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Remembering Her

She was 24 years old when she died. In an age of technological advancements, she was getting old. But don't tell that to her crew. They will tell you she had a punch. She could throw a 14" 1,400 lbs armor piercing shell 34,000 yards at 2,700 feet per second. She was a force to be reckoned with. Apparently, the Japanese felt the same way.

She was commissioned October 17, 1916. The second ship in the Pennsylvania class of Battleships, She was an improvement over her sisters in the Nevada Class. And She was formidable. 4 sets of triple 14 inch 45 caliber guns, 22 5-inch 5 1-caliber guns; four 3-inch 50-caliber guns; and two 21-inch submerged torpedo tubes. Her armor at its maximum thickness was 18 inches. She was built during a time when ocean warfare was the same as it had been for hundreds of years, designed to slug it out on the open sea.

She could not deploy to England during the first world war, as she was an oil burner. A new class of warship. Fuel oil was scarce in England. So She spent the last days of that conflict patrolling the waters off the US east coast. But She was not without her glory. She was the lead escort for the convoy carrying President Woodrow Wilson to the Paris Peace Conference in December of 1918.

She had a rich life. Operating from the East coast, to the Caribbean, to Europe, the Mediterranean, transiting the Canal, and operating up and down both coasts of South America. She hosted President Herbert Hoover for a two week tour of the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico in 1931. And She was the Flag ship of Admiral Nimitz in 1937.

By that time She was conducting most of her exercises and Fleet problems in the Pacific waters from the West coast to Hawaii, and as far north as Alaska. As tensions between the US and Japan mounted, She joined with many of her sister ships as part of the Pacific Fleet, based from Pearl Harbor.

And this is where She was found that morning, 79 years ago.

Her death was both swift and lingering. Swift in that She sank less than 15 minutes after the first air raid siren sounded on board at 0755. At least 8 bombs landed on her in the opening moments of the attack. The last bomb glanced off the Number 2 Turret, crashed through the deck and exploded in a black powder magazine, which in turn set off adjacent smokeless powder magazines. The explosion was caught on film, and is an icon of that fateful morning. The fires touched off by that explosion burned for two days, a lingering reminder for all to witness.

1,400 men were on board that morning, 1,177 perished. The single greatest loss of life that morning. 37 sets of brothers served on her. 23 of those sets perished together. Only one set of bothers survived. More than 1000 of her crew rest with her on the bottom of the harbor, forever entombed in the great lady.

Some of her sisters fared better that day. The USS Nevada actually got underway. But the ferocity of attacks, as she made her way out of the harbor, forced her captain to beach her, rather than have her sink in the channel, blocking it. The California and West Virginia were sunk. The Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Tennessee received moderate damage. The Oklahoma capsized, but was raised, stripped and sold for scrap.

The others were raised, repaired, and sent to sea. They got their revenge at the Battle of Surigao Strait in October of 1944. They remembered. They remembered what happened to them that morning in 1941. They remembered what happened to their sister. For She was not with them. She was back at Pearl. On the harbor bottom. With her crew.

And each time they returned to port, they could see her. Her mast sticking up. A gun turret still visible. For several years there were barges close by, as equipment was removed, shells unloaded, powder removed, damaged metal cut away. Until only a few bits of the great ship were left to be seen. But they knew She was there. With her crew. And each time they passed her, going to sea or coming home, they rendered Honors. And they still do today.

Because they remember HER.

Part 2

She was moored at berth F-7 that morning. The repair ship Vestal was moored alongside. It was just before 8:00 when the first planes began to appear overhead. The Colors detail was waiting, the Officer of the Deck watching his watch, waiting for 0800 when the flag would be raised. In a testament to honor and tradition, the Color detail carried out their duties, and raised the flag on the great lady, even as bombs began dropping all around them. It remained flying until it was removed several hours after the attack.

At 0810, a modified artillery shell weighing 1,760 lbs was dropped on her. It glanced off of the Number 2 turret and penetrated the deck. It came to rest in a black powder magazine.

The explosion was bad, but it was not catastrophic in itself. However, it breached the bulkhead into the forward smokeless powder magazine. And that explosion has been captured on film. Any search for media about the attack on Pearl Harbor will undoubtedly contain the images of that explosion, for it has become the symbol of that day. And well it should, for it spelled the death of her. It completely gutted the forward part of the ship. Turrets 1 and 2, with no support, fell 20 feet into the ship. The foremast and forward superstructure fell into the void. The Bridge, on the forward superstructure, was vaporized. And on the Bridge, directing the crew to their battle stations pressing the defense was Rear Admiral Isaac Kidd and Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh. Their bodies were never recovered.

Fire swept through the hull. Now breached, burning fuel oil mixed with the inrushing water turning the entire hull into a massive oven. Most of the crew was killed by the massive explosion, and the resulting fire. But many were trapped in the aft portion of the ship, drowning as she quickly settled to the bottom.

The fires burned for 2 days. So intense, most of the crewmember’s bodies were cremated where they fell. During salvage operations over the next few years 105 bodies were recovered. Unfortunately they could not be identified. They are buried in the Memorial Cemetery in the Punch Bowl with a simple cross identifying them as “Unknown”.

As the Navy began to recover from the attack, efforts were made to determine if she could be raised. Divers made survey dives over every inch of her. It was learned that the entire forward part of the ship had separated during the explosion, with the outer bulkheads blown almost straight out and up. Raising her was out of the question. And so, the salvage began.

Her Number 3 and Number 4 turrets were removed, and given to the Army as coastal guns to protect the Harbor. The war ended before they became operational. As much of the fuel, shells, and powder as could safely be handled were removed. Exposed superstructures were cut away, and the guns of Turret 2 were removed. Turret 1 still remains.

As more and more of her were cut away, she began to slowly disappear from view. But she still remained. And every ship that passed her, and passes her to this day, still renders honors.

Because they remember HER.

Part 3

She was the USS ARIZONA (BB-39), and she died Dec. 7th, 1941. Today marks the 76th anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor, and the ARIZONA has become the icon for that Day of Infamy.

Of the 2403 casualties that day, her crew accounts for 1177, the largest single loss of life of the attack. More than 900 of her crew remain within the sunken ship, and as such, she is designated a grave site by the US Navy.

As early as 1942 there were discussions of naming her as a Naval Memorial. The concept is an old one, and can include bounties of war as well as the vessels that fought them. She is the only Naval Memorial that is associated with disaster. She is also designated a National Historic Site, as well as a National Historic Landmark in 1989.

Although stricken from the records (she is no longer a commissioned ship) the US Flag still flies proudly above her. In 1950, Admiral Author Radford, Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet ordered a flagpole erected over her. At that time, a small portion of her deck was still above water, and many ceremonies were conducted on this deck. A commemorative plaque was placed at the base of the flagpole, honoring those men still entombed within.

In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved the creation of a Pearl Harbor Memorial. Dedicated in 1962, it includes the Memorial above the Arizona, as well as the Visitors Center, located on 10.5 Acres of Naval Base land on Oahu. (The visitors center was opened in 1980).

The memorial was designed by Architect Alfred Preis. Preis was an Austrian National who was interned during the war. His explanation for the design: "Wherein the structure sags in the center but stands strong and vigorous at the ends, expresses initial defeat and ultimate victory....The overall effect is one of serenity. Overtones of sadness have been omitted to permit the individual to contemplate his own personal responses...his innermost feelings."

The memorial contains 21 windows, to symbolize a 21 gun salute. No part of the memorial touches the ARIZONA. This is because the ARIZONA is a War Grave. Within the memorial, on one wall is a listing of the names of the 1177 men who died on the ARIZONA.

Past crew members of the ARIZONA, upon their death, may have their ashes spread over the ship. Since 1980, December 7th surviving crewmembers may have their ashes entombed within the ship, to rest with their shipmates. To date, 42 internments have reunited surviving crewmembers with their fallen shipmates. 

The most recent sailor to join his shipmates was Retired Master Chief Raymond Haerry, interred April 15th, 2017.  His name will join 41 other shipmates engraved on a special marble slab in the Shrine room. 

The memorial is maintained by the National Park Service, in conjunction with the US Navy. Access to the memorial is by boat only, and only from the visitor center, where tickets are issued. There is a limit of 4800 tickets per day. To date, there have been no days with left over tickets.

The memorial itself is not a National Landmark. It is registered as a National Historic Site (National Register of Historic Places, 1966). It is not a Naval Memorial, but rather a War Memorial.

In 1999, the USS MISSOURI BB-63, another Naval Memorial, was moored behind the ARIZONA. The ship where the Japanese delegation signed the Articles of Surrender, bringing an end to World War II, now sits with her bow facing forward, her guns trained to look over the ARIZONA, silently watching over the remains of those entombed within the sunken symbol of our entranced into that terrible conflict, so that they may rest in peace.

To this day, the ARIZONA still leaks about a quart of oil each day. Slowly bubbling to the surface, observers often remark that it is as if the ship continues to shed black tears, mourning her fallen sailors. Some have speculated that when the last crewmember joins his fallen comrades, the ship will stop weeping. But for now, she still cries.

Because She remembers.