Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii

When I was scheduled to tour the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor I thought that I was just going to see a site to learn about World War II Era. I was wrong!  Little did I know that the visit would make such an impact on me.
 
I hate wars and prior to my visit, I really had heard of Pearl Harbor, but never paid attention to what really took place there.  When I arrived at the Visitor Center in the island of Oahu, Hawaii, and before I boarded a US Navy launch boat to sail to the USS Arizona Memorial, I watched a film documenting the attack on Pearl Harbor, complete with actual footage. Just watching the film, I became emotionally disturbed.
 
Built over the sunken wreckage of the actual USS Arizona battleship, the memorial is a tribute to the 1,177 crewmen that were on board and killed during the tragic events on December 7, 1941. Inside, there is an assembly room and shrine with the names of all the victims, where visitors pay respects and honor the victims; our American soldiers.
 
My ride to and from the Memorial was packed with people, yet you could not hear anyone speaking, just the waves. The sadness that I felt throughout the whole time during my visit was incomprehensible. You, see, I don’t have knowledge about the military, wars or battles. However, the unusual feeling of deep sadness and need to mourn for all the soldiers that were killed that day that I felt was overwhelming. Needless to say, I was unable to hold back my tears.
 
In total, the attack on Pearl Harbor lasted approximately 2 hours and left 2,403 Americans dead and 1,178 wounded.
 
I will never forget that so many of our soldiers were killed by the Japanese during that surprised attack that precipitated the United States to enter into World War II.