Visiting Pearl Harbor & USS Arizona Memorial
Honolulu Hawaii Site of U.S. entry into WWII
The USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor gives visitors the opportunity to appreciate the comprehensive museum, learn the history of "the date that will live in infamy" and watch a highly informative documentary on the events of December 7, 1941. Visitors then board a real Navy launch to visit the USS Arizona Memorial directly above the sunken hull of the ship.
What We Love:
- Hearing detailed stories from the docents and survivors in the Visitors Center
- Remembrance Circle, memorializing military and civilian lives lost
- The deeply emotional documentary film depicting the attacks
ABOUT PEARL HARBOR
Ancient Hawaiians named this inlet along Honolulu’s southern shore “Wai Momi” (waters of pearl) for its bed of oysters. Today, Pearl Harbor is internationally known for the 1,177 sailors and Marines who lost their lives during a Japanese aerial attack on the USS Arizona on December 7, 1941. The USS Arizona Memorial is only one element of the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, which further includes the Battleship Missouri Memorial, the Pacific Aviation Museum, the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park, the USS Oklahoma Memorial and the USS Utah Memorial. Together, these sites represent one of the most solemn and historical pilgrimages that visitors make in Oahu. With so much to navigate, THE MODERN HONOLULU can help you plan your visit.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
The World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument is located approximately 10 miles northwest of THE MODERN HONOLULU. Start at the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center to receive your free ticket and a start time for your USS Arizona Memorial program, a 75-minute experience. While you wait, contemplate galleries including “Road to War” and “Attack,” featuring personal memorabilia, photographs, battle artifacts and audio kiosks with witness accounts. Rent the audio tour, recently updated with narration by Jamie Lee Curtis (daughter of Pacific War veteran Tony Curtis) and Pearl Harbor survivors. The audio history tours are available in English, French, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, German and Spanish. Perhaps most captivating is the chance to meet survivors and listen to their harrowing stories at the visitor center.
THE PROGRAM + BEYOND
The program starts with a short documentary in the Pearl Harbor Memorial Theater. Visitors then board a Navy-operated shuttle boat ride to the USS Arizona Memorial. The entry room houses nine state flags for which the battleships were named; the assembly room oversees the remains of the USS Arizona below; and the shrine room engraves the names of the lost into a marble wall. After the program, choose another site to explore: Walk to the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park; take the Ford Island shuttle to the Pacific Aviation Museum, the USS Oklahoma Memorial and the Battleship Missouri Memorial. The Battleship Missouri is the last battleship ever built by the U.S. and marks the site of the Japanese surrender that ended World War II.
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“ If you are visiting between November and February, don’t miss Waimea Bay on the North Shore where the island’s top surfers take on 30-foot waves ”
SHARE YOUR OWN STORY:
IN SHORT / WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
- There is a limited number of tickets available daily. Plan ahead on http://www.nps.gov/valr/planyourvisit/feesandreservations.htm
- Unlike the USS Arizona Memorial program, supporting sites charge admission.
- Visit early in the morning before the tour buses arrive.
Address: 1 Arizona Memorial Pl., Honolulu, HI 96818
Phone: (808) 690-9052
Web Address: www.nps.gov/valr/
Distance/Drive: The Pearl Harbor Memorial Center is located about 45 minutes from THE MODERN HONOLULU.
Brief directions from THE MODERN HONOLULU: From H-1, take exit 15A marked "Arizona Mem./Stadium". Continue on HI-99 (Kamehameha Highway) and turn left at the 4th traffic light onto Arizona Memorial Place. At the base of the hill, turn right for parking.
