Pearl Harbor - USS Arizona Memorial

The USS Arizona Memorial is Hawaii's most-visited attraction, with more than 11/2 million visitors a year. In memory of the dead who drowned aboard the sinking USS "Arizona", a memorial was opened in 1962 which accommodates up to 3000 visitors daily thanks to the Visitor Center, completed in 1980.

The memorial was erected above the sunken battleship, parts of which still project above the water.

The gleaming-white floating building, about 197ft/60m long, contains a large semi open-air room in which visitors gather. At the end of the memorial there is a shrine on which the names of the 1177 victims, including the commander and his deputy, are engraved on a wall of Vermont marble.

The memorial is reached via the Visitor Center where free entry tickets are handed out. A purpose-built cinema shows a 20-minute film about Pearl Harbor and the Japanese attack (the first showing begins at 8 a.m., the last at 3 p.m.). A naval cutter then ferries visitors to and from the real memorial at regular intervals.

From Kewalo Basin boat trips can be made to Pearl Harbor and back although this is regarded as an expensive alternative way of viewing the USS Arizona Memorial as the boat sails past it. The advantage of such a trip, however, is that much of the harbor which is only visible from the water can be seen. Trips are offered by several companies including Paradise Cruise and Pearl Harbor Cruise.