Pearl Harbor USS Arizona Construction Update

[keishashadow]

The National Park Service originally announced repairs would be completed in time for National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day on December 7, 2018. This information released well before the US government shutdown

A subsequent announcement indicated that repairs on the USS Arizona Memorial would be completed by March 2019, with visits to restart in spring 2019.

Today, it was announced the construction contract has finally been awarded. The memorial will remain closed through the summer. The rest of the facility will be available as usual

It’s quite disappointing to read the NPS was projecting completion dates without having said construction contract in place!

Personally, I still will spend a day there during our upcoming trip. I do find it difficult to wrap my head around the glaring ineptitude of the NPS, throughout this situation

On a brighter note, Work is projected to be completed in time for the December 7, 2019 annual ceremony.

 

[kyton]

Whilst you physically cannot set foot on the Memorial, you can still view the movie and take a launch out and around the Memorial with a commentary from the staff onboard.

 

[tink too]

Thanks for the update.

 

[Meriweather]

Oh no....that's one thing DD wanted to do on her HI trip in June.....so sad

 

[keishashadow]

Whilst you physically cannot set foot on the Memorial, you can still view the movie and take a launch out and around the Memorial with a commentary from the staff onboard.

We delayed scheduling our first trip to Hawaii, settled upon a date based upon the original & subsequent NPS announcement. I understand unexpected delays. What galls me is to discover they were issuing completion dates without even having a contract in place.

Regardless, we are now well past the final payment date for our cruise, non-refundable flights are purchased, DVC points are allocated & we have our Pearl Harbor all inclusive passport tickets long purchased.

We will make the best of it and hope to someday return to pay our respects. I do hope that it’s not too windy for the boats to at least pass nearby for those of us holding tix to the USS Arizona.

 

[cgattis]

Well it’s the government.....and lots of folks think we need them to run MORE things for us!!

I highly recommend going anyway. The movie is absolutely amazing. It’s 99% actual film from the attack; I was totally blown away. The museums are all still available. And if you can ride the launch out, you’ll still be very close to the actual wreckage. I can totally understand being disappointed, but the actual memorial is just the “headstone”—the marker of all the names. Of course, I understand being disappointed particularly if you were looking for specific names, but it is pretty crowded and difficult to do that anyway (or it was when we went). You can have a quiet moment and pay your respects from anywhere, really...just don’t skip it. It will still be totally worth a trip.

 

[frank808]

Make sure you make it out to the USS Missouri battleship. You can stand on the exact spot the surrender ceremonies were held. Also the tour of the battleship is pretty neat.

 

[Bmlors]

We did this last week and I thought the boat tour was very well done and respectful, even though we couldn't get off onto the memorial itself. They pass by the memorial twice to ensure everyone on the boat can get pictures and I'm assuming the commentary we got from the veteran who was leading the tour was more extensive than what we would have received otherwise.

 

[dachsie]

Can you go to the Bowfin and Missouri before you go to the Arizona? And how much time would you allow?

 

[keishashadow]

Can you go to the Bowfin and Missouri before you go to the Arizona? And how much time would you allow?

As i understand it, and those who have been there & can share their expertise, please chime in if I mis-speak...

the bowfin is on same ‘side’ as the ticket area & where you go for the USS Arizona tour

You need to take bus to ford island for the Missouri and hangar museum (i think lol).

 

[Bmlors]

@keishashadow is correct — Bowfin and the Arizona are easy to do in the same general area, but you can do them in any order. You could also take the bus over to the others first and then come back to the main area.

We spent about an hour at the Bowfin (including the sub museum), which was enough. We did not do the Missouri as we’ve seen a very similar battleship in North Carolina, but my experience there was that you could spend very little time or up to a couple of hours if you really were interested. It’s pretty much your own pace so you can just budget a set amount of time and then make your way through.

 

[littleBeast]

We went to the Bowfin and the Missouri, but skipped the free boat tour. The boat they take you in is a small one with long rows of seats across, so you wouldn't actually be able to see the Arizona from it unless you were one of the people right on the end of the row, on the correct side of the boat... so it seemed like a waste of time.

As a side note, every single person working at Pearl Harbor (with the sole exception of the tour guide on the Missouri, who was great) were the single most unfriendly, unhelpful, unhappy people I have ever seen working anywhere. I would say, especially after the fantastic people at Aulani, it was really unpleasant to see people who looked like they were wishing for death than be working/volunteering at Pearl Harbor. Made me wish we had just skipped the whole thing.

 

[Bmlors]

We went to the Bowfin and the Missouri, but skipped the free boat tour. The boat they take you in is a small one with long rows of seats across, so you wouldn't actually be able to see the Arizona from it unless you were one of the people right on the end of the row, on the correct side of the boat... so it seemed like a waste of time.

As a side note, every single person working at Pearl Harbor (with the sole exception of the tour guide on the Missouri, who was great) were the single most unfriendly, unhelpful, unhappy people I have ever seen working anywhere. I would say, especially after the fantastic people at Aulani, it was really unpleasant to see people who looked like they were wishing for death than be working/volunteering at Pearl Harbor. Made me wish we had just skipped the whole thing.

Our experience wasn't that bad -- we were in the center of the boat and were able to get good pictures when the boat turned and went down our side. Our seatmate was very friendly and willing to lean back a little to let us get a good shot.

The NPS employees, particularly at the theater entrance, were very friendly. We had some sprinklers turn on, so one made a joke about that and went to get it resolved. The second lady was very conversational with the crowd waiting and seemed to genuinely enjoy her job. So, I guess maybe it's hit or miss.

 

[gopper]

Well it’s the government.....and lots of folks think we need them to run MORE things for us!!

I highly recommend going anyway. The movie is absolutely amazing. It’s 99% actual film from the attack; I was totally blown away. The museums are all still available. And if you can ride the launch out, you’ll still be very close to the actual wreckage. I can totally understand being disappointed, but the actual memorial is just the “headstone”—the marker of all the names. Of course, I understand being disappointed particularly if you were looking for specific names, but it is pretty crowded and difficult to do that anyway (or it was when we went). You can have a quiet moment and pay your respects from anywhere, really...just don’t skip it. It will still be totally worth a trip.

Agree!