This is not a drill

Pearl Harbour marks the beginning of World War II for the United States and the end of life for 2390 Americans. If you're after WWII history stateside Pearl Harbour fits the bill, capturing events that
are engraved in America and in fact world history. Over a one million people annually visit the memorial so we waited in line and joined the movement.


The memorial is ran by the National Park and the US Navy. Most if not all staff are Navy vets or ex-service personnel and all were immaculately turned out in razor sharp pressed uniforms and the shiniest footwear you're ever likely to see outside of a ballroom!

Prior to getting out onto the harbour itself you're directed to a series of newly built quayside museums. These try to give you a background of why the Japanese carried out such an attack on Pearl Harbour. What we can gather, put into a nutshell, it was over a superpower struggle on whose empire was going to become the biggest, the fastest and therefore take over the world. These modern quayside buildings house some great historical memorabilia. You're then called for the start of the tour which kicks off with a short compelling 20
minute documentary further explaining the story behind the politics, the people and the actual attack on Pearl Harbour with some great footage and interviews.

You then board a small naval boat that takes you out to the USS Arizona Memorial as its only accessible by boat. This pure white monument stands cross ways over the middle of the sunken hull without actually touching it. Below more than 900 men still lie entombed within it's hull. The shrine room lists the names of those killed engraved on the marble wall. From the memorial viewing deck it is clear to see that the ships original oil is still leaking to this very day. Its said that these are 'the black tears of the Arizona'. Following the attack the ship burnt for two and a half days which resulted in it actually breaking in half deeming it totally unsalvable. The ship's deck was made of steel nearly 5 inches thick but this proved no match to resist the Japanese armour piercing projectiles as they seemed to have opened up the hull like peeling a banana sinking her in nine minutes while she was still sat at her moorings.

One question still haunts visitors, and it definitely crossed our minds too, why were the dead never retrieved? Initially, about 105 bodies were removed but because the ship was never raised, the remainder could not. The priority at that time was salvage of ships that could be repaired. The Arizona was not in that category. Even as late as 1947, requests were made in regard to removal of the dead, but all were rejected. They are considered buried at sea by the US Navy.

Following the surprise Japanese attack on the 7th December back in '41 all 8 battleships of the U.S. Pacific fleet were sunk or badly damaged - including the U.S.S. Arizona. The Arizona and the USS Oklahoma never made it back into service. Remarkably six of the sunken ships were repaired and put back into service to go on and fight the Japanese once more in the battle for Medway.

When a survivor, the current total stands at 20, dies they are given the option of having their ashes inturned and lowered into the sunken ship by US divers so they can at last return to their fellow crew mates.

In just 20 minutes most of the US pacific fleet was taken out. A second wave attack then followed to assumingly finish off any surviving planes or ships to prevent retaliation. So in two short, but seemingly very long at the time, hours the surprise attack of Pearl Harbour was over. 2390 dead, 1178 injured, 344 crafts lost or severally damaged.

The very next day, the Arizona still burning, the then President of the United States, Roosevelt, declared war on the Empire of Japan. World War II had come to America.  We then went underwater. The USS Bowfin submarine. She was launched exactly 1 year after the Pearl harbour attack.

This puppy had two pairs of turbo charged twin diesel engines, not for propulsion but for powering generators which powered batteries. Below sea level these batteries drove electric generators which in turn electrically powered the motors of the sub. The diesel motors were only used above water where oxygen was present for combustion. So 640,000 hp in total.
The sub had more men than bunks so hot bunking was essential. We were only down below for about half an hour and were wilting in the heat. God knows how the men coped for days and months on end with no ac.