The flag on the mainmast as viewed from inside of the USS Arizona Memorial in a picture taken in August of 2006. Today marks the 49th anniversary of the dedication of USS Arizona Memorial. The memorial marks the final resting place of 1,102 of the 1,177 USS Arizona sailors killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941 and has come to represent all that died in the attack. Most of the sunken remains of the battleship lie just below the surface of the water. The 184 foot long white, rectangular concrete memorial sits perpendicular across the ship without touching it. The structure's sag in the middle has been described by its architect, Alfred Preis, to represent the nation's sadness of the attack. The ends stand strong and vigorous and represent ultimate victory. More than one million people visit the memorial annually.
On a wall in which are engraved the names of those that died in the attack is also engraved this:
To the memory of the gallant men here entombed and their shipmates who gave their lives in action on December 7, 1941 on the USS Arizona.
It seems hard to comprehend now, but the legislation authorizing the memorial required that it be privately financed. While $200,000 was eventually subsidized by the government, private funding came from a variety of sources including a benefit concert by Elvis Presley, a contribution from the Territory of Hawaii, sales of plastic models of the battleship by the Revel company and even $95,000 that were raised following a
This is Your Life television segment on the senior surviving officer from the USS Arizona.
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