It is from this opening that visitors can pay their respects by tossing flowers in honor of the fallen sailors. The memorial also has an opening in the floor overlooking the sunken decks. There are rumors that the 21 windows symbolically represent a 21-gun salute or 21 Marines standing at eternal parade rest over the tomb of the fallen, but guides at the site have confirmed that this was not the architect's intention. The central assembly room features seven large open windows on either wall and ceiling, to commemorate the date of the attack. The national memorial has three main parts: entry, assembly room, and shrine. inscription in marble with the names of Arizona 's honored dead "To the Memory of the Gallant Men Here Entombed and their shipmates who gave their lives in action on December 7, 1941, on the U.S.S. In the end, the legislation authorizing and funding the memorial (HR 44, 1961) declared that the Arizona would "be maintained in honor and commemoration of the members of the Armed Forces of the United States who gave their lives to their country during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941." Design Some were eager to keep it a tribute to the sailors of the Arizona, while others expected a dedication to all who died in the Pacific theater. $150,000 from federal funds in legislation initiated by Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye in 1961ĭuring planning stages, the memorial's purpose was the subject of competing visions.$40,000 from the sale of plastic models of the Arizona, in a partnership between the Fleet Reserve Association and Revell Model Company.$64,000 from a Mabenefit concert by Elvis Presley, which was his final live performance until 1968.Fuqua, Medal of Honor recipient and the senior surviving officer from the Arizona $95,000 privately raised following a 1958 This Is Your Life television segment featuring Rear Admiral (ret.) Samuel G.$50,000 Territory of Hawaiʻi initial contribution in 1958. ![]() Principal contributions to the memorial included: Enabling legislation required the memorial, budgeted at $500,000, be privately financed however, $200,000 of the memorial cost was government subsidized. Eisenhower approved the creation of a National Memorial in 1958. The Navy placed the first permanent memorial, a 10-foot (3 m)-tall basalt stone and plaque, over the mid-ship deckhouse on December 7, 1955. Radford requested funds for a national memorial in 19, but was denied because of budget constraints during the Korean War. In that same year a temporary memorial was built above the remaining portion of the deckhouse. Radford, commander of the Pacific Fleet, attached a flag pole to the main mast of the Arizona in 1950, and began a tradition of hoisting and lowering the flag. The Pacific War Memorial Commission was created in 1949 to build a permanent memorial in Hawaii. While Ripley's original idea for a memorial was disregarded due to the cost, the Navy continued with the idea of creating a memorial. Manning to Robert Ripley regarding the need for a permanent Pearl Harbor memorial Memorial Conception and funding Ī letter RAdm J.J. The USS Arizona Memorial is one of several sites in Hawaii that are part of the Pearl Harbor National Memorial. The battleship's sunken remains were declared a National Historic Landmark on May 5, 1989. Historical information about the attack, shuttle boats to and from the memorial, and general visitor services are available at the associated USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center, which opened in 1980 and is operated by the National Park Service. Accessible only by boat, it straddles the sunken hull of the battleship without touching it. The memorial, built in 1962, is visited by more than two million people annually. ![]() The attack on Pearl Harbor led to the United States' involvement in World War II. The USS Arizona Memorial, at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, marks the resting place of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors and Marines killed on USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and commemorates the events of that day.
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