USS Arizona Memorial, National Memorial in the United States
The USS Arizona Memorial is a 184-foot white structure with two raised ends joined by a sagging center, designed by Alfred Preis and opened in 1962. It has an entry, an assembly room with seven large openings on each side wall and ceiling, and a shrine with a marble wall listing the names of the 1,102 sailors and Marines killed on December 7, 1941. A floor opening looks down on the sunken hull.
The USS Arizona sank on December 7, 1941, killing 1,177 sailors and Marines, 1,102 of whom remain entombed in the hull. Robert Ripley pressed for a permanent memorial from 1948, and the Pacific War Memorial Commission was created in 1949. President Eisenhower approved the national memorial in 1958; architect Alfred Preis designed it, and it was dedicated on May 30, 1962.
The shrine at the far end holds a marble wall inscribed with the names of all those killed on Arizona, kept behind velvet ropes. Since Franklin D. Roosevelt, every US president has visited the memorial, as have Japanese emperors Hirohito and Akihito. The flag flies from a pole fixed to the severed main mast of the sunken ship, now standing beside the structure.
Visitors must travel to the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center and book boat tickets there to reach the memorial. It is wise to arrive early to secure a spot, as the site attracts many people daily and visits should be planned in advance.
Oil still escapes the sunken hull and rises to the surface in slow drops, often called the "tears of the Arizona" or "black tears". Visitors can see the sheen from the memorial's floor opening above the decks.
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