It was an early start to the morning today with a 6am wake up call for a 6.45am pick up for our tour. As the buffet breakfast at the hotel doesn't start until 6.30am we had gone to the ABC Store and bought some cups of cereal, milk and fruit last night so we could have something to eat to start off the day.
After breakfast we were collected by our tour guide/bus driver. We made a couple more stops before making our way out of Waikiki to Pearl Harbour. The main focus of today was to visit the Arizona Memorial and the Battleship Missouri. Having said that the site had been redeveloped and is now known as the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument recognising the sacrifices not just of those who died on the Arizona, December 7th 1941. All flags at Pearl Harbour were flying at half mast in recognition of the Boston Marathon Bombings that occurred on Monday.
We began our time here by watching a film about the Arizona. This included why and how the Japanese attacked and the resultant outcome. All footage shown was actual news reel footage and film. It was very interesting and sobering as it detailed the damage to the whole fleet and the to airforce. When the film was finished we boarded a naval launch out to the Arizona. Each launch of people is only allowed to stay at the Memorial for 15 minutes. If you are not on a tour it is very difficult to get tickets especially at present as due to US Budget cuts and wage sequestering the number of tours per day have been cut.
The time at the Arizona Memorial was one for quiet reflection. It was sad seeing the list of all those who had died and the remanents of the ship. Now days there is also a new list - those servicemen who survived the attack but have subsequently died and had their remains returned to the Arizona to rest with their ship mates.
When we returned from the Arizona we had time to explore the many other memorials and weapons of war on display. David and Ryan even decided to visit the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum which they found fascinating.
After a quick food is fuel, hot dog snack, it was soon time to board the bus for the drive across to Ford Island Naval Base, and the tour of the Battleship Missouri. Here we had a 35 minute guided tour and also some free time to look around ourselves. The Missouri was enormous and has a very colourful history. It first served in the later part of World War II. On one occasion it was hit by a Kamkaze pilot. The plane broke up on impact; part of the plane fell into the water and the other part onto the deck. The young pilot's dead body was found on the deck. A decision had to be made about what to do with his body as this was unprecedented. The Captain of the ship decided that the pilot deserved a proper burial and so the following day he was given a full sea burial complete with honor guard. The Missouri was also the site where the documents to end World War II were signed by the Allies and the Japanese in Tokyo Bay, Japan, September 1945. The Missouri went on to serve in the Korean and Gulf Wars before being decommissioned for the final time. It was deemed fitting that she be brought to Pearl Harbour to look over the Arizona - this now becomes the site where America's involvement in World War II began and where it ended.
Once everyone had finished at Pearl Harbour we made our way back to Waikiki via the Punchbowl National Military Cemetery. While Punchbowl was still a solumn place, as the tour guide pointed out, it has lost a lot of its impact since they made the decision to replace the crosses that marked each grave with flat headstones in the grass. When leaving Punchbowl we were treated to amazing views over Waikiki and Diamond Head. We then travelled through downtown Honolulu where we saw Iolani Palace (the former Royal palace), the statue of King Kamehameha and other significant buildings.
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