Pearl Harbor Anniversary

Today, you will learn about the American occupation of Hawaii and its position before the start of the Pacific War.

You will begin your day visiting the Mission House Museum which highlights the history of Hawaii’s “Missionary Period” from 1820-1863. Next, you will visit the Iolani Palace, the only royal palace in the United States, and the location where the U.S. marines imposed house arrest on the first and last Hawaiian Queen Lili’uokalani.

You will spend the afternoon at Fort de Russy, which the United States Government purchased in 1904 as a coastal fortifications to defend Honolulu Harbor. The building you will see at Fort de Russy was constructed in 1911 as a designated U.S. Army Battery. Today it houses the U.S. Army Museum of Hawaii.

This morning you will visit sites related to Japanese espionage activities and the planning of the attack. You will see the Natsunoya Tea House where Japanese intelligence spied upon and gathered information on Pearl Harbor.

Late morning you will visit Schofield Barracks and Wheeler Army Airfield, the home of the Hawaiian Division and the Hawaiian Air Force, respectively, before WWII. Both sites were subjected to attacks by Japanese aircraft on December 7th, and you will learn the historic stories of several pilots that did manage to take off from Wheeler airfield and engage in dogfights with Japanese aircraft.

In the evening, you will study the attack against the air forces stationed in Hawaii and also attend the USS Utah Memorial Sunset Ceremony in honor of those whose lives were lost in the attack on the USS Utah. The USS Utah was the first ship torpedoed in the attack on the Pacific Fleet.

“Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Today, National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, marks the anniversary of the attack at Pearl Harbor. You will begin the day early at Pearl Harbor Memorial Park for the Commemorative Ceremony. Joining Pearl Harbor survivors, veterans, and visitors from all over the world, you will honor and remember the 2,403 service members and civilians who were killed. After the ceremony, you will have enough free time to explore the park, the USS Bowfin (one of the most decorated submarines of the Pacific Theater), and the U.S. Pacific Submarine Fleet Museum.

In the evening, you can watch the Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade in Waikiki to see a moving display of marching bands, associations, local, state and national dignitaries and organizations, along with military groups and officials.

Today, you will start the day at the less-visited Ford Island to see the USS Oklahoma and USS Utah Memorials where you will hear the stories behind the attacks on these U.S. Navy ships. You will then move on to the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, where you can stand on the actual battlefield and inside the authentic WWII hangars that withstood the attack on Pearl Harbor. You will also view the many attack points across Oahu from the Ford Island Control Tower. The next stop is the “Mighty Mo,” the site of the Japanese surrender. You will end the day at the USS Arizona Memorial, the bombing of which caused the first rallying cry for war against the Japanese.

As the Pearl Harbor Anniversary Tour end, you can catch your flight home or extend your stay in the Aloha State.