Visiting the USS Arizona Memorial
Readers told about visiting the memorial in Hawaii. I had asked if they ever have dreams about it.
"I visited many years ago," wrote Brad Smith. "I have never had haunting dreams. I have thought about the experience many times though. I can only describe the visit as one of solemn awe and reverence of the brave sacrifice that occurred on the exact spot that you stand. That will send chills down your back."
"My wife and I visited the memorial on Memorial Day 2014," wrote Paul Scheller of Odessa. "Among the visitors that day was USS Arizona survivor Donald Stratton, whose story we were told. Stratton was at the foremast when the bomb hit. He escaped the ship by climbing hand over hand down a rope to the ship berthed beside them. The water was in flames from diesel fuel and he was burned over 70 percent of his body. After three months in a Honolulu hospital they shipped him back to the states for further surgery and rehab. After he regained full use of his legs he promptly re-enlisted in the Navy and served another hitch. He was at the memorial that day as a guest of the Navy. He placed a wreath at the wall of names of the killed, walked to the railing facing the sunken ship, saluted his fallen comrades, and broke down crying. That example of sorrow and heroism is the memory I will always have of our visit that day."
Lawrence McCauley of Rathdrum shared this.
"Being former Navy, I had the opportunity to visit the memorial in the mid-'90s as I was returning from an extended trip abroad. I chose to visit on a Sunday morning and was among the visitors on the first boat to the memorial that day, which allowed our group of 30 to experience the memorial in its quiet reverence. No one talked or made any discernible sound as we traversed the various icons such as the names of the fallen and looked over the side watching the oil still bubbling to the surface. Each moment on the memorial has stayed with me since that day and I will always spend Dec. 7th in quiet reflection on the lives lost that fateful day until I reach the end of my own journey."
Bill Fields, a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, shared this.
"While I do not dream about my visit to the USS Arizona Memorial, I cannot forget the tremendous surge of emotion felt when I stepped aboard. Hell, I can feel it right now. My dad and uncles all survived WWII, but a couple of my friends didn't survive Vietnam. So I guess the feeling was akin to what standing at The Wall would be for me. It's difficult to put into words."
Mack Stanhope of Marcus, Washington, shared a few reflections.
"I have visited the site a couple of times and the atmosphere at the memorial is very solemn and somber but not really disturbing. You can always tell who among the visitors served in the military because they will render a very correct and respectful salute before leaving. I have not had any nightmares concerning the memorial or the ship itself. All of my memories connected with the site are of a quiet and respectful nature. I am saddened by the realization of the loss of life but buoyed by the thought of the gallantry of the military on that day. I am equally proud to have been a member of the military for 31 years and to know that I have at least minimal kinship to the sailors and Marines who gave the ultimate in defending their country."
And Marilyn Othmer shared this.
"We have visited the memorial at Pearl Harbor and it was one of the most emotional experiences we have ever had. This was in the days before the memorial was done, and I will never forget the sound of the bell, the oil slick on the water, the total silence of the crowd of people, and all the tears that were being shed by everyone. I don't know that it has ever been a haunting dream, but it certainly has been a most haunting memory."
