December 7, 1941-Attack on Pearl Harbor-A Day That Will Live in Infamy
by San Jose REALTOR Michelle Carr Crowe
We finally visited the U.S.S. Arizona, "Valor in the Pacific" and Pearl Harbor Memorials in Honolulu, Hawaii last year. Even though my husband's grandparents' home had a view of Pearl Harbor, in the twenty-plus year's we'd visited, we had never experienced the memorial. I just don't enjoy feeling sad.
Visiting Pearl Harbor was a very sobering event. We took photos of the memorials but even in the ones our family was in, no one is really smiling. Our pictures looked like the faces of people attending a funeral. It's a sad, tragic event in our nation's history. So much unnecessary loss of life. One we never want repeated.
Five years ago I had the privilege of meeting one of the few remaining survivors of Pearl Harbor while sitting in one of the rocking chairs at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider Hotel. Although this veteran lived on the mainland and visiting was a big expense and ordeal, his wife said they'd been coming every year for the annual parade and ceremony.
However, due to the dwindling number of survivors and his own health issues, his wife said she expected that their visit for the 70th anniversary was likely their last.
The memorial marks the resting place of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors and Marines killed on USS Arizona during the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Learn more at http://www.ussarizona.org.
As we remember the 75th anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor and the lives lost that day, we experience the mournful feelings of what President Franklin D. Roosevelt characterized as "a day that will live in infamy."
As it is a National Park, visitors can also collect a special stamp in their National Parks Passport when they go.
The Pearl Harbor Visitor Center and Pacific Historic Parks bookstore is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week, except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. The USS Arizona Memorial tours run every 15 minutes from at 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. See the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center video at https://youtu.be/m621PsbfIOc.
The National Park Services hands out 1,300 free walk-in tickets daily, on a first-come, first-serve basis. It 
is highly recommended that you arrive at the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center early. Doors open at 7 a.m. Advance ticket reservations are available through recreation.gov. Visitors do not need tickets for the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center and museums. Entrance and parking are both free.
The Pearl Harbor Visitor Center fact sheet includes two helpful maps of the Visitor Center. Click here to download the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center Fact Sheet in English.
In honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor, considering visiting and liking their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/PacificParks.
Images from public domain and U.S. government websites.
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