USS Arizona interred 1177 seamen and marines. There have been additional crewmen interred in a special ceremony to rejoin their shipmates. Divers take the cremains in an urn out to gun turret four and place it in a large hole. Elvis Presley performed a concert to raise money for the Arizona Memorial structure.
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| Tree of Life window |
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| 25 feet beyond this #3 gun turret is where the cremains are interred. |
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| 7 windows on each side and on the top represent a 21 gun salute. |
We took the standard tour of the Mighty MO today. So an update is that the decking actually is teak wood, just a new layer. It is part of the ongoing renovations. There are a few places that have original teak wood. Somehow I had missed the kamikaze attack that hit the starboard side of the ship. We could see the dents in the top rim of the deck. Captain William M. Callaghan ordered the body of the Japanese pilot to be found and prepared for a military burial at sea. Since there was no Japanese flag on board, some crewmen hand sewed one to drape over the body. Saw more of the crew and officer quarters and reproductions of the Surrender documents.
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| Reproduction of the signatures on the surrender documents. |
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| Kamikaze damage. |
Wrapping up our tour was a drive through the Punchbowl National Cemetery and drive by several well know sites - the Iolani Palace, statue of King Kamehameha, and the Museum with the largest collection of Polynesian artifacts, including King Kamehameha's cape which measures over 7 feet and did not touch the ground when he wore it.
On our tour guide's recommendations, we hit two local hot spots. Rainbow Drive-In for burgers and fries. Opened in 1961, it was totally packed with parking definitely at a premium. Famous for their plate lunches which are $7.95-$9.25. My cheeseburger was $2.95 and Bob's double cheeseburger. deluxe was $4.25. What a bargain. Then we went to Leonard's Bakery which was opened in 1952. Again, totally packed and spilling out onto the street. Not being up on our Lenten protocols (and on vacation we forgot it was Fat Tuesday. Also this is Hawaii, not New Orleans), we did not realize that a good many people standing in and around the bakery were there for Fat Tuesday which is called Shrove Tuesday here. The malasadas which are Portuguese donuts with no holes where introduced specifically for Shrove Tuesday.
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