Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2005 01:12:46 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Home..
G'day, Aloha, and just plain Hi,
Last night I had set my alarm for 6 AM, then around 1 AM I reset it to 7 AM,
then went to bed.
Between 7 and 8 AM, I was hitting the snooze button.
And I was out of the hotel at 8:30, bound for the USS Arizona memorial at Pearl
Harbor...
Parking was free. So was the memorial, but I gave a small donation for the
upkeep of the memorial. And it was much, much better than the USS Missouri!
Amazing how things can seem better if they're free!
I was there for about 2 1/2 hours -- without being rushed (even though the
tourbook says allow 3 hours minimum). They first show you a movie about the
events leading up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and then the attack
itself. The movie must have been about 20-30 minutes long -- I didn't check how
long it was. After the movie (very moving movie), we all exited out of the
stadium and into the dock, where we got on a boat -- a short 5 minute boat ride
to the memorial.
In the movie, they said that the architect designed the memorial so that it's
dipped in the middle and raised at ends, signifying an initial defeat that led
to a strong decisive victory in the war. "oh so THAT's why it's shaped like
that!" It does look a little strange....
Well, strange or not, it is the final resting place of the USS Arizona and
1,177 of its crew who died that day. The ship is just under the water, and is
visible from above - what's left of it. At the end of the memorial is a wall
with all 1177 names inscribed (most of them navy, a few from the marines), and
also a side block that had the names of the survivors of the attack who chose
to be interred there along with their shipmates -- some as late as 2004. Many
sets of same last name... lot of brothers died together... And the ship still
leaks oil. In the movie they showed that too -- and the narration: "The
survivors say that it will keep crying those tears of oil until the last one of
them is gone."
I'd never seen a sunken ship before, so actually seeing it realizing why it's
there felt a little strange... surreal... especially after that moving movie!
Then the boat ride back to the dock, and I strolled through the museum they
have there. This is also good - it's got many of the stories of the Japanese
pilots, so that was interesting to read the other side of it. Also the whole
story about the Pearl Harbor attack, with "before and after" type of pictures.
Well, if you've seen the movie "Tora Tora Tora" that's about the same --
including the famous quote about "awakening a sleeping giant".
The USS Missouri, by the way, is docked next to the USS Arizona memorial -- one
ship that started the U.S. entry in World War II, and the other where the war
ended for everyone.
And that, after 21 days, was the end of the trip! It was time to go back to the
airport for my flight back to San Francisco.
All in all, in spite of the lost luggage at first, it's been a trip to
remember! Of course Sydney was the highlight, but even the other places --
great ocean road, the outback, the ice cream, scenic drives on Oahu.... all of
them were fantastic!
Until next big trip (after i pay off this one),
G'day, Aloha, and just plain Bye,
-me
(
P.S. by the time you read this, all trip pictures including Jan 6th are on my
website:
http://www.callmewanderer.com
Click Australia link
)
Pictures taken today: The last picture at USS Arizona memorial was black & white on purpose.
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