America Remembers USS Arizona and others on the 70th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor Attack

Months after the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Americans pause and flags are lowered as we mark the 70th anniversary of the attack on the United States by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor.

It was the attacks on our war ships, like the USS Arizona, and our military bases in Hawaii on December 7th, 1941, which led to America’s entrance into World War II. The attacks, at 7:55 AM local time, were a surprise as Japan had not issued a declaration of war against the United States.

In the wake of the attack, thousands were dead and most of our Pacific Fleet was burning or sunk at the bottom of Pearl Harbor.

Now a memorial, the USS Arizona went down with many still trapped inside. Efforts to retrieve the bodies were halted after it was deemed to dangerous as many were injured in the efforts. Instead the USS Arizona became a tomb, and later a memorial to all who died on that day.

Each year many still make the pilgrimage to the USS Arizona Memorial. A boat ferries visitors the memorial that was built which sits atop the sunken war ship. Names of those entombed in the water below are arranged on a plaque, and in the center of the memorial, visitors can look down into the clear Hawaiian waters of Pearl Harbor to see the ship.