The Sacred, Rusting Relics of Pearl Harbor: The Crumbling Superstructure of the USS Arizona Stored on Waipio Peninsula

The Sacred, Rusting Relics of Pearl Harbor: The Crumbling Superstructure of the USS Arizona Stored on Waipio Peninsula

The story:

Not all of the wreckage is at the memorial on Ford Island. "After the bombing, the USS Arizona had much of the superstructure and metal above the water line cut away and sent to the mainland, either for use on other ships or designated for scrap," explains Agnes Tauyan, deputy director in the public affairs office of the commander, Navy Region Hawaii. Still later, additional pieces of wreckage, several tons of the Arizona, were removed from the ship during the construction of the memorial and transported to a spot across the channel from Ford Island, where they have been ever since, holding a silent and lonely vigil against time and the elements.

Daniel Martinez, National Park Service historian who has worked at the Arizona Memorial since 1985 and is an expert on the bombing of Pearl Harbor, says, "Someone, and we don't know who, since documentation does not exist, realized the importance of this wreckage of the martyred ship and put it in a place where it would be preserved." The specific location of what Ms. Tauyan calls the "sacred relics" is a closely guarded secret. The Navy will acknowledge for the record only that sections of the Arizona are on Waipio Peninsula, strictly off limits to the public and safely guarded in a storage area on a military reservation, but it granted access for this article to further tell the story of the famed battleship and its continuing contribution today.

To reach the site, a visitor must proceed through locked gates, down roads and deep into an area that is protected by wasps and the thickets and thorns of Kiawe trees. There, in a clearing, is a debris field that is not large but unmistakably contains a unique look into history.

Time and the elements have been unkind, and some of the rusting pieces of the ship are razor-like and dangerous. Pieces carpet the ground and crunch with each step. A close examination of the site reveals large and small sections of metal, some of it scarred by black scorch marks created by the burning oil and the intensity of the fire. Much of the debris is hard to identify as to origin, but here and there something--such as one of the armored legs of the main mast, with a ladder still bolted inside--can be recognized.

More here.

Comments

[Active CPO]

The remains are still there, and in a remote and locked location. Very few people know of this.

Heard a story from a Sailor of mine that was a former MA at stationed at Westloch. He stated that while on patrols, he learned of the site, and had stopped a few times to pay his respects.

There was talk of interning the parts near the memorial during the late 80's. I feel it would be a fitting resting place for any unidentifiable or "unadoptable" relics that cannot be displayed by Non-profits or museums.

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Some people pretend to despise the things they cannot have.So belive yourself.

[Ray Skoff]

I visited the site on a number of occasions in the 80's and was able to identify the remains as the portion of the superstructure just forward of the number three turret. The remains dimension out to be a chemical storage room, potato peeling room, and hammock drying room. The remains were moved to the present site, an abandoned submarine net area, in the early 60's in preparation for the present memorial. When I last saw the remains, I thought it would not be unrealistic to salvage the rooms and have them serve as a walk-though exhibit at the memorial. This whole situation has always been very frustrating to me because I could never get anyone's attention or interest in this matter. As a Navy Reserve CO, I used to take people to the site to take the oath to extend their service and they were really touched by the significance of the remains. I fail to understand why the Navy or the Park Service failed to appreciate what rested in their grasp.

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Though garbage cans have been set under trees, people throw garbage everywhere