actually invited me to go along on one of their little flings. We stopped at a bookstore and then both of the little old wrinkled ladies were at a loss as what to do next. Hard to believe!!! We finally opted to check out the recently opened Pacific Air Museum on Ford Island. Ford Island was an airstrip and the location where the battleships were parked during the December 7 attack on Pearl Harbor. On the way there we saw a sign that pointed toward the Utah Memorial. Now everyone has heard of the Arizona Memorial; but, Utah Memorial was new to me. We drove down there and at the end of a nice quite little dock was the remains of the USS UTAH. Photo session followed and then we headed toward the still standing remains of the air control tower that is located in restored hangars that house the air museum.
Hanger 37 was restored and this phase of the museum was opened on December 7, 2006. Phase 2, 3 and 4 will follow as funds allow and will be dedicated to WW II, Pacific Theater, Korea, Vietnam and the Cold War. Phase 4 will also include restoration of the control tower. I'll never see completion; but, it should be a history lesson for all.
Upon entry we were greeted by a mural depicting the artist's conception of December 7, 1941. Various aircraft are displayed, both Japanese and U.S. They have a B-25 made famous by the Doolittle raid on Japanese soil, specially developed bombs used by the Japanese to attack the vessels in the harbor. And last by not least, they have the Sterman Bi-plane that George Bush flew while training to be a pilot.
The floor of the museum was another sight to behold, aerial photographs of Oahu were pieced together to form a gigantic map. Here Becky is almost standing on Aloha Stadium and I also took pictures of Ford Island and the battleship Missouri and the Arizona Memorial. Louise looked for her house; but, I don't think she ever located it.
This afternoon we headed back to the Naval Station as we were invited to take a tour of the U.S.S. COLUMBIA (SSN 771). A newly selected Chief Petty Officer attended the Sub Vets Meeting and invited all the old retirees to come aboard. I've never been aboard a SSN so it was quite interesting.........us old farts have problems traversing level ground so climbing up and down vertical ladders wasn't the easiest thing I've done lately. It was well worth it. Upon departure the new Chief presented us with the coins pictured above. No picture taking allowed so all you get to see are the coins!
W&B
No comments:
Post a Comment