Military: World War II
The Memorial straddles the sunken hull of the battleship USS Arizona and commemorates the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The Memorial was dedicated in 1962, and became a National Park Service area in 1980.
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.
- Aleutian World War II National Historic Area
- American Memorial Park
- Boston National Historical Park
- Eisenhower National Historic Site
- Fort Moultrie National Monument
- Fort Point National Historic Site
- Golden Gate National Recreation Area
- Gulf Islands National Seashore
- Harry S. Truman National Historic Site
- Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site
- Manzanar National Historic Site
- Minidoka Internment National Monument
- Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial
- Rosie the Riveter WW II Home Front National Historical Park
- Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site
- USS Arizona Memorial
- War in the Pacific National Historical Park
Related Links:
- Early Warnings: The Mystery of Radar in Hawaii (pdf)
- Glacier Bay National Park: World War II Developments
- History of World War II in the Aleutians
- OSS Training in the National Parks and Service Abroad in World War II (2008)
- Teaching With Historic Places: Military History Lesson Plans
- The National Park Service: Groveling Sycophant or Social Conscience?
- War in the Pacific National Historical Park
- Warships Associated with World War II in the Pacific
- World War II Memorial: A Tribute
- World War II Homefront NHL Theme Study Study
World War II Power Point Presentations
- Pearl Harbor: The Day of Infamy, December 7, 1941
- Role of the LSTs (Landing Ship Tank) in WW II Amphibious Operations
- The Fall of Hong Kong and Singapore: Defeat and Disgrace at the Twilight of the British Empire
- Women in World War II: The Political Battle Behind the WAAC
- Battle of Wake Island