FREE ESSAY ON U.S.S. ARIZONA MEMORIAL

U.S.S. ARIZONA MEMORIAL

U.S.S. Arizona Memorial
December 7th, 1941, was the opening of World War 2, in the Pacific arena. In 1931, Japan
invaded China's northern parts and then in 1937, Japan announced a full invasion of
China. The United States couldn't just stand by and let Japan take over Asia's parts, so
they moved their fleets to Pearl Harbor. The strongest ships were the battleships, which
were named after the states of the union. U.S. Arizona was made in 1915 and then was
Rebuilt and updated in 1930. The ship was surrounded with over 8,000 tons of armor
plating and had 14 guns that could shoot bullets over 20 miles. Since President Theodore
Roosevelt didn't like that idea of just standing around and letting Japan take over Asia,
he ordered that the U.S. stop all shipments and deliveries of American oil to Japan.
American oil was very important to Japan and so they were upset and had to take charge.
The U.S. knew that a surprise attack in Pearl Harbor could happen and they thought they
were ready for it. U.S. Commanding officer Hudman E. Kimmel sent out his fleets to
exercise and prepare just in case the Japanese decided to plan an attack. On November
26th, 1941, Japan sent 6 aircraft carriers to Hawaii. The U.S. had up to date radar's,
and anti- cap guns that could help protect Oahu.Wheeler Airforce base watched the skies
and if signaled by Wheeler, Hickam Airforce base could attack the Japanese Fleets before
they were even ready for the attack. The night before the attack, December 6th, 1941, the
band on Arizona was holding a band concert on board and no one thought that that would be
they're last day of peace.
At 6 a.m., 220 miles north of Oahu, the still undetected aircraft carriers of Japan sent
their planes to Pearl Harbor. First they sent off the Fighters, then the Attack Planes
(that had special bombs to hit and sink battleships, or Torpedo's that were made to run
in the shallow water of Pearl Harbor), and last were the Dive Bombers. There were 183
Japanese planes sent out in all. 30 minutes later another 167 planes left the carriers.
Around the same time, the destroyer word sighted and sunk and 2 man midget submarine.
Right after that the radar installation team sighted a huge flight 
of planes coming into the harbor. They notified the operators and Fort Shafter but the
operator told them that it was probably just the B-17's that were due in from California
that morning, and told them not to worry about it. The radar installation team was the
first to detect the Japanese strike force. 
At 7:48 a.m., Kaneohe Bay was bombed and right after Fort Shafter's planes and hangers
were destroyed. On the northern side of Ford Island, the cruiser ship Roly and the
trainer ship Utah were hit. The Utah rolled over too quickly and anyone inside couldn't
get out. 58 men went down with Utah. More torpedo planes came in through the south
entrance of Pearl Harbor and attacked Oklahoma, California and West Virginia. West
Virginia settled in the shallow waters. California almost cap-sized but then quickly
counter flooded and she also sank up right. Oklahoma rolled over so quickly, 115 men were
trapped inside.
A few minutes after 8 a.m., Arizona was bombed. The bomb went through the deck and
collided with the forward ammunition magazine that caused ton's of ammunition to explode.
In the explosion, 1,177 men died without even knowing what hit them. 
Around 8:50 a.m., the second wave of Japanese crafts pulled into the Harbor. The second
wave hit Hickam and Wheeler Army Base again. The smoke from all the explosions gave some
cover from the Japanese planes but they soon spotted Nevada, already damaged and barely
running, trying to make it to sea. The torpedo planes charged Nevada bombing her decks.
The Captain soon pulled The Nevada to rest in the shallow waters of Hospital Point to
avoid blocking the channel.
At 10:00 a.m., the Japanese planes left. Japan had caused the United States Navy the
biggest disaster they had ever experienced. 21 Vessels, including all 8 battleships were
either sunk or damaged. There were over 170 Navy and Army Planes destroyed. There were
over 2,500 hundred and over 1200 wounded The U.S. shot down 5 out of 29 Torpedo Planes
and 11 Fighting Planes. There were only 29 Japanese planes shot down, and 55 Japanese
airmen dead. They sunk 9 out of 10 of the two man midget submarines and killed all of the
pilots except for one that was taken as the first prisoner of war.
The Japanese surprise Pearl Harbor attack helped unite the U.S. With that and a plethora
of rebuilding of ships, planes and regain in ammunition, the United States helped Asia
and the Pacific Seas retrieve the land that was taken from them from Japan. During the
ambush, the U.S. sank 4 Japanese 
Terriers that had attacked Pearl Harbor. 
In the Japanese Pearl Harbor attack, there were three major mistakes that the Japanese
had made. The first mistake that they had made was not taking out the fuel farm that was
located next to Hickam and Fort Island. If they would have taken out those tanks, 1/3 of
Oahu would have been blown off and it would have set the war back a couple of years. The
second thing that the Japanese did wrong was that they didn't hit the Submarines. There
wasn't a single scratch on the submarines and so the U.S. later took down many of the
Japanese ships. The third thing that the Japanese did wrong was that they didn't attack
and destroy the shipyard, which would have prevented the U.S. from rebuilding their
ships. The strategy of the Japanese was to hit and sink the aircraft carriers, but once
they noticed the carriers weren't there, they had to attack everything else that was
there. 
The architectural plan for the U.S. Memorial was by an architect named Price. The built
the Memorial to form the shape of a bridge. A bridge represents highs and lows, ups and
downs-victory and defeat. The Low point of the Memorial represents the defeat but the two
high points on each side represent the victory. The side odd shaped windows represent the
giving tree and the windows in the middle section represent 21 men standing at parade
rest.
When on this trip, I took a tape recorder with me to help me remember what should never
be forgotten. The fact that these men died for the sake of our freedom is something
should never be forgotten. I've been to the U.S. Memorial before but I never learned as
much as I had this time around. I enjoyed this project and learned how much of an impact
the Japanese surprise attack in Pearl Harbor means to the United States of America.