One of the symbols that has become the greatest in number, and that which signifies the story of the USA’s sacrifices in the Second World War held in the country’s memory, is none other than the USS Arizona. As part of the Pennsylvania-class battleships, she was considered a showpiece of pre-World War I American naval architecture when she got her first commission in 1916. Weighing 37,000+ tons fully loaded and measuring more than 608 feet long and almost 98 feet wide, the battleship’s armament was quite terrifying – twelve 14-inch guns installed in four triple turrets and a progression of secondary and anti-aircraft weapons for the defense of the ship.
She was really a powerful warship, but was rarely engaged in battle during her early years. Her Navy presence was instead projected worldwide through training and goodwill cruises. Her fate became different on the morning of December 7, 1941.
Due to the multiple hits on the Japanese aircraft, the Arizona received many hits, among which was a bomb that detonated near the forward magazines, setting off a fire that then detonated the ship. The ship was ripped apart by the fire, leaving many of her crew below the bridge without enough time to escape. The explosion killed 1,177 sailors and Marines on the spot – the number is higher than the total of the rest of the ships lost that day combined.
The destruction made the ship totally useless, so it could never be salvaged. The ship was then declared “out of commission” at the end of that month, and by December 1942, the name was officially removed from the Navy’s list of vessels. A tomb for the crew and symbols of the sacrifice made by them were what was left in the shipyard as her remains stayed there.
Later on, the Navy salvaged what it could after the attack. Both the aft turrets with three of the 14-inch guns each were still visible above the water and were thus converted for coastal defense in Hawaii. A huge engineering operation involving reinforced concrete structures, carved tunnels, and housing for large operating crews was required to move and install them.
Some of the weapons on the USS Arizona ended up on other ships after being removed. The set of barrels from her second turret was refurbished and installed on the USS Nevada (another survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack). The Nevada was subsequently engaged in the major battles of the war, such as Normandy, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, which propelled the Arizona’s guns to be heard once again.
Nevertheless, the coastal batteries that were planned for Hawaii never became operational. They were mostly used during test firings that were held just before Japan’s surrender in 1945, by the time the war had come to an end.
The rebuilding of the Arizona into a memorial was realized shortly after the war. A very basic platform was assembled in 1950 so that a U.S. flag could be flown over the wreck every day. The gesture expanded with the building of the USS Arizona Memorial, which was formally dedicated in 1962. The white structure that spans the sunken hull without touching it commemorates those who died on the more than 900 crew members who remain entombed inside. Since the 1980s, surviving veterans of the ship have been given the choice to have their ashes buried together with their deceased shipmates.
Maintaining the site has been a continual responsibility. The wreck still seeps oil—known as the “Black Tears of the Arizona”—with hundreds of thousands of gallons thought to remain inside. The Navy and the National Park Service carefully monitor the situation, balancing environmental concerns with the solemn duty of preserving a war grave. In recent years, protective measures have been added to ensure the wreck and its memorial remain secure for generations to come.
Through the Relics Program, there are parts of Arizona that remain in museums as well. For example, the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, which has several historical aircraft from the attack, also displays the pieces that were part of the ship’s structure, allowing visitors to have a more direct connection with that disaster morning.
Today, more than two million people visit the USS Arizona Memorial each year. Standing above the quiet waters of Pearl Harbor, they encounter not just the memory of loss, but a powerful reminder of resilience and honor. The ship remains a sacred place where history and sacrifice meet—a place that continues to shape how America reflects on the true cost of war.