Sunday, December 10, 2017
This morning we had a tour of Honolulu visited both the Mighty Mo (USS Missouri) and the USS Arizona Memorial. Later in the evening, we attended a luau which will have to be part 2.
We started our tour with a tour of the USS Missouri otherwise known as The Mighty Mo.
The USS Missouri was last battleship ever built and the last battleship to be decommissioned by the US.
The USS Missouri is best remembered as the site of the surrender of the Empire of Japan which ended World War II. The above plaque marks the spot on the ship where documents were signed.
Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz. He played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet. He was also one of the signers of the instrument of formal surrender of the Japanese to the Allied Powers. He is also a famous Texan!
Above and below are parts of the Pearl Harbor Memorial. The circle above is dedicated to each of the armed forces branches. Below is the USS Bowfin, which was launched exactly one year after the Pearl Harbor attack. The USS Bowfin was nicknamed the Pearl Harbor Avenger.
It was finally our turn to go the USS Arizona Memorial.
Above is the USS Arizona Memorial. It actually straddles the USS Arizona. You can still see parts of the ship below the surface.
It was sobering to imagine this many people still in the ship below this memorial.
Next we drove through Honolulu seeing many official buildings.
Notice in the close-up below that Santa is barefoot and waving the aloha sign.
The building above was in the original Hawaii Five-0.
In front of the Royal Palace, this is one of 3 statutes of King Kimehameha.
This is at the National Cemetery in Honolulu honoring all the men and women from Hawaii that served in the armed forces.
Above is the magnificent entrance to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Below is looking the opposite direction.
This cemetery is in the Punchbowl Crater
Next we headed back to the ship. See Part 2 for the Luau.
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