So 4 of us got up really really early and headed out to Pearl Harbour for the tour of the Arizona memorial.
We also toured the battle ship USS Missouri and the submarine USS Bowfin.
What a day one word......Awesome!
Quite an emotional day.
When we arrived at 7.45am I went straight to get the tickets for the Arizona, the first available tour was 11.30!!! So with 3 3/4 hrs to fill we decided to do the Missouri, Greg has already toured the Missouri, when it was in Sydney for the 150th(?) anniversary of the Australian navy in 1986. The ship has a mighty record and was very impressive. And to stand on the exact spot where the Japanese officially surrendered, ending the 2nd World War, was really interesting.
The USS Missouri - "Mighty Mo"
I thought this quite amusing when it's actually on a ship - a war ship at that!
The USS Arizona
The USS Bowfin
The Bowfin survived the War, the memorials are to 54 subs that did not. Subs were manned by 70 to 80 men in unbelievably tight conditions, traveling under the ocean for up to twenty hours to either hunt an enemy ship, or to run from one. Whilst they only made up two percent of the navy, they were responsible for over twenty five percent of the enemy 'kills'. But they suffered many losses. Took some courage to be a sub mariner.
An idiot sitting behind what was a very serious weapon.
Two idiots sitting behind what was a very serious weapon...
We have a stack of great photos of this memorial. Hard to do justice to how impressive this place is. There is no jingoism, no chest beating. Simply about a place where nearly two and a half thousand people died on one day and had no control over what happened.
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