How Pearl Harbor Has Changed Over the Past 20 Years
Friday, October 9th, 2009
Pearl Harbor is best known for the 1941 Japanese bombing that compelled the United States to enter World War II. The US naval base located on Oahu Island, Hawaii, has numerous memorials and museum devoted to the infamous events of Sunday, December 7, 1941. The most popular attractions in Pearl Harbor are the memorial of the USS Arizona and the outdoor Polynesian Cultural Center museum. Admission to the memorial is complimentary and any soldier who served on the Arizona may have his ashes scattered above the shipwreck site. In the last 20 years, the island has erected more memorials to honor its rich history and significantly increased its profile as an education and entertainment holiday destination.
In December 2006, the Pacific Aviation Museum, based on historic Ford Island, opened Hangar 37 to the public. Hangar 37 focuses on the Pearl Harbor attack featuring interactive displays of the Battle of Guadalcanal and Jimmy Doolittles Tokyo bomber raid. Additional hangars at the museum will focus on the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and the Cold War. The museum additionally plays host to a number of air shows. Scheduled to open in 2010 or 2011, Hangar 79, will offer interactive displays and vintage aircrafts in order to educate the public on the chief theatres of WWII including the Philippines and China. A full-size replica of a WWII aircraft carrier will also be located inside the hangar. The museum comes complete with a flight simulator where visitors are able to experience the thrill of combat flying in a Wildcat or Zero aircraft.
Additionally, the island features 18 markers dedicated to battleships that were sunk during the Pearl Harbor attack. The Admiral Clarey Bridge, built in 1998, joins Ford Island to mainland of Oahu. Before the bridge was constructed Ford Island could only be reached via ferry and the island was closed to the public. Only tourists who possessed a military identification or had been invited specifically by a military family could visit the island.
Another Pearl Harbor historic site is the battleship USS Missouri. Transported from the mainland in 1999, the USS Missouri, nicknamed Mighty Mo, now sits perpendicular to the sunken USS Arizona representing both the beginning and the end of the United States participation in the war. The USS Missouri is renowned because the Japanese signed the surrender papers aboard ship signifying the end of WWII. The ships location signifies its protection of the USS Arizona.
While surfers may take a trip to Waikiki beach for the outstanding waves, the beach also offers a history lesson to tourists. In 1994, native Hawaiian historian George Kanahele penned a paper discussing 10 ways to improveWaikiki Beach. Among Kanaheles suggestions was the formation of the Waikiki Historic Trail. In 1997 he founded the Native Hawaiian Tourism and Hospitality Association to further his goal of restoring Hawaiian culture on the island. Kanahele recommended that the historic trail highlight significant events and locations in Hawaiian history. Although he died before all of the historic markers could be erected on the trail, today 19 surfboard markers highlight historical sites along the beach.
