Friday, October 9, 2009

How Pearl Harbor Has Changed Over the Past 20 Years

By Kari Alexander

Pearl Harbor is best known for the 1941 Japanese bombing that prompted 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 sites in Pearl Harbor are the memorial of the USS Arizona and the open-air Polynesian Cultural Center museum. Admission to the memorial is free and any soldier who served on the Arizona can have his ashes scattered above the shipwreck site. Over the past 20 years, the island has built more memorials to honor its rich history and significantly amplified its profile as an education and entertainment vacation destination.

In December 2006, the Pacific Aviation Museum, based on famous Ford Island, opened Hangar 37 to the public. Hangar 37 focuses on the Pearl Harbor attack with interactive displays of the Battle of Guadalcanal and Jimmy Doolittles Tokyo bomber raid. Additional hangars at the museum will highlight on the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and the Cold War. The museum additionally plays host to several air shows. Scheduled for opening in 2010 or 2011, Hangar 79, will feature interactive displays and vintage aircrafts in order to educate the public on the major theatres of WWII including the Philippines and China. A full-size replica of a WWII aircraft carrier will also be featured 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 is home to 18 markers dedicated to battleships that were sunk during the Pearl Harbor attack. The Admiral Clarey Bridge, erected in 1998, connects 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 had a military identification or had been invited specifically by a military family could access the island.

A further Pearl Harbor historic site is the battleship USS Missouri. Moved from the mainland in 1999, the USS Missouri, nicknamed Mighty Mo, now sits adjacent to the sunken USS Arizona representing both the beginning and the end of the United States participation in the war. The USS Missouri is famous 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 awesome waves, the beach also offers an important history lesson to tourists. In 1994, native Hawaiian historian George Kanahele authored a paper relating 10 ways to enhanceWaikiki Beach. Among Kanaheles suggestions was the formation of the Waikiki Historic Trail. In 1997 he founded the Native Hawaiian Tourism and Hospitality Association to advance 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 passed before all of the historic markers could be erected on the trail, today 19 surfboard markers highlight historical sites along the beach.

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