What we know as Pearl Harbor is officially the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument. The site includes the visitors’ center on Oahu, the USS Bowfin, the USS Arizona memorial (reached by boat), and the USS Oklahoma and USS Utah memorials on Ford Island (reached by bridge). The memorial is a sober and fitting tribute to the tragedy of December 7, 1941.
We opted for the USS Arizona narrated memorial tour. Through the National Park Service, you can make reservations for Pearl Harbor two months in advance. I didn’t book tickets ahead of time because we weren’t 100% certain when we would be traveling. The tickets sell out online in a few days. Book ahead if you have confirmed your travel dates or if Pearl Harbor is somewhere you cannot miss. Other options include tickets released 24 hours in advance or walk-up tickets. At writing (June 2018), the USS Arizona memorial is not accessible, so plan accordingly.
Once we arrived, we stamped our National Park passport and then strolled around the Visitors’ Center. We then picked up the guided audio tour included with our tickets (I used it, Mac didn’t). The property is an open-air museum with the exhibits arranged chronologically starting to your left when you enter. At your designated time slot, you watch a short documentary about the attack on Pearl Harbor. We chose to sit next to the exit door to have the best options for seats on the tender to the USS Arizona.
USS Arizona
From there, you board the tender for a quick journey to the USS Arizona on a Navy-operated boat. You disembark and have 15-20 minutes to pay your respects on the USS Arizona memorial. I would recommend listening to the audio of the survivors as you walk around. The memorial itself is perfect. Open to the sea and the sky, it allows you to see where the Arizona and her crew lie and can get a sense of the loss from that day.
At the far end of the memorial, you will see the wall of names of those lost on December 7, 1941. Two smaller walls note the names of survivors who chose to be laid to rest with their shipmates. The USS Missouri, where the peace with Japan was signed, sits behind the Arizona; the ships serve as the bookends of the American Pacific theater. Looking out towards the Missouri, you can still see oil leaking from the ship into the harbor.
USS Oklahoma and USS Utah
From the USS Arizona, you should consider visiting the USS Oklahoma and USS Utah memorials. Ford Island is part of the active duty naval base, so you need a military ID card or to be part of an approved tour to get on island. The USS Oklahoma memorial sits on the island in front of the USS Missouri. A white column remembers each man lost. Across the island lays the USS Utah. A small dock allows you to walk out over the water to within a few hundred feet of that ship.
Catch up on our trip to Hawaii: We booked our vacation through Costco Travel | Our Oahu eats | Honolulu Zoo and the Waikiki Aquarium | The Dole Plantation | Cruising with Hawaii Duck Tours | Iolani Palace | Hiking through Waimea Valley | Kayaking with Turtles in Kawela Bay | The Polynesian Cultural Center
