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Throughout Hawaii, December 7th is known as Pearl Harbor Day. In 2019, just a few months before the pandemic lockdowns began, I was lucky enough to be able to fly from Maui over to Oahu to photograph the day’s events. I’ve been photographing Pearl Harbor’s sprawling acreage, museums, and memorials for several years and was excited to see what National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day was all about. I was going to go the year before, but the Arizona Memorial was closed because of a problem with the dock. While repairs were being made, volunteers repainted and basically cleaned up the nearly 60-year-old memorial, so it was gleaming white and shining from across the harbor.
The December 7th 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor is one of the most tragic and defining moments in our country’s history.
On a bright clear Sunday morning, at 7:48 am, the Japanese attack began. For nearly 2 hours, 353 Japanese planes, flying in 2 waves an hour apart, pounded the ships. All eight battleships present were damaged with four of them sunk in the shallow harbor. Three cruisers, three destroyers, a minelayer and a training ship were also sunk or damaged. 328 aircraft were damaged or destroyed across the island, mostly at two Army air stations and the airstrip and hangers on Ford Island. Over 2400 American lives, including civilians, were lost and nearly 1200 wounded. The Japanese lost 29 aircraft and five midget submarines with 64 servicemen lost.
Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
Honoring The Survivors
Any visit to this historic sight is a mixture of fascination about this time in history and the solemn feeling of so many lives lost. Several large tents are set up at the visitor center with what seemed like thousands of military personnel and Parks Service rangers giving speeches in honor of the survivors of the Pearl Harbor attack. Taps is played at 7:48 AM, the exact time the first Japanese bombs were dropped. Thousands of people inside and in line outside faced the flag and held their hand over their hearts for a moment of silence.
Aside from all the ceremonies for the fallen and the survivors, there are several museums at the visitor center that exhibit artifacts, photos and models of the ships and planes involved in the attack and the subsequent battles that raged for nearly 5 years afterwards across the Pacific. It’s a great way to learn all about that fateful day in 1941.
Families and Friends
December 7, 2022, commemorates the 81st anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Since the youngest military personnel at that time were mostly 18 years old, that would make them 99 years old today. In fact, of the more than 16 million Americans who served in World War II, some 325,000 were alive in 2020, according to the US Department of Veteran Affairs. However, every year, many passes on, and their numbers are dwindling quickly.
To see the survivors, all in their 90s, is inspiring. Rows and rows of military personnel in full dress uniforms stand in full salute as the survivors, often in wheelchairs, are escorted by Navy personnel through the crowd. The young men and women in dress uniforms stand at attention and salute while the survivors often stop and salute them back. Family members come out of the crowd to hug and thank these veterans. It is a wonderful thing to see.
In 2019, the remains of one of the last surviving Arizona crew members were interred. Navy divers placed this sailor’s ashes inside the sunken ship’s hull.
Amazingly, as Navy divers were preparing to place an Arizona survivor’s ashes within the ship, a Hawaiian green sea turtle could be seen floating over the top of the sunken ship’s deck through the memorial’s water viewing portal. In Hawaiian culture, the turtle is seen as a symbol of strength and wisdom. It was a fitting show of honor for this fallen hero!
There are several USS Arizona survivors left, but this will be the last one interned in the ship as the others have chosen to be buried in their hometowns.
The Arizona Memorial itself on Dec 7th is a busy place. Dozens of Navy personnel will hoist flags at the memorial’s entrance and then ceremoniously fold them. These would be for sale that day at the gift shop to support the memorial’s upkeep.
The memorial is beautifully decorated with wreaths sent from across the country and around the world. Amazingly as Navy divers were preparing to place an Arizona survivor’s ashes within the ship, a Hawaiian green sea turtle could be seen floating over the top of the sunken ship’s deck through the memorials water viewing portal. In Hawaiian culture, the turtle is seen as a symbol of strength and wisdom. It was a fitting show of honor for this fallen hero!
Submarines, Battleship and Aircraft
Next to the visitor center is the USS Bowfin submarine and a brand new submarine museum updated during the pandemic. There is also a circular memorial of plaques honoring the 52 submarines and more than 3500 crew lost during the war in the Pacific. After the attack in 1941 the submarine fleet was undamaged and immediately took the fight to the Japanese. The USS Bowfin was launched on Dec 7th 1942, exactly one year after the attack and was dubbed the “Pearl Harbor Avenger”. From 1943 to 1945 the Bowfin went on 9 patrols, sinking dozens of ships and rescuing numerous downed aircraft pilots and crew.
For a small fee visitors can explore the above and below deck of this vintage WW2 submarine. Admission includes entrance to two newly designed museums, one about the technologies of WW2 submarines and the other about the cold war and submarines with more advanced missiles and technologies.
The Might Mo
A short bus ride out to Ford Island brings you to the sight of several of the attack’s famous locations. At the dock is moored the USS Missouri, which is the very battleship where the Japanese signed the documents of surrender in Tokyo Bay in August of 1945, ending the war in the Pacific. Visitor can see the very spot on the deck where Japan surrendered while volunteers recount the events of that day and the battles the ship was engaged in during the war. Exploring the decks, guns and interior of this huge ship is fascinating!
Ford Island also has several other battlefields and memorials of the December 7th attack. The USS Oklahoma Memorial honors the 429 men lost aboard when the ship was sunk along with the USS Utah Memorial honoring the 58 men who died as the first ship to be attacked that fateful day.
Nearby is also the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, another battlefield of aircraft hangers that still has bullet holes in the windows from the attack. The museum’s hangars are closed for private military ceremonies but many of the aircraft are outside with informational plaques that visitors can explore on their own.
Downtown Honolulu
Downtown Honolulu lights up the evening of December 7th with an amazing parade in honor of Pearl Harbor’s “Day of Infamy”. Marching bands from across Oahu and the country, including various military bands, march down Kalakaua Avenue. They are preceded by Pearl Harbor survivors in classic cars with even a few walking down the street. It’s a wonderful event for families across the island who show up in the thousands.
Afterwards visitors can stroll down to Iolani Palace that is lit in beautiful Christmas lights. Also a full array of Christmas displays both outside and inside the historic locations along Kalakaua Avenue. It’s a spectacular way to start the holiday season in Hawaii!
2022 – The 81st Anniversary
Spending the day at Pearl Harbor for Remembrance Day is an impressive, joyful, and solemn day honoring these amazing veterans of the December 7th attack. To see everything will take about 6 to 8 hours, so get there as early as possible – around 6:30 am if you want to be there for the 7:48 am ceremonies and see the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association members.. Follow us for updates on this amazing yearly event.
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