Having lived in Hawaii for six years I've had the opportunity to visit the USS Arizona Memorial many times, it's one of the saddest places I've every visited. The first time I was with my mom, back in the days before You Tube and had never seen the video of the sinking before. Sitting in the dark theater watching the footage of the destruction of Battleship Row is emotional enough but seeing and hearing the explosion of the Arizona for the first time is an experience that I will never forget. It brought me to tears. On the water taxi ride out to the memorial we sat next to an old Japanese woman who wept the whole way, another memory that has stuck with me over the years. I have always wondered what had made her cry? Did she lose a loved one in war? The Memorial itself is very quiet, standing over the sunken ship with the wall of names of dead entomed below you leaves you humbled at the sacrifice those sailers made for their country.
I imagine it was shame that made her cry... it truly is a humbling place.
YDH
Posted by: Philip Kaso | December 09, 2009 at 03:41 AM