Where I was on Veterans day...

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They call these the "bookends" of WWII. Where it started and where it ended. Even though the Battleship was basically obsolete by Dec 8th 1941, it still imposes a clear message of freedom just by its presence. If you haven't been to Pearl Harbor, add it to your bucket list, better yet donate a trip to a liberal, I guarantee it will make them think a little differently about gun control....
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I was there in 2016, and witnessed something special.

We left Pearl Harbor and went to the Punch Bowl.

While at the Punch Bowl, I watched a very elderly Asian man slowly stand, clap his hands together loudly 4 times, then bow and silently pray.
We spoke for a little while once he was done. Seems he had taken his oath of citizenship that morning, and came to pay his respects to the men he fought in WWII. He was a young teen radioman for the Imperial Navy at the end of the war.

It was moving.
 
I was at Fort Gorden GA., Dec. 7th 1966..
my dad was a civilian worker, a machinist, at pearl harbor, we lived there 4 years. i was at the official ceremony of the 25th anniversary of the attack at pearl harbor. interesting story, someday after a few drinks i'll tell it.
 
if i ever went to hawaii, i'm not sure i could go to the memorial. went to DC back in the early 90's, couldn't go within 50 yards of the vietnam memorial. never served, no one in my family served in combat roles, only knew of 1 name on the wall. just thinking of any one who died serving our country brings me to my knees. god bless 'em all
 
My dad joined the Navy right after the attack on Pearl Harbor, was in Florida to visit his burial site, forget the name of the veterans cemetery it was near Tampa, very humbling place. He made to age 87.
 
I didn't realize they had closed it. That really makes me glad I went when I did. It's a very moving experience from the time you get off the boat to the time you get back on. I think having the Missouri there in the background makes it all the more moving to imagine the battleships all tied up that morning.
 
Nonprofits Keep USS Arizona Memorial Open During Government Shutdown
Four Pearl Harbor nonprofits are shelling out about $18,000 a day to keep the USS Arizona Memorial visitor center staffed and open to the public during the government shutdown, which coincides with one of the busiest visitation times of the year, officials said.
The Arizona Memorial needs dock repairs, and since May no visitors have been able to step foot on the memorial, although Navy launches used for transportation motor past the memorial and Battleship Row on harbor tours.

The Navy boats were not affected by the shutdown with the Defense Department previously funded through fiscal 2019. The dock is expected to be repaired by March.
 
USS Arizona Memorial Might Reopen by October, Officials Say
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt got a close-up view of the disabled Arizona Memorial Wednesday before pledging to finish the repairs to its concrete passenger dock as soon as possible.

Addressing the media after a tour aboard a 40-foot Navy barge, Bernhardt said he would be disappointed if the repairs weren't done by October.

"I'm making sure we get it done as fast as possible. Everything looks like we're on track," he said.

The date is the latest estimate for when access will be restored to the hallowed battlefield shrine, out of action since May 2018.
 
USS Arizona Memorial Repairs Near Completion
The long wait for the USS Arizona Memorial to reopen to walk-on visits is ending soon, with a new anchoring system drilled firmly into the seafloor to keep a formerly wayward floating access dock in place, officials say.

"We have entered the final phase of the USS Arizona Memorial loading dock repair process and plan to issue a press release over the coming days to update our visitors on the current situation and when they can expect access to the memorial to be restored, " Jay Blount, chief of interpretation and education at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, said Tuesday.
 
I went when I was eight years old. The memory is still crystal clear. I probably didn’t know the whole story of Pearl Harbor at that age, but I knew enough to understand that those names on the wall had sunk right beneath my feet, and were still there.

I’d love to go back.
 
I went to Hickam on a TDY about 15 years ago. Visited the memorials at Pearl. It is something that needs to be maintained so history will not be forgotten.
 
It is something that needs to be maintained so history will not be forgotten.

Understood.

Many years ago, we were called out for a water leak in an old house. We arrived to find a little very old lady waiting for us on the front stairs. She ushered us in as I noticed a number tattoo on her forearm. As we were walking towards the kitchen, the room on the left was bathed in red light and was full of Nazi memorabilia. we took care of the water leak and on the way out, I stopped and took in the red lit room.

There were 5 or 6 manikins in full dress Nazi Uniforms, ranking from a corporal to 2 Generals. There were a couple large Nazi flags and all kinds of weaponry. All manikins were armed with Lugars and there were long guns in stacks and on the tables. The Generals were bent over looking at maps on the table. I shuddered as it was eerie. I asked her why it was there and she replied, "So ve don't forget!"

It was weird but I understood.
 
USS Arizona Memorial Reopens After Repairs
With the American flag billowing in the wind above and "The Star-Spangled Banner " playing on the loudspeakers from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, the first boatload of tourists and residents in nearly 16 months stepped onto the USS Arizona Memorial on Sunday morning.

The 145 visitors on the Navy boat disembarked to spend a few solemn minutes within the white walls of the shrine at the same time, 8 :10 a.m., that the Arizona was hit on Dec. 7, 1941, also a Sunday, by an armor-piercing bomb that sank the ship and killed 1, 177 men. The battleship suffered the greatest loss of life of all the ships and planes attacked that day. Included among the dead were a father and son named Free and 23 sets of brothers.
 
I am pleased the Arizona has been reopened. My dad joined the USN in 1939 and went the the whole tour till 1945.

It is a somber thought that 911 took more people than Dec 7, 1941.

I despise them all till this day.
 
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