Hello peeps. As promised, here's a post about my visit to Pearl Harbor. It was close to the Anniversary when we there.
The USS Arizona is the final resting place
for many of the ship's 1,177 crewmen who lost their lives on December 7,
1941. The 184-foot-long Memorial structure spans the mid-portion of the
sunken battleship and consists of three main sections: the entry room;
the assembly room, a central area designed for ceremonies and general
observation; and the shrine room, where the names of those killed on the
Arizona are engraved on the marble wall. Servicemen that have since passed and was on the USS Arizona have the option to be buried with their brothers in arms. There are two areas with names of those that have since passed. The wall with the names is approximately 50 feet wide and probably just as tall. It gave me goosebumps to see the names of those that perished.
To learn more about the history and culture go HERE.
We also went to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl.
The “Punchbowl” was
formed some 75,000 to 100,000 years ago during the Honolulu period of
secondary volcanic activity. A crater resulted from the ejection of hot
lava through cracks in the old coral reefs which, at the time, extended
to the foot of the Koolau Mountain Range.
Although there are various translations of the Punchbowl’s Hawaiian
name, “Puowaina,” the most common is “Hill of Sacrifice.” This
translation closely relates to the history of the crater. The first
known use was as an altar where Hawaiians offered human sacrifices to
pagan gods and the killed violators of the many taboos. Later, during
the reign of Kamehameha the Great, a battery of two cannons was mounted
at the rim of the crater to salute distinguished arrivals and signify
important occasions. Early in the 1880s, leasehold land on the slopes of
the Punchbowl opened for settlement and in the 1930s, the crater was
used as a rifle range for the Hawaii National Guard. Toward the end of
World War II, tunnels were dug through the rim of the crater for the
placement of shore batteries to guard Honolulu Harbor and the south edge
of Pearl Harbor.
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| Image found on Web |
You really can see for formation and how it got it's name.
Here's another sunset for you. Since we were on the ship fourteen of our fifteen day cruise I have lots of ocean photos - and photos taken on the ship.
Peace,
Kay
