A day that will live in infamy ....

71 years ago, on a quiet Sunday morning .... from the National Park Service (at this link),

0806 hrs  Four armor-piercing bombs hit the USS Arizona—one penetrating the ship and exploding three decks below the surface. This detonation ignited a hundred tons of blackpowder in the interior of the ship. The resulting explosion broke the battleship in half and sent a column of fire and red smoke a thousand feet in the air. Within eight minutes of the first bomb strike, the Arizona lay on the floor of Pearl Harbor. 1177 officers, sailors and marines went down with the Arizona that Sunday morning, making this attack the worst single disaster in U.S. naval history. 

The USS Arizona, resting on the bottom Pearl Harbor, leaks about one quart of oil each day.   Survivors call them tears, believing the Arizona will leak until all survivors have joined their shipmates in the watery grave (the National Park Service allows survivors to have their ashes interred in the Arizona).

Nearby, the USS Oklahoma faced the same fate.  From Navy History (at this link),

USS Maryland (BB-46) was moored inboard of USS Oklahoma (BB-37), and was thus protected by her when Japanese torpedo planes struck. The unfortunate Oklahoma, an older ship with much less adequate protection against underwater damage, was hit by up to nine torpedoes. Her hull's port side was opened almost completely from below the forward gun turret back to the third turret, a distance of over 250 feet. She listed quickly, her port bilge struck the harbor bottom, and she then rolled almost completely over. Oklahoma came to rest less than twenty minutes after she was first hit.

On the other side of Ford Island, the USS Utah became a target.  From Pearl Harbor in Hawaii (at this link),

The USS Utah was immediately struck by a torpedo, and by 8:12 a.m., its mooring lines had snapped and it had rolled over on its beam ends. Most men headed to shore for safety, but Commander Isquith, who had heard knockings from the overturned ship’s hull, organized a team of volunteers to return to the ship on a rescue mission. Thanks to this small band of heroes, ten men were rescued from perishing in a would-be tomb.
 

The Utah's partially submerged hulk still rests in Pearl Harbor, rusting away with the remains of 58 men trapped inside it.

A memorial in honor of the USS Utah crew was built in 1972 on the Ford Island shore, adjacent to the wreck. The ship won one battle star for its service in World War II.

Today is open comments.   

Mahalo,

Kim in Hawaii

The Memorial spans the sunken USS Arizona.
Photo by US Navy (Public Domain)

Aloha to Keaiwa Heiau and Ford Island

We have a winner from last week's blogs - Marjorie!   


On Saturday, my family ventured up the mountain to Keaiwa Heiau State Park.  From its website at this link,

Keaiwa Heiau is a medicinal or healing heiau (temple) known as a heiau ho'ola. At this site, the kahuna (priest, expert) specializing in healing would diagnose and treat various illnesses and injuries. The kahuna would also train haumana (students) in the practice of la'au lapa'au, medicinal healing using plants, fasting, and prayers. Many of the plants and herbs were collected from the neighboring forest while others were planted around the heiau.

The name Keaiwa has been translated as mysterious or incomprehensible. Perhaps, this name refers to the fact that one could not explain the powers of the kahuna and the herbs used in healing.

It is unknown when this heiau was built but one source suggests that it was constructed in the 16th Century by Kakuhihewa, an ali'i (chief) of O'ahu, and his kahuna Keaiwa. The 4-foot high stacked rock wall encloses the sacred area that measures 100 by 160 feet. Within the enclosure was a halau (large thatched structure) built for the master kahuna to store the medicinal implements and train the students. Other features might include hale (small thatched structure) and a puholoholo (steam bath). 
  

We have never seen a stone circle
in a heiau.

We intended to hike the loop, but it
began to rain.  The trail was muddy
and steeper than I expected.

  

We ventured over to Ford Island to
see the SBX, aka the Golf Ball.

   

Ford Island hosts three memorials -
the USS Utah (above),
the USS Oklahoma,
and the USS Missouri.

Ford Island gave us a view of the
West Loch, home of the decommissioned ships.

Ford Island also offers a view of
the USS Arizona memorial.

What do you like to do on a rainy day?  One randomly selected commenter from this week's blogs wins a book choice from my convention stash.  This giveaway is open to all readers.  Comments are open through Saturday, June 30, 10 pm in Hawaii.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, July 1.


Mahalo,


Kim in Hawaii

The rain in the distance over Aiea.