbor was part of a grand strategy of conquest in the Western Pacific. The objective was to immobilize the Pacific Fleet so that the United States could not interfere with these invasion plans. The principal architect of the attack was Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet. Though personally opposed to war with America, Admiral Yamamoto knew that Japan's only hope of success in such a war was to achieve quick and decisive victory. America's superior economic and industrial might would tip the scales in her favor during a prolonged conflict.

On November 26, the Japanese attack fleet of 33 warships and auxiliary craft, including six aircraft carriers, sailed from northern Japan for the Hawaiian Islands. It followed a route that took it far to the north of the normal shipping lanes. By early morning, December 7, 1941, the ships had reached their launch position, 230 miles north of Oahu. At 6 am, the first wave of fighters, bombers, and torpedo planes took off. The night before, some 10 miles outside the entrance to Pearl Harbor, five midget submarines carrying two crewmen and two torpedoes each were launched from larger "mother" subs. Their mission: enter Pearl Harbor before the air strike, remain submerged until the attack got underway, then cause as much damage as possible.

Meanwhile at Pearl Harbor, the 130 vessels of the U.S. Pacific Fleet lay calm and serene. Seven of the Fleet's nine battleships were tied up along "Battleship Row" on the southeast shore of Ford Island. Naval aircraft were lined up at Ford Island and Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Stations, and at Ewa Marine Corps Air Station. The aircraft belonging to the U.S. Army Air Corps were parked in groups as defense against possible saboteurs at Hickam, Wheeler, and Bellows airfields.

Battleship Row at Pearl Harbor

Ford Island

While the attack on Pearl Harbor intensified, other military installations on Oahu were hit. Hickam, Wheeler, and Bellows airfields, Ewa Marine Corps Air Station, Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Station, and Schofield Barracks suffered varying degrees of damage, with hundreds of planes destroyed on the ground and hundreds of men killed or wounded.

At 6:40 am, the crew of the destroyer USS Ward spotted the conning tower of one of the midget subs headed for the entrance to Pearl Harbor. The Ward sank the sub with depth charges and gunfire, then radioed the information to headquarters.

Before 7 am, the radar station at Opana Point picked up a signal indicating a large flight of Planes approaching from the north. These were thought to be either aircraft flying in from the carrier USS Enterprise or an anticipated flight of B-17s from the mainland, so no action was taken.

The first wave of Japanese aircraft arrived over their target areas shortly before 7:55 am. Their leader, Commander Mitsuo Fuchida, sent the coded messages "To, To, To" and "Tora, Tora, Tora," telling the fleet that the attack had begun and that complete surprise had been achieved.

At approximately 8:10 am, the USS Arizona exploded, having been hit by a 1,760 pound armor-piercing bomb that slammed through her deck and ignited her forward ammunition magazine. In less than nine minutes, she sank with 1,177 of her crew, a total loss. The USS Oklahoma, hit by several torpedoes, rolled completely over, trapping over 400 men inside. The USS California and USS West Virginia sank at their moorings, while the USS Utah, converted to a training ship, capsized with over 50 of her crew. The USS Maryland, USS Pennsylvania, and USS Tennessee, all suffered significant damage. The USS Nevada attempted to run out to sea but took several hits and had to be beached to avoid sinking and blocking the harbor entrance.

After about five minutes, American anti-aircraft fire began to register hits, although many of the shells that had been improperly fused fell on Honolulu, where residents assumed them to be Japanese bombs. After a lull at about 8:40 am, the second wave of attacking planes focused on continuing the destruction inside the harbor, destroying the USS Shaw, USS Sotoyomo, a dry dock, and heavily damaging the Nevada, forcing her aground. They also attacked Hickam and Kaneohe airfields, causing heavy loss of life and reducing American ability to retaliate.

Army Air Corps pilots managed to take off in a few fighters and may have shot down 12 enemy planes. At 10 am the second wave withdrew to the north, and the attack was over. The Japanese lost a total of 29 planes and five midget submarines, one of which was captured when it ran aground off Bellows Field. The commander of this midget submarine, Ensign Sakamaki, became the first US captured prisoner of the pacific war.

The attack was a great, but not total, success. Although the U.S. Pacific Fleet was shattered, its aircraft carriers (not in port at the time of the attack) were still afloat and Pearl Harbor was surprisingly intact. The shipyards, fuel storage areas, and submarine base suffered no more than slight damage. More importantly, the American people, previously divided over the issue of U.S. involvement in World War II, rallied together with a total commitment to victory over Japan and her Axis partners.

The USS Oklahoma was launched on March 23, 1914 and was 583 feet long, with a beam (width) of 95 feet wide and a standard displacement of 27,500 tons. The USS Oklahoma was a Nevada class battleship. This was the first class of American battleships with boilers that were exclusively oil fired. The USS Oklahoma was commissioned in 1916 with a crew of 864 officers and enlisted men under the command of Captain Roger Welles.

During World War I, the USS Oklahoma operated out of Bantry Bay, Ireland with the battleships USS Nevada and USS Utah. Together these ships provided protection for Allied convoys operating in European waters. After the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, she escorted President Wilson's homeward journey aboard the USS George Washington.

From 1927 to 1929 the ship received a substantial modernization at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. In 1936 the ship helped to evacuate American citizens and other refugees from the civil war in Spain. On December 6, 1940 the USS Oklahoma arrived at Pearl Harbor as part of the Pacific Fleet.

At 6:00 a.m. Reveille was sounded aboard the USS Oklahoma. As sailors and Marines prepared for their daily duties or liberty at 6:30 a.m. the Boatswain of the watch piped sweepers and announced "Sweepers, man your brooms, clean sweep down fore and aft. Empty all spit kits and trash cans. Clamp down all weather decks." By 7:00 a.m. breakfast was being served, with Sunday's fare of hotcakes, syrup, bacon and coffee.

The attacking Japanese forces found the USS Oklahoma in an extremely vulnerable state. The annual inspection by Battleship Division 1 commander, Admiral Kidd, was scheduled for Monday. The ship had been cleaned, painted and opened up. Hatches were undogged and normally closed areas, such as the torpedo blisters, were open. The firing locks and ammunition for the antiaircraft guns and been removed and stored below decks. Finally, most of her senior officers had spent Saturday night ashore. None of these conditions were due to negligence, but all ultimately sealed the fate of the Oklahoma.

The Japanese aircraft quickly targeted the American battleships. Aboard the USS Oklahoma there was an air raid announcement, followed by two calls to general quarters. As sailors raced to their battle stations, three Japanese torpedoes rapidly tore into the hull. Within minutes, she developed a dangerous list. The speed of the attack prevented counter flooding to right her. Several more torpedoes struck the injured ship, with at least one striking above the armored belt due to listing. Within a mere eleven minutes, the crippled Oklahoma capsized, rolling 151 degrees until her tripod masts and superstructure jammed into the mud on the bottom of Pearl Harbor. Less than two-thirds of her crew had escaped; the rest of the crew was trapped within the overturned hull.

Navy and civilian personnel quickly gathered on the overturned hull of the USS Oklahoma. Tools and ships plans were obtained and the search for survivors began. Two trapped crewmembers were discovered and spoken with, through a discharge pipe. Unfortunately, when they were cut out the rescuers found them dead, most likely killed by fumes from the cutting torch. Soon a party of civilian shipyard workers under the leadership of Julio DeCastro arrived with pneumatic tools and joined in the rescue efforts.

Trapped men were located at frames 22, 78, 116 and 131. Frames are the structural ribs of the ship and numbered from the bow to the stern. Using pneumatic cutting tools, by 8:00 a.m. on Monday, December 8 the first six men were rescued. By 11:00 a.m. eleven men were rescued from the "Lucky Bag" near Turret No.4. Another five were freed from a 5 inch ammunition handling room by 2:00 p.m.. Eventually, the number of rescued men reached thirty-two. Rescuers continued to search for more survivors. One escapee had reported 125 men in a single compartment of the third deck, but they were never found. Tapping was heard at frames 70 and 76, but holes cut at these locations revealed no additional survivors. The Navy kept a guard on board the hull to listen for any additional tapping. Finally, at 8:00 a.m. on December 11 Lieutenant Commander Hobby called off the efforts. Four hundred and twenty-nine sailors and Marines perished aboard the USS Oklahoma. This was the second greatest number of casualties suffered by any ship at Pearl Harbor.

The survivors of the USS Oklahoma were dispersed to many different ships and locations following the attack. Some of the ships that received her crewmembers were the Enterprise, Helena, Honolulu, Helm, Hull, Gridley, Jarvis, Louisville, San Francisco, Tennessee, and Warden. For most of the survivors, the attack was just the first in a long series of combat actions that would stretch over the length of the war.

By late July of 1942 the Navy had created a plan to salvage the USS Oklahoma commencing in March 1943. This was a cooperative effort between the Navy and Pacific Bridge Company, a commercial construction and salvage operator. The initial stage in salvage required righting the capsized ship.This was accomplished by lightening the Oklahoma by removing 350,000 gallons of fuel oil, and filling the empty bunkers with air. Next twenty one electric street car motors were installed on Ford Island and connected by cables the hull of the ship. Finally, twenty-two hundred tons of crushed coral was dumped on the shore side of the ship to prevent sliding.

The USS Oklahoma was finally righted on June 16, 1943. Once she was upright, great efforts were made to cover the many holes caused by Japanese torpedoes. This was accomplished by securing patches, one of which was 130 feet long by 57 feet tall. Large portions of the ship were then dewatered with the use of ten inch water pumps. The ship was finally floated in early November 1943 and moved by tugs into Drydock #2 some weeks later. The bodies of the four hundred and twenty nine casualties were recovered for burial. Prior to the righting, the Navy had decreed that the USS Oklahoma would be scrapped rather than refitted for duty, so she was stripped of all materiél useful in the war effort. She was decommissioned and, after the war was sold for scrap. While under tow to Oakland, California, the USS Oklahoma developed a list and sank at sea on May 17, 1947. She rests somewhere on the bottom, five hundred and forty miles northeast of the Hawaiian Islands.

USS Oklahoma — Death of a Battleship

Words only begin to tell the story of the tragic events of that day; the images, the sounds, and the smells of the events all remain vivid memories in the minds of Pearl Harbor survivors. The link to the photos below provide a mere glimpse into what was witnessed that day. Only by listening to their stories can we begin to understand how they felt. Additional photos showing the modern-day Memorial can be seen by accessing the second link. Some of these photos are available for purchase from the Arizona Memorial Museum Association.