More shots of the floating platform. You will have about 10-15 minutes to make your way around, take pictures, read the memorial signs, and reflect upon the events that transpired here over 60 years ago.
At one end of the memorial is the wall of all those who went down with the ship. Needless to say, the atmosphere in this room is very powerful and is worth spending a few minutes to take a picture, and read the names and soak it all in.
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While you are winding down your self-tour (remember that headset!), you will note the line for the boat reforming as the next load of visitors approaches in the next launch. Once they exit, it is your turn to re-board. You should generally have enough time to take all the pictures you want, although if you’d like to hang about and reflect longer – you probably won’t have that option. There are a LOT of boats coming!
Leaving the memorial can be powerful in both visual beauty and historical realization that those men buried at sea will always remain…
Once you get back to shore, you can turn around for another view of the entire Missouri-Arizona layout.
On the grounds you can walk about outside and look at plaques with the names of all the men, women and children (soldiers, airmen, marines, etc.) who fell during the battle. It was sad to note the civilian deaths (including some very young children), as this was something that I had never really thought about. The cost of war is well documented here. Adjacent to the USS Arizona museum you can also visit the USS Bowfin submarine museum.
As you get ready to leave, take note of all the people milling about waiting for their time to go out on the launch. Hardly a place to sit!
USS Bowfin and USS Missouri Memorials
Back at the USS Bowfin memorial you can climb aboard this World War II submarine, or just peruse the free outdoor museum/memorial. Here you will find stone monuments dedicated to the 52 US submarines lost during the war, as well as the names of those men lost at sea. Even if you don’t pay to go on the submarine, it is worth your time to stop by and pay respects here.
While at the Bowfin museum, you can purchase tickets to the USS Missouri memorial (purchased at the Bowfin ticket window). You will then catch a trolley in front of the Bowfin museum which will take you out to Ford Island to the great ship.
Once at the USS Missouri, you will be on your own, and you can literally take all day to explore the ship.Â
If you are really lucky you can get your picture taken in front of the big guns without any other people in the shot. Good luck!
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