Pearl Harbor Historic Sites mark National Park Week by offering free admission to military

Date: April 18, 2010
Contact: Keith DeMello  , [phone]

In honor of National Park Week, admission to all Pearl Harbor Historic Sites will be free on Sunday, April 18, for active-duty, reserve, auxiliary and retired U.S. military personnel and their dependants. This extends to all service branches — Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and National Guard.

Qualified visitors must present a valid military I.D. upon entering the sites of their choice, including the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park, Battleship Missouri Memorial, and Pacific Aviation Museum – Pearl Harbor. The USS Arizona Memorial and USS Oklahoma Memorial do not charge general admission.

The Pearl Harbor Historic Sites provide a powerful historical journey unlike any other, a cumulative experience that has grown far beyond that of a single day. These memorials and museums carry forth the legacies of several of our nation’s most treasured icons, enduring tributes to the valor and sacrifices of our veterans during a time when the future of our nation and the world truly hung in the balance. As a convenience to visitors, the Pearl Harbor Historic Sites partners maintain an online hub at www.PearlHarborHistoricSites.org.

WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument

USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma and USS Utah Memorials

The USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma and USS Utah Memorials are operated and maintained by the National Park Service as part of the newly designated WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument. These three ships’ memorials honor and commemorate all members of the U.S. Armed Forces and civilians who gave their lives to their country during the attack on the island of Oahu and Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Visitors to the USS Arizona Memorial take a shuttle boat operated by the U.S. Navy. Shuttle service is available from the WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument visitor center to the USS Oklahoma Memorial. Access to the USS Utah Memorial is limited. The visitor center is open daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Tickets are issued on a first-come, first-served basis.

USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park

Adjacent to the WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument visitor center, the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park, operated as a private, non-profit organization, is dedicated to the sacrifice of more than 3,500 submarine personnel lost in World War II. This gallant band of brothers, compromising less than 2 percent of the U.S. Navy, sank more than 5.5 million tons of enemy ships, while sustaining losses of 52 submarines that remain on Eternal Patrol. The USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Combined general admission to the submarine and museum is $10 per adult and $4 per child 4-12. Military, kama‘aina (local resident) and school group pricing is available. For more information, call [phone] or visit www.bowfin.org.

Battleship Missouri Memorial

America’s last battleship, the USS Missouri (BB-63), completed an astounding career spanning five decades and three wars — World War II, Korea and Operation Desert Storm — and is best known as the site of Japan’s WWII surrender, which brought history’s most devastating war to a close. Recently returned from drydocking, the 887-foot, 45,000-ton “Mighty Mo” is open for visitors as the Battleship Missouri Memorial, a private, non-profit organization, on historic Ford Island in Pearl Harbor. The Battleship Missouri Memorial is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission is $20 per adult and $10 per child 4-12. Military, kama‘aina (local resident) and school group pricing is available. For more information or to reserve a tour, call (toll-free) 1-877-MIGHTYMO (1-877-644-4896) or visit www.ussmissouri.org.

Pacific Aviation Museum ­– Pearl Harbor

The Pacific Aviation Museum – Pearl Harbor, a private, non-profit organization, occupies the WWII hangars and control tower on Ford Island that still bear the scars as our nation’s first aviation battlefield. Giving visitors a front-row seat to the Pacific Theater and presenting aircraft and their stories, the museum illustrates how aviation turned the tide of the war. The Pacific Aviation Museum – Pearl Harbor is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission is $15 per adult and $8 per child 4-12. Military, kama‘aina (local resident) and school group pricing is available. For more information, call [phone] or visit www.pacificaviationmuseum.org.

National Park Week, a program of the National Park Service, is an opportunity to engage families and communities in America’s Great Outdoors, reconnecting them with nature and creating close-to-home opportunities for people to get outside, be active and have fun. All 392 national parks will have free admission during National Park Week, from April 17 to 25. Normally, 146 of 392 national parks charge entrance fees ranging from $3 to $25. The other 246 — such as the WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument — do not charge for admission. A listing of parks and promotions is available at www.nps.gov/npweek.