Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [88]
Taxi
Phone City Taxi (524-2121), TheCab (422-2222) or Charley’s (531-1333, from payphones 877-531-1333). For metered rates, Click here.
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PEARL HARBOR AREA
The WWII-era rallying cry ‘Remember Pearl Harbor!’ that once mobilized an entire nation dramatically resonates on O′ahu. It was here that the surprise Japanese attack on December 7, 1941 hurtled the USA into war in the Pacific. Every year 1.5 million tourists visit Pearl Harbor’s unique collection of war memorials and museums, all clustered around a quiet bay where oysters were once farmed, just west of Honolulu.
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A DAY OF INFAMY
December 7, 1941 – ‘a date which will live in infamy,’ President Franklin D Roosevelt later said –began at 7:55am with a wave of over 350 Japanese planes swooping over the Ko′olau Range headed toward the unsuspecting US Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor.
The battleship USS Arizona took a direct hit and sank in less than nine minutes, trapping its crew beneath the surface. The average age of the 1177 enlisted men who died on the ship was just 19 years. It wasn’t until 15 minutes after the bombing started that American anti-aircraft guns began to shoot back at the Japanese warplanes. Twenty other US military ships were sunk or seriously damaged and 347 airplanes were destroyed during the two-hour attack.
In hindsight, there were two significant warnings prior to the attack that were disastrously dismissed or misinterpreted. Over an hour before Japanese planes arrived, USS Ward spotted a submarine conning tower approaching the entrance of Pearl Harbor. The Ward immediately attacked with depth charges and sank what turned out to be one of five midget Japanese submarines launched to penetrate the harbor. At 7:02am a radar station on the north shore of O′ahu reported planes approaching. Even though they were coming from the west rather than the east, it was assumed that the planes were from the US mainland.
For more on Hawaii’s WWII-era history, Click here.
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Today Pearl Harbor (Map) is still home to an active and mind-bogglingly enormous US naval base. Anyone looking for a little soul-soothing peace and quiet, especially after a solemn visit to the USS Arizona Memorial, can head up into the misty Ko′olau Mountains above the harbor, where an ancient Hawaiian medicinal temple and forested hiking trails await.
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INFORMATION
Strict security measures are in place at all of Pearl Harbor’s memorials, museums and visitor centers. You are not allowed to bring in any items that allow concealment, including purses, camera bags, fanny packs, backpacks and diaper bags. Personal-sized cameras and camcorders are allowed. Do not lock any valuables in your car. Instead use the baggage-storage facility (per item $3; 6:30am-5:30pm) at the entrance to Bowfin Park, near the Ford Island shuttle bus stop and visitor parking lot.
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SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES
The offshore shrine at the sunken USS Arizona is Hawaii’s most-visited tourist attraction. Nearby are two other military historic sites: the USS Bowfin submarine, aka the ‘Pearl Harbor Avenger,’ and the battleship USS Missouri, where General Douglas MacArthur accepted the Japanese surrender at the end of WWII. Together, for the US, these historical sites represent the beginning, middle and end of the war. To visit all three, as well as the Pacific Aviation Museum, dedicate at least a half-day, preferably in the morning when it’s less crowded. All Pearl Harbor attractions are wheelchair-accessible and closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New