Visiting Pearl Harbor is essential if one has made it to Hawaii. It is such an iconic place and plays such an essential role in US history. Be advised, however, that just showing up on your own will probably end in frustration. The most desired visitor destination is the Arizona Memorial, a structure built across the remains of the USS Arizona, site of the greatest loss of life for any ship in US history. Pearl Harbor, including access to this memorial, is run by the National Park Service (NPS). The only way to set foot on the memorial is to take the ferry run by NPS. Tickets are controlled, and the number of visitors allowed at one time is limited. The best way to visit Pearl Harbor as a whole, and to be guaranteed of having a ticket on the ferry to the Arizona, is to take a commercial tour. A variety of vendors and options is available, but not all options are offered every day and at every hour. Also, not all tours include a ticket for the ferry ride; they offer a view from a boat instead. I had one day available for my visit, which limited me to an all-day tour with stops at the Arizona, the submarine museum, the air museum and the USS Missouri battleship. Another thing to keep in mind about visiting Pearl Harbor is that you cannot carry a camera bag, a backpack, or even a purse. Any sort of bag has to be checked (for a hefty price), then reclaimed at the end of your visit. Cameras are permitted, provided you carry them, but changing lenses is discouraged, even if you can fit that second lens in your pocket. Because I needed to use a walking stick and carry a water bottle, I chose simply to use my Google Pixel 7 phone for these photos.
Click on images to see them uncropped and full-size
The first stop was the Arizona Memorial, built over the sunken battleship. At about 8:06 am on December 7, 1941, a 1,760-pound bomb penetrated the front of the ship, detonating an ammunition magazine. The resulting explosion set off a fire that burned for two and a half days. One-thousand one-hundred seventy-seven officers, sailors, and Marines perished. Because this loss of life was so massive and so dramatic, the decision was made never to remove the sunken vessel. Consequently, the memorial was built over it as a shrine honoring the fallen service members. Remarkably, to this day, nearly 80 years later, about a gallon of oil leaks up from the ship every day. At the far end, opposite the ferry dock, the wall lists their names. One hears conversation as one proceeds through the exhibit, but that section is shrouded in silence.
Upon returning to the Visitors Center, we had the option of visiting the submarine museum and had access to the USS Bowfin, a sub that was fully commissioned in 1943 and fought in both World War II and the Korean War. Also in the Visitors Center is a map of the war in the Pacific, embedded in the walkway. It gives a good sense of the enormity of that ocean. Following the submarine museum, we went to the Air Museum, where we had lunch. We were then free to walk around and look at the variety of planes and jets on display.
After the Air Museum we went to see the USS Missouri, site of the signing of the peace accord between the United States and Japan on September 2, 1945. The war was finally over. The Missouri was launched in 1944 from the Naval Shipyard in Brooklyn and entered the Pacific in 1945. After World War II, the ship participated in the Korean War and the Gulf War. The ship was decommissioned in 1955, but called back into action in 1986. Finally decommissioned in 1992, the ship found its current anchorage as a museum in 1998.
Enjoy these images as you take a virtual tour of Pearl Harbor.




















Thanks for bringing back history which if lived through. Did not have the tour–not sure it existed way back when–so your pictures were so worthwhile and clear.
Thanks, Roberta. The tour was a bit long, but the Arizona Memorial is profoundly moving.
Hi Laura. Thank you for sharing your visit with us all. The images were, beautifully shot, were emotion laden memories of a past war.
Thank you, Jan. Much appreciated.